In "Mexican rape victim, 13, denied access to abortion", Nina Lakhani reported that a 13-year-old Mexican girl raped by acquaintance was refused to access a safe abortion service because the court had made the decision that it is not a rape but it is just a sexual coercion. (2016)
_______________________________________
My Yes/No question is:
Should abortion be banned?
My answer is:
Yes, it should be banned but not every circumstance.
When I read this article, there are a couple of questions popped up in my head. Is it justified for a man to force this girl have sex with him involuntarily? What did this girl do wrong? Did she wear sexy outfit or do something to lure him? Why she deserved to live the rest of her life with her unexpected pregnancy? The answers of these questions are also obvious in my head. This girl at the age of 13 did nothing wrong. I don't think she wore a spaghetti strap and mini skirt to lure a man and even though she did wear something like that, it doesn't mean that a man has rights to rape her. It is common sense that rape is bad things. No one wants this to happen to our beloved ones.
I cannot see the difference between abortion and killing other people. Both of them have the same result, causing someone death. Actually, abortion is worse because the person who is killed is innocent child who doesn't even have a chance to born. Therefore, it is not too fast to say that abortion is morally and legally wrong. We all know that. That is why I answer to the Yes/No question that abortion which is another version of killing should be banned. So, when it turns out that ones have unexpected pregnancy with their partner, they should not be allowed to kill them. Because it is wrong. It is as easy as that.
I still stick with my opinion that abortion is totally wrong but in some specific circumstance it is important to do something to ease the negative consequences. That is the reason why there should be an exception to allow woman to access abortion service. For example, the event that the sexual crime causes unexpected pregnancy. As I mention above in the first paragraph that the girl did nothing wrong. She might just enjoy herself at the garden but unfortunately she was raped by a bad guy. I don't think she deserve this. I mean she does not deserve to be raped and to be an unintended mother at this very young age. She is only 13 years old. It is obviously not a proper time to raise other people when ones still consider themselves as a child and can't even financially support herself. I can't even imagine in what ways the child will be raised if we wait until he/she grow up. Prevention is better than cure.
I also think of the case when the expectant mother's health is in a really bad condition, so she has to choose between her life and her child's life. If she choose to get rid of her child for the sake of her health, is this bad? Is it wrong?
_______
Reference
Lakhani, N. (2016, August 1). Mexican rape victim, 13, denied access to abortion. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/01/mexican-victim-13-refused-access-to-abortion?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Thank you Pun for a great post for us to argue about.
ReplyDeleteI am curious to see the responses to Pun's strongly stated opinion on this highly controversial issue. Which side is right and which is wrong?
US law allows abortion on demand for any reason.
Thai law does not normally allow abortion.
Which country's law is right and which is wrong?
My first reaction after I have finished reading the source background is that I feel so confused for the difference between rape and sexual coercion. Why do these two similar allegations give such a greatly different result to the victim - allowed or not allowed to get safe abortion.
ReplyDeleteWhatever, for me, I think that abortion should not be banned, although this disobeys Buddhism and may break the law. People who choose to abort their pregnancy would have the common reason of having no ability to take care of their baby. If this unwanted baby allows to be born, it will not be a continuous problem for only this group of people, but it will cause a burden to society, too. Banning of abortion is not a solution to the problem but it will stir up the problem to be in more extended degree.
Therefore, especially in this situation, I would answer Pun's question that the decision of the girl to get rid of her child is not bad and not a wrong action to do at all.
I like the point Ken clearly states that even if a religion, in this case Buddhism, says something is wrong, that does not mean it's wrong. In fact, if it's morally right that the law should allow women to choose an abortion, what does that say about the morality of the opposing side?
DeleteThank you Ken and Peter for commenting this post and sharing the idea. At this point, I think it depends on what we focus on. If we focus on Karma or Buddhism that teach us not to kill other living things, abortion might be worst idea for ones to do. On the other hand, if we consider abortion as a key to solve and prevent our community from upcoming social problems which may cause from the unwanted children, abortion might be a good idea.
DeleteBy the way, from where I stand, people should be ready before getting pregnancy. Using contraception is highly recommended here.
Ken, I conducted the research about the difference between these two kinds of crime. Rape is like to force someone to have sex unwillingly. But Sexual Coercion is when someone uses trick or tactic like power, emotional force, alcohol and so on to persuade another to agree to have sex. So it is not the real will of those who agree but at the end they agree. For example, if I say "I will leave you, if you do not have sex with me tonight" and you say "yes (even actually you don't want to.)" This is called sexual coercion.
Thank you Pun for your explanation about the difference between rape and sexual coercion. Final acceptance of victim seems to play a major role here. I understand them now. Law is always complex. They should have good reasons why they had to be so elaborate on these two similar allegations.
DeleteI am absolutely agree with Ken's statement and I would like to rise some point on abortion.
ReplyDeleteWhat time do you call killing that baby? Maybe after 24 weeks since some of the states in America allow this to be the maximum time for an abortion to be performed by mother. However, at around 4-5 weeks baby starts to have a heart beat. So is there a acceptable time limit that abortion does not mean killing baby.
First people might says that killing baby from the start when it was only a group of cells, since cells also have life. Some might say that heartbeat is the indication of life. And some might say life start after that baby come out of the mother's body.
For the first group of people, these cells can be develop into human body just like when we are eating egg we also killing that chicken(I won't talk about the special egg that have not been fertilized)
For the second group, they define life as a heart beat. Which mean cells don't have life since there is no heart beat.
For me, I think there is one big problem Is there really a indication of life?
For the biology there are 7 characteristics of life which are:
Made out of cell, Cellular Organization, The Chemicals of Life, Energy Use, Response to Surroundings, Growth and Development and Reproduction
I have an early coffee on weekends because I have a writing class starting at AUA at 8:00 AM. I like that my work day finishes at 10:00 in the morning, but it is a much earlier start.
DeleteWhat I liked about Phu's comment here is that he realises that at lot of the argument is about whether abortion is killing or not, whether the foetus is alive or not, and perhaps one other thing.
As we have already seen several times, it is useful to spend some time clarifying exactly what words mean. These are some definition questions that I thought important here:
Is abortion killing?
Is abortion murder?
Is the embryo or foetus alive?
Is it a human being?
And I think there is at least one more related question.
What do you think?
According to phu's information regarding the indication of life, this seems interesting to me as I have never conducted research about this in scientific ways. So if the babies completely develop themselves around 24 weeks or six months (or any specific time period). Do you still think we should legalize abortion in any circumstances or the mother should be allowed to perform abortion just before 24 weeks?
DeleteI think abortion is a very sensitive issue. From my opinion, instead of banning it, I do want it to be legalized. The guy has no rights to rape in any circumstances even the girl go for a walk on the street naked. I believe that the girl never wants to kill the innocent child, nor she wants such unfortunate event to happen with her. By legalizing it, we can specify which situation is acceptable for abortion and which is not.
ReplyDeleteMieng is right that abortion "is a very sensitive issue." The strong controversy about it today in the US after decades shows this. It's an issue on which people tend to feel strongly for or against.
DeleteBut only one side can be right. In any particular situation, the law should or should not allow abortion. Or am I wrong about this?
This is another topic that gives me a headache. I agree with other comments that abortion should not be banded, but legalized. Banding it will only increase more problem to the society. But if it is legalized, will pregnancy rate in teenagers be reduced? Or It will just makes them have less responsibility?
ReplyDelete