Woman in a Box

People on both sides of the abortion debate tend to oversimplify the issue in a way that favors their point of view.

If only it were that easy, a black and white, right and wrong, binary decision of ethics and morality. The pro choice side never speaks of the emotional scars left by the decision to abort. The pro life side never speaks of the trauma faced by either a single mother or a woman who gives the child up for adoption.

The reality is the decision to keep the child or end the pregnancy is complex and difficult. No woman has ever had an abortion for recreation or because it sounded like fun; it is always a dire circumstance that suggests abortion as a desperate option. This unfortunate condition traps a woman in a no-win situation with the clock ticking loudly.

No matter which way she decides she will suffer and so will her child. To make matters worse, she will endure the scorn of self-appointed moralists for either decision. She will be either the fornicating mother of a bastard or a murderer in their eyes.

In the end, shouldn’t we, as a society, provide viable options and alternatives to abortion while maintaining the freedom that allows a woman the ultimate means to control her own reproductive system?

For some reason, the pro life people believe that outlawing abortion will stop the practice, but history has shown it will not. Ultimately, education, understanding and trusting the affected woman will do the right thing, is the only approach that will work.

After all is said and done, the burden of deciding the future of both mother and child rests on the shoulders of the woman in the box.