Why Abortion?

"Why abortion?" is a preeminent social concern. This week's Mustard Seed explores the rationale for opposing abortion as a remedy for pregnancies resulting from consensual intercourse. I will not, at this time, broach the much larger discussions of abortion as a medical intervention to protect the life of the mother or abortion as a remedy for coerced sexual activity. 
Pro-life advocates recognize every foetus as a human with their inherent right to live. The right to live is the most basic of all rights; before the right to live, all other rights are moot. Any act that threatens one's right to live undermines our entire social structure. 
    Another basic right in our society is free choice. Our actions often, however, impact others. We must balance our own rights against the rights of others. We usually agree in advance to how much of our time, talents, and treasure we will cede for the specified the time, talent, and treasure of others. If our actions have unintended results, we must still accept the consequences.
    When driving, we know accidents are a common but unintended potential consequence of driving. If we cause an accident which renders another person dependant we have a moral and legal obligation to provide for their care. By driving we imply acceptance of unintended consequences.
    Sexual intercourse also has a well-known potential consequence. The voluntary act initiated by the mother and father, similarly to driving, renders them liable to provide for any resulting children until they reach independence.
     It is absurd to even consider that a driver's obligation to anyone they incapacitate in a traffic accident could be resolved by the driver unilaterally deciding to kill that person. Anti-abortionists see abortion as a direct parallel; the unilateral decision to kill the child in order to resolve the parents of their obligation. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that, whereas the victim of a motor vehicle accident may or may not bare partial blame, the unborn child is completely and utterly innocent. 
   For the pro-life advocate, there is no greater injustice than intentionally extinguishing a perfectly innocent and totally vulnerable life purely for the convenience of those who act freely to create that life.
     Next week: Why abortion is chosen by some people.
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