I have seen a lot of comments over the years on blogs where funding of Planned Parenthood is discussed... I always see people say that if you take away the funding, you are taking away a Woman's Choice.
How?
I would like those who come across this blog and say the same thing to comment please and tell me HOW taking away funding of Planned Parenthood TAKES AWAY a woman's choice (ex, the most controversial issue, the funding for abortions). How does taking funding away from PP for abortions TAKE AWAY a woman's choice? Even if they are talking about funding for 'free' contraception like condoms and pill prescriptions, how does removing funding take away someone's CHOICE to use it? Last time I checked, people are not forced to have sexual intercourse in 99% of cases - it's a choice, so it should then also be a choice to use contraception to avoid pregnancy, or have an abortion to terminate a pregnancy, so why is taking away funding taking away their CHOICE? I don't understand. If I found myself in a position where I wanted to do the deed, but I did not have contraception available, I DIDN'T DO IT! As a stupid teenager, I made mistakes, but does that mean someone else should have been forced to provide me with the pill, when there was no guarantee I would even take it properly? Etc etc etc.
In my opinion, all it takes away is the free ride. They can still choose to terminate their pregnancy, they just don't have the option to have someone else pay for it through funding/tax dollars. So please explain how removing funding for Planned Parenthood that would be used for abortions takes away a woman's choice.
Thank you :)
Oh and before you talk about how some women do not have the money for the procedure on their own, maybe you should think about how we ALL have to buy food and water every single day of our lives, even though without those items, every single one of us would die. So please do not say that taking away their chance at getting it paid for takes away their choice. That is absolutely NOT the same thing. So - next reason/example please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM
ReplyDeleteI don't believe you want a debate about this, sounds like your mind is already made up,and your opinion immovable,so,you might as well watch the sketch at the link.
DMorris
So what you are saying then is that there is no other way to explain how taking public funding of abortions away means they are taking away a woman's choice to have the procedure or not?
ReplyDeletePerhaps the women should think about that before getting pregnant. Yes I realize for some it happens even when they are using protection properly, but that really is a very small percentage of women, is it not? And to me, rape cases are in a totally different league and funding to help with their decisions should come through the criminal justice system or some sort of public funding. But I am talking about people who willfully engage in sexual activity, end up pregnant, and then go to PP or other programs and receive a free abortion. If the funding was taken away, they still have the CHOICE to go through the procedure, they just have to find another way to fund it. If they do not have another way to fund it, why is it someone else's responsibility to fund it? And why would the choice NOT to help fund it mean taking away that woman's choice? She chose to have unprotected sex, she chose to have an abortion, so she should chose to find a way to pay for it. Is that really a terrible thing?
If there is an error in my thinking, please explain.
Abortions should not be legal. Forcing taxpayers to fund them is adding insult to injury. Canada is losing about 100,000 citizens a year through abortions.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I'm a guy so what do I know, but while I'm perfectly willing to take responsibility for the pregnancies that I do cause, I am under no obligation to take responsibility for those that I do not cause. If there is strong societal support for helping those with unfortunate pregnancies then PP can raise their money privately. If not, well, that's just too bad. Our society, which is defined by the interaction of free individuals and not by the oppressive regulation of authoritarian government, will have decided that it does not support that particular value. Most people will learn and adapt accordingly. In a free society those that want to support abortions would still be free to do so.
ReplyDeleteA woman can choose to have sex. A woman can choose to use birth control. There's the choice. I am not responsible for the consequences of her making the wrong choice. There is very little reason for unwanted pregnancy in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteSmall Town Guy, you are certainly entitled to your beliefs. I do not wish this to become a pro-life vs pro-choice issue. Simply the funding. JohnDoe gets what I was trying to talk about and I think these lines sum it up perfectly ""while I'm perfectly willing to take responsibility for the pregnancies that I do cause, I am under no obligation to take responsibility for those that I do not cause...In a free society those that want to support abortions would still be free to do so.""
ReplyDeleteanonymous also stated that he/she is not responsible for someone else's choice. That is the key issue to me. Ending funding for abortions does not take away the woman's choice. It takes away her CHANCE to get it for free, but not her choice. If she is unable to pay, that is a separate issue, in my opinion. And as JohnDoe said, if people want to support the procedure being made available, they can certainly privately donate to clinics that perform it. In that case, those who cannot afford to pay for the procedure they CHOOSE to have can still receive it at little-to-no cost.
Anonymous also said ""There is very little reason for unwanted pregnancy in this day and age. "". Good point as well. Roe vs Wade is often quoted in the US for this issue - but that was in the early 70s and in 2011 there are far more things available out there to help avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Multitudes of different types of contraception, programs like Planned Parenthood that hand out free condoms, contraception being covered under many prescription insurance programs, sex education standard in schools, heavy media awareness of teen pregnancy, open discussion on the topic instead of hush-hush family secrets, and the list goes on.
I watched an episode of Law and Order last year where this was covered. The female DA character said that when Roe vs Wade came out, she cheered for women's rights, but today she is not sure that it's not severely outdated. That it no longer is pertinent because of the changes in science and society. Her character was left pondering whether Roe vs Wade should not even be cited anymore. And that really rang true with me.
I can walk into my local health unit and find a basket full of condoms and take the whole darn thing if I wish. They will just fill it back up again. If I am a low income person, I can get the Adult Health Benefit and get 70 to 100% of my birth control pill, depo shot, hormone implants, or IUD paid for courtesy of the tax payer and if I use it properly, I have an over 95% chance of NOT getting pregnant and then not needing thousands of dollars handed to me for a termination.
We are not idiots. We know all about where babies come from and how they get there. We are smart people. So why do we continue to feel that we need to pay for those who KNOW this and yet don't care and just go out and get pregnant and then dash to the clinic for 'help'?
Now, there might be a 13 year old girl who has been told all this but obviously is not fully capable of understanding the depths of her decision to have sex, and then she might become pregnant and I would not want to force her to birth that child. However, does that mean I should then be forced to pay for it? Or does that mean her parents, grandparents, auntie, etc should get the money together to help their family member with her decision? Or if they are all low income, why can't someone who chooses to donate money to the clinic be the one to help pay?
Teenagers can get free birth control at medical clinics in Manitoba - I don't know about other provinces. They are smarter than you think. My teenager told me that all her friends take advantage of this.
ReplyDeletei mean well its just because and you know government money and you know, well just because.
ReplyDeleteno abortion is free no matter where the money comes from.
ReplyDelete