Bioethics and a Woman’s Right to Choose
The recent elections brought the issue of abortion to the fore – with Sarah Palin and her Down Syndrome baby at the center of media attention, much was said about the fact that Palin choose to have little Trig even though she knew he was likely to be born with special needs. And that’s the stand that she expected other women in her situation to take as well; she believed they should eschew abortion under all circumstances.
But it’s not always such a cut-and-dried situation, as the women at the heart of the controversy will tell you. It’s their body that has to go through changes for nine months; it’s they who have to find means to take care of the child; it’s they who have to take time off work to deliver the baby and look after him/her for the initial few months; and if the baby is born with special needs, it may involve giving up a job that puts food on the table in order to provide around the clock care for the child, an option that leaves them hanging somewhere between the devil and the deep sea.
With all these issues that affect the women who are pregnant and who wish to abort their unborn babies for some reason or the other, why is it that it’s the policymakers and lobbyists who get to decide on an inflammatory subject like abortion? Isn’t it more a question of personal choice and belief? I mean, if you’re a Catholic and you believe that contraception is not for you, that abortion is not for you, then you’re likely to be happy with the brood of children you’re likely to have. And you’re probably likely to believe that the Lord will take care of your needs as the children grow and as your financial resources dry up.
But then that’s totally up to you to decide. Just like the other women out there who believe they should use contraception to prevent an unplanned pregnancy, who believe they have a right to abort their unborn fetus when other priorities take precedence, who believe they have a right to do other things with their lives rather than take care of a chronically ill baby, and most important of all, who believe that they are definitely doing the right thing for their child by choosing not to give them a life that could only be a pale imitation of the real thing at best.
Biotechnology and medicine are working hand in hand to improve and save lives, and if they’re used to kill fetuses, it’s because there’s a reason to do so.
