As a Female and Former Fetus, I Stand Against Abortion

As a woman, I believe my body, my choice.

As a woman, I believe my body, my choice.

As a woman, I believe my body, my choice.

As a woman, I believe my body, my choice.

Now that we are clear about that lets talk about what some of those choices are. The first is the choice to love myself. Based on what I believe, that’s a command, not a choice. God wants us to love ourselves and treat others the way we want to be treated. It’s His second greatest directive.

One way I love myself as a woman is to try not to engage in behavior that isn’t good for me. Don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of vices and am far from perfect. I don’t eat that great, I’ve battled with nicotine addiction and I run only when chased. However, as a single woman I make a choice not to engage in sex.

OMG!!!!! What? Why not?

First, as stated earlier, because it’s my body, my choice. Second, I don’t want to risk getting an STD. Third, sex does mean something, it is a big deal and it’s not just a physical act, and therefore I believe it should be reserved for marriage. Finally, I don’t want to risk getting pregnant. Let’s take each of these reasons in turn.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The rate of STD’s has been on the rise over the past four years. Diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia afflicted 2.3 million people in 2017. (Aids is the number one STD and not included in this report) In fact, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is calling for federal action.”It is time that President Trump and [Health and Human Services] Secretary [Alex] Azar declare STDs in America a public health crisis,” said David Harvey. According to the CDC, the chances of getting an STD are exponentially higher for people who engage in unprotected sex and have sex with multiple and/or “anonymous” sex partners. In other words, having a lot of sex with a lot of different people, or being promiscuous, no matter your orientation is well–dirty and unhealthy.

Sex does mean something, it is a big deal and it’s not just a physical act

We live in a culture that worships sex. Hollywood and the media portray two people having sex as culturally normal as two people having dinner. It’s just what you do and why not? I mean won’t we die without it? Isn’t sex a necessity just like food and water?

No. It’s not.

I’ve scoured the internet looking for cases of people who have died or gotten deathly ill while practicing abstinence and I haven’t found a single case. Now, you might be thinking, “Well, so what? If it’s between two consenting adults, it’s none of my business.” True…until sexual promiscuity leads to unwanted pregnancies, STD’s and creates a huge financial strain on society. Then, it is your business. Your tax dollars are paying for it. Also, it’s been my personal experience that the same people who say “Sex is no big deal” are likely the first to check out of a relationship when the person they’re dating wants to wait. If it’s no big deal, then why not wait if that person means a lot to you? Doesn’t that demonstrate love and respect toward the other person?

Also, I think it’s safe to say that most people out there get extremely upset when they see a woman being physically abused and beaten. We know that is a social injustice. However, if sex is “no big deal” why does it cut most people to their very soul when they learn a woman has been raped? What’s the big deal? I mean, sure it’s violent, but why consider it any worse than a woman getting punched in the face? Sex is a physical act, right? The truth is, it is worse. We all know it.

Furthermore, in anticipation of writing this, I have been having conversations with some of my married friends. Some of them waited for marriage to have sex and some didn’t. Except for one, every single woman who didn’t wait for their husband to have sex has regret over that.Those who waited have none. Out of all those couples, the ones who waited still have strong, healthy long-time marriages. Of the ones who didn’t wait, a third of them ended up divorced. Why?

When people fall in love or engage in sex, our brains release chemicals (Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin—said to actually make us lovesick or infatuated) which make us feel a certain way toward the person that we are attracted to. However, within a year to two years those chemicals are released less and less and those feelings that we call infatuation begin to fade away. At this point, people are left with the choice to care about, respect and treat kindly the person you’ve committed yourself to, despite how you might feel about them on a given day.

The truth is that love is a verb. It’s not something you say, it’s something you do and today, it seems people don’t have the patience or the desire to wait for marriage.

Instead, we treat sex casually, and as a result our brains can become addicted to that euphoric feeling the chemicals in our brain cause us to feel during sex, or in the beginning stages of a new relationship. This is how people become addicted to pornography and promiscuity. It’s like any other addictive drug. The more you use it, the more you need and in greater amounts. This is where trouble begins, and people go down a road of promiscuity that will likely lead to an unwanted pregnancy or an STD.

