Let’s re-write the petition to say what it implies:
We should ban [contraceptives, condoms, birth control] and
other [such devices]. They only encourage risky behavior. The only 100%
effective way to prevent [pregnancy] is total abstinence from [sexual
intercourse]. And if you do by chance find yourself struggling with [an
unplanned/unwanted pregnancy] then no [abortion or abortifacient drug] should
be allowed to be administered. You got yourself into this mess, you have to
live with the consequences. You should see [your baby] as a gift. Also if you were
forcibly [raped], don’t worry. If it was a legitimate [rape] your body will
[prevent conception from occurring].
Okay. Let’s work with this comparison. As Jennifer Fulwiler
points out, “They just compared the birth of a baby to a horrible form of death.” Life-ending
or life-preventing drugs, devices, and procedures are compared to a life-saving
safety device. Pregnancy, giving birth,
and babies themselves are compared to drowning (i.e., new life is as bad as
death). The only good comparison in this
mess is matching sexual intercourse with water. I agree with this one, because
water, like sex, is an incredible good, without which none of us would be here.
Both are necessary for life, and can be sources of great beauty and wonder, and
of great fun! If used improperly, both can be very dangerous.
It is true that the only surefire way to avoid getting
pregnant is to not have sex. Any other form of birth control or family planning
has a fail rate, however small. That doesn’t mean it is not worth the risk to
have sex. Of course it is worth the
risk! Swimming is fun, and I’m not going to let a small chance of drowning keep
me from swimming. Similarly, people should have sex and have it often, but they
should do so in a responsible manner. Just as you would not let children who
don’t know how to swim play unsupervised in the water (even with a life
jacket!), people who aren’t ready for sexual intercourse and everything that it
entails should not have sex. Unless you can swim or are with someone who can,
don’t fool around with water; don’t get in over your head. Likewise, unless you
are ready to for your biological system to be filled with a cocktail of chemicals
that bind you to your sexual partner, unless you can handle a faithful,
permanent relationship that may result in new life (we call that marriage),
don’t have sexual intercourse.
There are rules, rules that exist for everyone’s wellbeing,
governing when you can be in the ocean, where you can swim in a lake, what time
of day you can visit the pool. If you want to swim, you must play by the rules.
If you have your own, permanent pool, belonging to you alone, you have to be
willing to accept the responsibilities that come with pool ownership.
Yet if you do break the rules, and find yourself drowning
and in danger of death, any decent person would throw you a life jacket and do
whatever is necessary to save your life, even if the procedures or drugs needed
indirectly and foreseeably kill the child growing within you. However, direct
abortion is never medically necessary, as noted by the International Symposium on Excellence in Maternal Healthcare. If
your life is not in danger, carry the child to term, and put him or her up for
adoption if you do not want the child. Sometimes life is difficult,
inconvenient, full of unplanned events that may or may not be pleasant, and
that may even put one’s health at risk. None of these things justify killing
anyone who happens to inconvenience us, or make us uncomfortable, or otherwise
bother us.
The last bit about cases of sexual assault, a parody of Missouri
Congressman Todd Akin’s incorrect and unscientific statement about rape,
represents the views of approximately no one. Rape is a tragic, traumatizing, horrible
crime, and it can result in the victim becoming pregnant. But if someone
intentionally hurts you, you are still not justified in later coming after them
and killing your attacker. Much less would you be justified in taking the life
of an innocent child, regardless of how tragic the circumstances of his or her
conception. No matter what has been done to you, no one is ever justified in harming,
or killing, another innocent human being.
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