That Texas law

I never had and never wanted an abortion in my childbearing years. Still, I can imagine circumstances under which I would have done this: a severely deformed or dying fetus; trapped in an abusive relationship; raped by a man I would never choose to father my child.

We Americans are fair. We can step into someone else’s shoes. This new Texas law is alien to American values. Texas is not a role model: it has the largest population of children in poverty in the country. It is the state with the highest rate of uninsured people. It is no accident that about 70 percent of abortions in Texas involve women of color.

Small-minded, vengeful leaders would punish rape victims by forcing them to give birth to the rapist’s child. Another sign of moral regression: the inclusion of bounty hunting, a medieval practice that was only legal in the United States and the Philippines.

The whole abortion controversy has sunk into a quagmire of convoluted language, omission lies, and logical fallacies, including the false assumption that abortion becomes illegal in order to end it. History and worldwide experience show that criminalization hardly affects the numbers, it simply makes abortions unsafe.

Anti-abortionists ignore the economy. The average cost of a normal delivery without insurance is $ 10,000, and much more for a caesarean section, complications, premature baby, or low birth weight child. In Arkansas, 12 percent of women are uninsured. Even the insured pay thousands because of high deductibles. Covid unemployment, gig economy, automation make working life more insecure. The majority of young parents (85 percent) say they spend at least 10 percent of their income on daycare.

Words are important. You cannot easily redefine it. Until recently, everyone knew what a baby was: a baby is born. The terms embryo and fetus date back to the 14th century.

People have been arguing since ancient times about when exactly the fertilized egg cell becomes a person with a soul. Different religions differ in this regard. For practical reasons, we cannot determine the time of conception, whether it is fertilization or implantation in the uterus a few days later. Between a third and a half of all fertilized egg cells do not implant.

Brain activity does not mean awareness. Viability depends on the state of medical science. Instead of absolute answers, a philosopher suggests that there are degrees of the “right to life”. This is reflected in laws and in practice. Ninety-one percent of abortions occur on or before week 13.

By pretending that a first trimester abortion is the equivalent of infanticide, one becomes a knight in shining armor who prevents the “murder” of “babies”. More sincere pro-life people are actively trying to help women with unplanned pregnancies. At best, this creates adoptions or helps women with immediate needs. (The first year of diapers and formulas was estimated to be $ 2,700.)

Pro-life is a term chosen because of its propaganda value to describe a very limited agenda. If you were really for life you would do something about the shamefully high maternal mortality rate in our country (55th in the world) and the child mortality rate, which is almost twice that of the European Union. They would work towards world peace and disarmament; You would be a climate activist and a conservationist.

Even confined to the “unborn”, the movement ignores several real dangers for this population group. The first is toxic pollution from smog, heavy metals, cigarette smoke, forest fires, pesticides, industrial emissions, and many other sources. Second, domestic violence: According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 324,000 pregnant women are molested each year. Third, global threats to pregnant women from war and famine. (But this is really all about America and American politics, isn’t it?)

What Does the Bible Say About Abortion? Well, actually nothing. Southern Baptists did not speak out against abortion until the 1980s. Regardless of church doctrine, about half of lay Catholics want it to remain legal. So does the majority of non-evangelical Protestants, Jews and most of the religiously non-members (now a quarter of us). Those who want to impose their own faith on the whole country are too close to establishing a state religion.

Like the majority of Americans, I want abortion to remain an option. We could emulate countries with lower abortion rates than ours.

Some ways to reduce the number of abortions are: 1. Inexpensive, readily available contraceptives, free from health insurers; 2. Universal health care; 3. Higher minimum wage; 4. parental leave; 5. Affordable, quality childcare; 6. high school parenting courses for girls and boys; 7. Ongoing research on contraceptives, especially for men; and 8. Child benefit (no social assistance) like a dozen other rich countries.

Coralie Koonce is a writer and lives in Fayetteville. Her latest book is “Twelve Dispositions: A Field Guide to Humans”.