WHEN CHOICE IS NOT A CHOICE

It amazed me how shortsighted politicians can be. These are people who are supposed to be able to look beyond their own experiences. Until I entered the world of politics, I believed that politicians were folks who wanted to make the world a better place. Now I feel that most of them are power mongers who could care less if the world was better as long as their world is better.

The issue that has me riled up today is abortion. It is a horrible commentary on this country that abortion, which was made legal over 20 years ago, is still inaccessible for many women. Making this medical procedure difficult to obtain is a slap in the face to the poor. Back before abortion was legal, women with economic means seeking to end an unwanted pregnancy could simply pay a willing doctor enough money, pay a psychiatrist to label them suicidal or simply travel to a place where abortion was legal. Even now, the accessibility issue does not harm women with economic means. Abortions not available anywhere near your South Dakota ranch? Just fly to NY or somewhere closer and, if you have health insurance, pay only the co-pay. Sweet deal.

But, that is a small subset of the people who are affected by restrictions on abortion. Women without access to nearby clinic face travel expenses and missed work days that could end in bankruptcy. And without insurance or emergency funding, procedures can run into the thousands.

What makes me most angry are the laws that Congress is attempting to pass in order to “protect” children from having abortions. The argument most heard in stories like the one posted here:

Joyce’s daughter, Crystal, was only 12 years old when she was intoxicated and raped by a 19-year-old whom she had met at the high school where she attended the seventh grade. On August 31, 1995, Crystal Farley went missing. An investigation conducted by the police and school officials discovered that Crystal may have been transported out of state to receive an abortion. Her mother had no idea that Crystal was pregnant. To Joyce’s horror, after Crystal had been returned home early that afternoon, she learned that the mother of the 19-year-old male had transported her daughter to New York to get an abortion.

Let’s start at the beginning with this one. Was there a reason that Crystal did not want to tell her mother about the pregnancy? Did she come from an abusive household or was she afraid of being kicked out for violating her mother’s religious beliefs? And what about the fact that she was intoxicated? If Joyce was such a dedicated parent, how was her 12 year old out drinking? What happened to Crystal is horrible, but why should a traumatic experience be compounded by having to tell your parents instead of someone else?

For some girls, there is a safety issue. There is a woman who I will call K. She ran away from an abusive home at 16. Was she supposed to tell her mother that she was pregnant with her father’s baby after years of rape and incest? Since her mother was, according to K, aware of her father’s visits to her room, would K have been supported in her decision to have an abortion or would she have been beaten? Regardless of what would have happened, she assumed the answer was the latter. If a law like the Child Custody Protection Act is passed, where does it leave young girls like K?