Selga's Spot

So I attended an abortion debate yesterday. It was very interesting, as one might expect. I was extremely impressed with both debaters, although David Boonin, who was arguing in favor of the pro-choice argument, really blew my mind (I should admit a little bit of bias, since I am myself pro-choice). His argument was absolutely not what I was expecting to hear. His argument, in a nutshell, was that a fetus has the same right to life (or right to live, whatever) as anyone. What it does not have is the right to another human's body to live. Oh cute: my cat is covering his eyes with his paw. Sorry, I get distracted easily. It's really cute. It's like he's ashamed or something. Maybe he dreamed that he peed and couldn't hide it. ANYWAY! Fetuses! I guess I would say that Boonin's argument centered around consent, in that a woman's consenting to have sex is by no means the same thing as her consenting to have a child. There's plenty of objections to this, one which I myself would argue, but they are sort of not addressing the act of abortion. The objections (use of contraceptives) are really more like suggestions to prevent the need for abortions in the first place, which I think is a perfectly reasonable argument to make. However, should a woman find herself knocked up, I do not think she should be obligated to have the kid. Just my opinion, and anyone who suggests that I'm evil or that I'm saying this because I hate kids is right (at least on the second point).
A few people at the debate went off on tangents during the Q&A portion and didn't really ask relevant questions, which was sort of annoying, though they raised important points. One woman suggested that any woman who actually saw the evidence of the life growing inside them (via a sonogram) would feel differently about having an abortion, and she tearfully objected that life is wonderful, life is sweet, life is soft sand under your feet (she didn't say that last bit). Ok, fine. I don't know what it's like to see proof of the baby in your belly. Never had it happen to me. And she's probably right, it probably would completely change my mind and I would probably rush out and buy sixty thousand diapers and enough formula to feed the entire infantile population of Kenya and what-the-fuck-ever. If I knew I was pregnant, then I knew there was a life inside me. Seeing it might provide a shock, but I don't think it's a sufficient condition to changing my mind. Necessary, bien sûr, but not sufficient.
I should really get the fudge off my soap box now, but this is my blog, so there. I really liked both speakers (honest!), and I think they both made valid points. One of the audience members who went on a little tangent made the point that perhaps people should focus on fixing the world before bringing more people into it, and I have to say that while that doesn't have a damn thing (really) to do with abortion, it's a valid point. The world's overpopulated and rotten with problems which need fixing. The addition of more humans is seriously not helping. In my mind, anything which helps keep the population down (ok, almost anything) is preferential. I'm not suggesting mandatory sterilization or the revival of eugenics, so keep your pants on. Just that perhaps it would be nice to ensure that only people who actually want kids are having them.
Anyone who wants birth control, and effective birth control, should have access to it. Educate people about the consequences of sex. For the people who want kids, throw (legitimate!!!) monetary figures at them so they know how expensive babies are (and not just for them, for everyone and everything [Mother Nature gets a say]). I've heard people saying things like, "How expensive could it be?". Really damn expensive. Education, education, education. I've noticed that highly educated people are always blathering on about education, saying it's the key to everything. And it is. You could cure or destroy the world, all depending on how much you allow people to learn. Enough from me!!!! I'm sick of myself now.
P.S. I got really parentheses happy in this post. Hee!