Thoughts on Abortion

 

"Am I going to hell if I have an abortion?"

So. After watching the episode of Friday Night Lights in Professor Harris' lecture on abortion, I was struck with two thoughts: first, Tim Riggins is incredibly sexy (though I already knew this as I am an FNL fanatic) and second, our obsession with teenage - or "underage" - abortion is extremely puzzling.

I understand that Becki is only a sophomore in high school (grade ten? do the math - fifteen years old) and being knocked up so young isn't the greatest position to find yourself in. I understand that it's particularly shameful in such a small Christian town as Dillon, Texas, though any community, city, town, or otherwise would likely have the same reaction. I understand teen pregnancy is one of the greatest fears for any mother or father. I get that it's looked down upon in our society but to be frank, I think our dependence on abortion and the frenzy over rising levels of teen pregnancy reflect far more an issue with society than with our youth, the media that affects them, or any other external factors.

Biologically, women are built for pregnancy in their teenage years. According to our biological clocks we are supposed to be getting pregnant and bearing children during our teenage years. Males and females alike are raging with hormones during these years and, in fact, these are the years we produce the healthiest children. How can you possibly blame teens for having sex? And consequently, how can you possibly blame them for getting pregnant?

Oh, no, no, my mistake - we aren't blaming teenage girls for getting pregnant - we're blaming them for having abortions. The set-up of our society sets them up for failure - and then blames them for choosing the alternative. In condemning abortions, we are indeed absolutely blaming young women for getting pregnant. We are judging them, criticizing them, making them feel as though they are wrong and stupid and naive for having got "knocked up" - no of course you can't have an abortion - that's wrong - you shouldn't have been having sex so young - now you have to deal with the consequences of your actions! Read between the lines of  pro-lifer material and the Pope's statements on abortion and that is exactly the message.


The effects of this are wrong on a number of levels. We are making girls feel shame about something natural. Pregnancy at a young age was glorified in past eras; today it is mocked, ridiculed, shamed, swept under the carpet and hidden behind closed doors. With that kind of condescending attitude towards teen pregnancy, abortion presents itself as the only viable option. Not only are we talking about the attitudes of parents, friends, neighbors, boyfriend, peers, teachers, society as a whole, but we are also talking about future. Even if a girl was strong enough to deal with the emotional abuse that comes with learning of teen pregnancy (look at Becki's mom - essentially all she said was "You're an idiot.") she then has to think about her options in terms of education and career. How can she raise a child when she's sixteen years old? Unless she has full financial and emotional support from her family, the future looks pretty grim. High schools, universities, and colleges are not adequately equipped to deal with teenage mothers. Job opportunities die quick deaths when a newborn or toddler is involved, as does any hope of moving up in the world financially. Children will obviously drain your bank account and when the bank isn't stacked to begin with, teenage mothers are looking at a life of struggling simply to stay afloat.

You want to lessen abortion and thus save the lives of millions of fetuses? Try looking at the patriarchal system currently in place. Entirely set up by men for men, Western society is built on a timeline that clashes completely with the female biological cycle. The issue is not with abortion, nor is it with teen pregnancy. A much deeper issue is brewing underneath the surface, and perhaps if we focused on that then abortion and teen pregnancy would lessen considerably. Perhaps we should set things up in a way that produces healthy babies and healthy mothers, and this would include younger mothers and "youth" pregnancy. Day-cares, jobs, universities etc should be built around this clock rather than an unrealistic and male-based one we currently operate on.