Originally published between 2011 and 2014, this post has been updated but preserves its original publish date as content is migrated from the archives of The Flavored Word.
I used to be opinionated. Dogmatic, if you will. When I was younger I ,voiced my opinions and never thought much about why I felt the way I did, or why I thought I felt, as I said I did. But now. Now that I am older, I look back and realize I claimed to believe or think along certain paths because I was taught to do so. Not necessarily by my parents, but by society as a whole … by the “village” that raised me … family, friends, friend’s parents, television, books, magazines, priests, teachers …
For the longest time I was steadfastly against abortion. But I was young. And again, my opinions were reflections of my own thoughts mixed together with my observations. My teachings. My lessons learned. I don’t think I understood the issue, but I did understand the ideal that the perfect family represented. One where all children are welcome and wanted by their parents. One where everything worked out … families that wanted two kids, had two kids. Families that wanted six had six. Women who didn’t want children didn’t get pregnant. It was that simple. If only. Of course as I got older, I came to have friends who got pregnant when they didn’t want to be and worse, I learned about the unwanted children in the world. The ones already born and left to fend for themselves, and for me, that’s a far greater atrocity than terminating a pregnancy.
And, so now I understand why abortion needs to be legal and safe. It just has to be. It just does. It isn’t a perfect solution, but for all the young maimed women out there, for all the children brought into this world where no one wants them, for all the alternatives, it is necessary. After all, this is a “brave new world” … now if only all the Alphas, Betas, Gammas and Deltas could get along.
“Abortion is undeniably the taking of potential life. It is not pretty. It is not easy. And in a perfect world, it would not be necessary.”~ Dr. Barnett Slepian (October 21, 1946–October 23, 1998), shot and killed while making soup in his kitchen.
Cover image created with Word, yes, it was that simple : )
DISCLAIMER: I’m a writer and an editor. And I try my best to make sure every post is articulate and free from errors. However, being that I edit my own work—and it’s next to impossible to properly edit your own work—I admit, occasionally there may be an error or two I miss. But doing so doesn’t make me an idiot so don’t be mean. Just smile, pat yourself on the back for finding an error and be glad you’re not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes … xoxox
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