Short-Post-Friday Abortion and Roe V. Wade

 Today, with the supreme court ruling effectively overturning Roe V. Wade, I expect a waterfall of religious organizations weighing in and talking about the good or the bad they see in the situation. I have a fear though, that all it will do is make religious people look dumber than we already portray. 

In Texas for instance, there's quite a financial bounty for turning in a would-be abortion customer. I can only imagine there will be many-a religious folk who 'think they do the Lord a service' as they bring charges against an impoverished and confused woman on the way to stop her life from falling apart.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not at all saying that such a woman is correct, quite the opposite, but the fix is Education not Criminal charges, possible incarceration and another child in the 'care' of CPS. 

I'm also worried about the underground issue. We KNOW what happens every single time the government makes something illegal, it doesn't make the thing go away. It only makes it the thing valuable and pushes it into the shadows where it can multiply unregulated and wreak havoc. Don't believe for a moment that elected officials haven't ALREADY sold protections to 'buddies' in the underground trade.

Once again, I'm not suggesting Abortion should be Legal, not at all, but Politics NEVER has a solution. The solution to Abortion is not a LAW, it's education.

I really hope against all hope that the Religious folks of the USA will double down on education service to those in need, though I don't hold my breath.

Abortion is a horrible problem, I hope to God we won't make it a worse one.


Comments

  1. BlakeJune 28, 2022 at 3:15 PM

    Yea...no one likes abortion—no one (most of all those getting them). I too fear that 'religious folks' will see this as an excuse to say, "There! We're done!" What we need is education AND resources for those caught in the middle of a crisis pregnancy.

    That being said, there is plenty of evidence to support access to something causes its proliferation. The idea is explored in Malcom Gladwell's book, Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know, and the chapter on Sylvia Plath’s unfortunate suicide and the concept of “coupling.” The idea behind coupling, which stands in contrast to displacement, is that when someone makes the very sad decision to commit suicide (abortion), it can often be coupled to a particular place or context.

    Malcolm starts by giving the example of “town gas.” Prior to it being phased out in the 1960s and 1970s, most homes in Britain relied on a form of gas that contained carbon monoxide. And sadly, it became the most popular way for people to kill themselves. When Sylvia Plath took her own life in 1962, the death-by-carbon-monoxide-poisoning stat was 44.2% of all suicides in England and Wales.

    The concept of displacement, on the other hand, surmises that if somebody wants to kill themselves(or their baby), they will eventually find another way (back-alley abortions) . But Malcolm convincingly argues that that is not necessarily or very often the case. As town gas was phased out of British homes, the number of suicides also declined in lockstep. Turns out that many of the previous suicides had been coupled to that particular tool. Same case was made about those living close to the San Francisco bridge.

    The point is this, making it more difficult to get access to abortion services will decrease the amount of abortions, period. There are crisis pregnancy organizations (Houston Coalition for Life) who are reporting on how NOW is a crucial time for abortion-minded women who have been referred out of state to visit clinics. This organization is able to educate those women about other options and resources that could change the outcome of their unborn child.

    Again, no one likes abortion...and looking down our collective noses at those who are caught in a tailspin isn't the answer (nor is vilifying well-meaning ignorant Christians). Like you said, let hope, and act, to assist those who are least in our community. Because we know the elites will have options that the others simply do not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seth ForrestierJune 29, 2022 at 4:53 PM

      Im not entirely sold on Gladwell's use displacement theory. While there is certainly a subset of people who only ride the fringes, that's to say in this context, only getting abortions because it's convenient, they certainly don't appear to be the majority.
      The outcry is so strong right now, and the total message is not one of "oh, I guess I can't do that anymore, bummer.".

      Displacement theory in this context is either wrong or too shallow at best.

      Prohibition, the war on drugs, gun bans, etc... these are much better examples than suicide by carbon monoxide. I highly HIGHLY doubt suicides rates in general were changed by changing fuel types.

      Already CNN is openly promoting a black-market website for Abortion Pills. These pills are flying off the shelves in BULK right now, I expect they will be 10x more accessible than a planned parenthood waiting room within weeks.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJune 30, 2022 at 7:34 AM

      Here is a link (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1147403) to an independent study supporting his assertions on coupling vs displacement.

      "I highly HIGHLY doubt suicides rates in general were changed by changing fuel types."

      That's exactly what happened and WHY* it is remarkable. People (on the average) underestimate the effect of coupling. This is precisely why I brought it up. I think we underestimate the coupling effect on women (and men's) psyche. I know your point is that others (mainly religious people) are currently overestimating this coupling effect—fait enough. My point is they don't understand why ease of access is a major contributing factor that influences the way* individuals think about abortion. I will relent that it doesn't account for a major increase in the total aggregate of abortions and maybe only accounts for a small percentage increase and maybe I'm "staining at gnats here", but my main point is that overturning RvW is good thing for reasons we probably aren't aware of.

      "Already CNN is openly promoting a black-market website for Abortion Pills. These pills are flying off the shelves in BULK right now, I expect they will be 10x more accessible than a planned parenthood waiting room within weeks."

      Are you claiming that we will see an increase* in abortions after RvW being overturned?

      Delete
  2. Ashley MolufJune 28, 2022 at 4:41 PM

    specifically, what type of educational plan do you think would help and abortion?

    ReplyDelete

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