The John Lennon song “Imagine” is not generally my cup of tea, thematically speaking (as a huge Beatles fan, I love the music, of course), but the notion of wishing for a world unburdened by all the typical failings of the human experience is an understandable if fanciful endeavor.
However, with several states rushing to enshrine 3rd trimester abortions and even infanticide into state law, I found myself wondering, imagining, what the world might be like if we didn’t have abortion….
After all, abortion is not a happy thing, no matter what the circumstances. Women who are faced with this issue are dealing with an outcome they did not want or desire. Even if a woman in this predicament has zero problems with the idea of abortion, she knows that it is not a “good” thing to be doing, regardless of what the insane “Shout Your Abortion” folks may say.
So let’s think about this a bit. If abortion were not available as a last resort in case contraception or willpower fails, there would also be far fewer unwanted pregnancies. Why? Because people would need to limit their sexual activity with only someone they were truly in love with, someone they loved enough to have a child together.
That would cause people to really think twice about engaging in intimate sexual behavior with anyone but that special someone. Of course, there would still be irregular sexual encounters, for as weak human creatures we sometimes fail to control our impulses, but I’m guessing there would be far less hooking up, one night stands, date rape, real rape, and generally risky behavior if everyone one knew that abortion was not an option.
Sexually transmitted diseases would decline as well, including AIDS, as would the use of birth control, because birth control often fails to work or is not properly used, which is why abortions have actually increased in number along with greater usage of contraception.
Men and women would be forced to treat each other with more respect and not as mere objects.
Children would be born into a situation where they were welcomed heartily by two loving parents. That combination is one of the surest ways to drastically reduce poverty and, statistically speaking, ensure a happy, well-behaved child.
Instead, we have created a society that uses abortion as a backstop to risky, dangerous, and emotionally damaging sexual behavior. It’s hard to identify who the “winners” are from this situation, though promiscuous, unprincipled men would be at the top of the list (which is probably why it was a cadre of men who pushed NOW to adopt abortion into their feminist agenda back in the late 1960s).
A society that forces women into getting abortions is one that has fundamentally failed women, especially the ones destroyed in the womb. It is a society that says the death and destruction of the most innocent is an acceptable way to deal with a problem and enables behaviors that are ultimately contrary to the development of human goodness. And it is a society that puts the burden of the guilt and physical suffering that result from abortion squarely on women.
Look, I’m not necessarily advocating outlawing abortion immediately and across the board. Rather, I am advocating a change in our thinking about it and the behaviors that lead to it.
Outlawing abortion in our current societal condition would likely result in more harm than good, sort of like what happened with Prohibition. But if we can work through our culture to change how we view sexuality and restore it to its proper place within the confines of a loving marriage, we could naturally reduce the need for abortion and improve the well-being of adults and children alike.
So, I may just indeed try to imagine where we could truly live “as one,” where all persons, regardless of age, location, or stage of life, are welcomed and cherished. Imagine it, if you can.
Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.
Mr. Hoffman is spewing ignorance all over your paper and county. What he says is also offensive. Date rape is not real rape? What a crock! Do you have a daughter, Mr. Hoffman? Would you tell her it wasn’t real if her date raped her? And do you actually believe rapists care about the legality of abortion? They obviously don’t care about the law or the woman, but if abortion were illegal they’d avoid raping people?! How ludicrous! And there’s so much more ignorance in this post, I’m wondering why it rated publication. Shameful!