We act as though we just can’t control our sexual instincts. Really? Talk to a male gynecologist if you think it’s impossible to control our urges. The truth is we all desire things in our hearts that we ought not do. You might have an urge to have sex with a person who is married to someone else. Should you just go do that? I have the urge to drive 100 miles an hour down every street I drive on. I seriously do. Why can’t I just do that? It’s what I desire. We know that in both cases we ought to refrain from engaging in that type of behavior for two reasons: First, these behaviors will hurt others and second, produce negative consequences in our own lives.

I don’t want to risk getting pregnant

Let me be up front. I am in my forties and the likelihood of me getting pregnant is slim—but it’s still possible. I wouldn’t want to terminate a pregnancy. Why? Because I do believe that abortion is taking an innocent life. So, the next question is, when does life begin?

Here’s what some doctor’s have to say about this issue:

“It is the penetration of the ovumby a spermatozoan and the resultant mingling of the nuclear material each brings to the union that constitutes the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual.”—Dr. Bradley M. Patten (Bradley M. Patten, Human Embryology, 3d ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 1968), 43.)

“The cell results from fertilization of an oocyte by a sperm and is the beginning of a human being.”—Dr. Keith L. Moore (Randy Alcorn, Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments. (New York: Multnomah Books, 2000), 52)

“The zygote thus formed represents the beginning of new life”—Doctors J.P. Greenhill and E.A. Friedman

“Every time a sperm cell and an ovum unite a new being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless death is brought about by some specific condition.”—Doctors E.L. Potter and J.M. Craig (Note all italicized quotes are emphasis added by me.)

I’m not a doctor or a biologist, and therefore not 100% certain what all the above means, but it sounds to me like unless something interferes with the stages of development of a fetus, it will continue to go through those stages. A fetus is not as developed as an infant. An infant is not as developed as a toddler. A toddler is not as developed as an adolescent. An adolescent is not as developed as a teenager. A teenager is not as developed as a young adult. A young adult is not as developed as a middle-aged adult. The point is, we all go through these levels of human development. As my friend and Pro-Life Apologist Scott Klusendorf said, “You didn’t come from an embryo; you once were one.” (Barnett, T (2017, January 6) Tips for Discussing Abortions on Line. https://www.str.org/blog/tips-discussing-abortion-online#.XPFEBaHsZZU)

“I understand there is another side to this, however, this is the root of the entire abortion issue and even if there appears to be uncertainty about the question of when life begins, as a civilized society, should we not err on the side of protecting life?”

I understand there is another side to this, however, this is the root of the entire abortion issue and even if there appears to be uncertainty about the question of when life begins, as a civilized society, should we not err on the side of protecting life? The other day I was having a discussion with someone I love dearly who is pro-choice. She started citing Supreme Court decisions to me as evidence that life does not begin at conception. These cases after all, are the basis for Roe v. Wade.

I asked this individual if they were familiar with the Dred Scott decision that made slavery legal in this country and led the government to define people from Africa as 2/3 their worth as a human being. I wondered if they were familiar with Korematsu vs the United States, a case decided in 1944 that allowed Japanese Americans to be interred regardless of their citizenship. My point is that we really shouldn’t point to our government as the bastion and resource of all things moral and good. Ask any Native American or “person of color”.

Look, I’m certainly not trying to diminish anyone’s sex drive or make anyone feel bad. All the things discussed above fall right in line with what Jesus Christ has to say about sex and sanctity of life. Sex is an integral part of who we are and who He created us to be. I mean, there wouldn’t be any people without it, right? God wants us to enjoy things He has gifted us with—but not to the extent of using these things to damage ourselves and others. God is not some cosmic “kill joy”. Like any good father, He lays down boundaries to keep us from harm. If you have children, you probably don’t explain every single rule you give to them and likely those rules cause your children some confusion and even pain. (“I don’t understand why my dad won’t let me go to that party with my friends where there will be no adult supervision and underage drinking. He’s such a jerk.”) The same is true for our Father in Heaven.

So, women (and men) we have choices. We have the choice to not engage in an activity that we know could lead to an unwanted result. We have a choice before every time you have sex to be prepared in the eventwe find ourselves pregnant. We have the choice of keeping the life growing inside of us or doing the incredible selfless act of carrying the baby to full term and allowing a couple who desperately wants children to adopt him or her. For me, I will choose to honor myself, others and God, my Father, with my body.

Because, well, my body, my choice.