Now more than ever, our country is crying out that “It’s My Body: My Choice.” We hear it from the anti-vaxxers who detest Covid shots, we hear it from the pro-choice groups after the stunning reversal of Roe v. Wade, and we hear it from the free thinkers in San Francisco who want to legalize all drugs. But is this statement true?
Do we have the moral or legal right to do something simply because it involves our own bodies? And if so, why is it that each group believes they can have this freedom unhindered and without consequences, while all others must exercise this right with reasonable restraint?
Clever slogans are nice. But they’re no shortcut for rigorous thought and debate. We have to review the consequences of our actions. It’s time we see what this statement really means for us an individuals, as families and as a society.
“My body: my choice” is far from a compelling argument. It totally ignores the moral implications of our actions. And it often disingenuously pretends that we live in a fairy tale oasis where our choices rarely affect other people.
So I challenge you to examine your own heart as to why you would take this position. If you think this gives you the right to an abortion, then shouldn’t this also allow anti-vaxxers to avoid getting a Covid shot? After all, they simply want the government to keep their hands off their bodies. And what about the hard core drug user who thinks it’s none of your business what they put into their body? Are you ready to champion their right to consume dangerous narcotics?
My Body: My Choice? The Right To Freely Use Crack or Heroin
Most pro-abortion and anti-vaxxer advocates probably oppose the idea that all drugs should be legal. The reason: Deep down they know two things: 1. Human life has value even if the drug addict doesn’t think so. Therefore, letting them ravage their bodies and discrown their mental faculties is not a viable option we want to give them. It’s simply the wrong thing to do.
2. The right for drug addicts to make choices about their bodies is not an absolute right. People don’t live in a vacuum. In their day to day lives, they interact with countless others as they work, drive, and go shopping. What they do to their bodies also has an impact on their unborn children. This includes birth defects that occur during pregnancy (crack babies and mental retardation, etc.). Further, there is obvious societal harm to children who see their parents use dangerous drugs as if this were no big thing.
We also know the devastating effects of these drugs. And we know that people on crack and heroin are bound to hurt other people, whether they mean to or not. The reality is that we live in a society where everything we do has an impact on someone else. And so it’s a pollyanna delusion that we have an absolute right to do what we want with our bodies. This is why we have drunk driving laws and laws that forbid us to smoke crack even in the privacy of our own homes. This is why there are seat belt and helmet laws that restrict us even when we’re alone and on deserted roads. Yes, it’s our body. But we have limits on what we can do with it.
My Body: My Choice? The Right To Reject Taking The Covid Vaccine
Interestingly enough, most abortion advocates oppose the stance of the anti-vaxxers. But why is this so? Like pro-choice advocates, the anti-vaxxers claim that it’s Their Body: Their Choice. And they simply want the right to refuse a Covid vaccine, which in their view has been poorly tested and could possibly cause destructive life-long side effects.
The reason pro-choice advocates oppose anti-vaxxers is because deep down they know one thing above all else. They know without a doubt that human life has value beyond the anti-Vaxxers’ right to choose what’s best for their own bodies. They also know that no one lives in a vacuum. The choice not to get a Covid shot could directly impact the anti-vaxxer’s innocent children. They also know that the anti-Vaxxer’s right to choose could cause others to get sick and die. With this in mind, those for pro-choice can still disagree with the anti-vaxxer’s right to choice.
My Body: My Choice? The Right To An Abortion
As with the other positions above, pro-choicers maintain they have a moral right to do what they want with their bodies. And yet, how is their position any better than that of the anti-vaxxers? With the anti-vaxxers, their avoidance of the Covid shot could cause loss of human life. But such is not guaranteed. However, with abortion, the loss of human life is 100% guaranteed. The baby will never be born if you abort it.
So why is this right to gouge the womb more vital than the anti-vaxxer’s right to be left alone? The key question is if the body in the mother’s womb is human life or not human life. If it is more like a piece of dandruff or a toe nail clipping, then My Body, My Choice sounds very appealing. But if it is something more…If it is human life…then my body my choice, no longer applies. Rather, just like with the anti-vaxxers and the drug addicts, the correct statement should be “My Body My Choice. Someone Else’s Body, NOT My choice.”
Honest Questions to Ask About Abortion:
- What are the moral and ethical limits to abortion? What makes a fetus into a human being with human rights?
- Should a mother be able to kill her unborn child up to the point of birth? And why stop at birth? Most children are not viable (as in self sustaining) until at least 3 years of age. Is viability simply an arbitrary standard of when to abort so people can feel better about their decision?
- Should a mother be able to abort a 6 month old unborn child for any reason? (Revenge against the father? Dim economic outlook? She wants a boy more than a girl? She’s embarrassed she’s pregnant? She wants to afford college? A baby will ruin her figure? The baby is black and she wants a white one?)
- Does this right to abort trump the legal right to simply drop the baby anonymously off at the hospital with no questions asked? Or to give the child up for adoption? (Should the 9 month trauma caused by an unwanted baby-which to some justifies an abortion, always count more than the less drastic alternative of saving the life inside of her?)
- Is it morally OK to use a suction device to crush the head and suck out the brains of an unborn child? (a graphic reality in many but not all abortions). Does this description bother you? Have you researched if this is accurate?
- Would you still be up for abortion at all times, if we carved out special abortion exceptions for rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother? Or are these just outlier examples to conceal that abortion should be available for anyone, at any time, for any reason?
- What is the real right the pro-choice movement is fighting for? Is it the right to kill an unborn child-no questions asked, and at any stage of development before birth?
- Is it possible that abortion providers don’t want you to ask these questions? That just maybe, they have a high $ stake to make abortion immediate upon demand, so women will rush to abort and get it done with before considering any pro-life alternatives?
Abortion Alternatives
Option Line: Locate a Pregnancy Help Center Near You (US and Canada)
Option Line is a program of Heartbeat International, with the toll-free number 1 (800) 712-HELP, and website optionline.org available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via e-mail, instant message and telephone. Their option line offers local assistance and compassionate outreach to women facing crisis pregnancies so that they receive the life-affirming, practical support needed to choose life, whether by being a parent, or placing the child for adoption.
Option Line refers each contact to a pregnancy help center near them for services including pregnancy tests, ultrasound, material aid and/or answers to questions about abortion, adoption, parenting, medical referrals, housing, and many other issues.
Housing & Other Support For Pregnant Women Who Want To Keep Their Babies (Google)
(In the Google Search Box Add The City or State Where You Live)
Many of these groups provide housing and financial assistance to pregnant mothers so they can choose life over abortion.
Other Blogs
So Awesome! Thank you Graham!