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Bodily Autonomy, Kidney Donations and the Abortion Debate
I enjoy listening to the podcast “The Argument” because it features columnists from both sides of the political spectrum discussing the week’s news in a respectful manner. In a recent episode, the topic was abortion later in pregnancy. As the columnists discussed the issue, I could not help but notice that no one mentioned the woman involved in the situation even once; all the discussion was centered on the unborn baby. While this is not unusual in the abortion debate, I was surprised that within the context of this respectful conversation, no one thought to mention the woman.
Whether we call ourselves pro-life or not, we must consider and respect the life of the person who is carrying the unborn child. The fact that the women involved in the abortion later in pregnancy debate are rarely mentioned reveals not only the bias of anti-abortion activists but the bias within our culture writ large. The misinformation that the anti-abortion proponents spread re-traumatizes the women who undergo this incredibly personal procedure. The idea that women get to their third trimester and suddenly decide that they do not want their baby is demeaning to them. Deciding to have an abortion at any time is an intensely personal decision, and for those who must face the heartbreaking decision later in pregnancy, it is even more so.
