The Crucial Thing People Don’t Understand About Abortions and Abortion Bans
By: Joanna Henderson
Tags: The Bad Influence, Human Rights, Abortion, Family, Justice

If you read the news recently, you may have seen the announcement about Argentina winning the first round of passing the abortion law. The Parliament’s lower house voted 131 to 117 to move forward with the bill, which means there is a chance women will get the right to an abortion in the foreseeable future.

At the same time, in another part of the world, Polish people protest the newly implemented law forbidding virtually any abortions, with small exceptions. Poland’s decision angered the European Union, which the country joined in 2008. Europe stands for human rights and freedoms, and a near-total ban on abortions contradicts those views.

You don’t need to be pro-choice or pro-life to support or protest either one of these decisions. But what you must be is smart. Because when you’re intelligent and educated, you understand the reasoning behind everything that’s going on. And trust me, it has zero to do with religious views.

The Two Pillars the World is Built On

Two major powers rule the world: money and power. If you are trying to get to the bottom of anything that’s happening globally, direct your attention to the money and power involved.

People want to be in power. Politicians and political parties seek power perpetually to control their countries, and possibly other ones as well. “Country” translates into “population.” Population translates into us, ordinary people, who work daily, pay taxes, and contribute to society. This is where the money is hidden — or not hidden; it’s actually in plain view.

When you see someone attempting to pass a new law, it means they are trying to get closer to power. Once the power is within reach, they have a good chance of developing new ways to make money. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of corruption, although often it is. Even first world countries are susceptible to corrupt activities.

We should always be skeptical about what’s happening in our countries and the rest of the world. Every minute or every day, someone is trying to get closer to power. It can be primarily based on ego, but more often than not, money is involved.

Abortions Reek of Money and Power

There is a massive amount of both power and money involved in the topic of abortions. It may not be obvious right away, but let me explain.

There is always a division between the forward-thinking government and old school conservatives in nearly every nation in the world. Similarly to that, the country’s population is often divided into those two camps as well. What does it mean if people become more forward-thinking? It signals that the nation is leaning towards a more open-minded direction. It also means that the conservative government risks losing its power. This is when the old school politicians need to decide if they wish to drop the controversial topic, agree to accept the new rules of the game, and hopefully stay in power in the future. If they refuse to do so, they risk losing the population’s support and, subsequently, their power.

Therefore, while the topic of abortion bears a moral and spiritual ground for many people, the government bodies which make the decisions and express their official position always have power and prosperity — as in money — as their priority.

The System is Imperfect

I’m all for human rights. I support the LGBTQ+, Black Lives Matter, anti-racism, anti-ageism, women’s rights, disabled rights; I’m against discrimination and abuse in any way, shape, or form. I also support the women’s right to an abortion and believe that women should easily access reproductive care services. Without any restrictions — for free, I may add.

Having all that said, I’m against the current system related to abortion access. Let me elaborate on that.

I like the idea of offering mandatory counseling before providing them with abortion services. I also believe we should expand the support for future parents and implement more programs encouraging family planning. Yes, a single parent and a baby still constitute a family. When a woman is pregnant, she shouldn’t just be offered free psychological counseling but go through a comprehensive presentation of what the government will offer her once she becomes a mother. The same applies to single dads who know they will be raising a child on their own without much support.

Instead of Banning Abortions and Being Pro-Birth, Start Being Pro-Raising-a-Child

Let’s be real here: many people — although not everyone — who identify as pro-life and vocally criticize the pro-choice movement aren’t really pro-life. They are pro-birth. All they want is to shame the women wishing to do an abortion to reconsider, and they base their argument on emotions, consciousness, and religion. They simply wish to see the baby born.

But what happens afterward? If the mother asks the government for help, she is shamed for not providing for her kid. The conversation then goes as follows:

Mother: — Please help me raise my child. Society: — You chose to give birth. You should have done more to provide for your baby. Mother: — No, I wanted to have an abortion because I knew I couldn’t support it. Society: — Too late. You decided to raise the child. Now raise it.

It’s all about giving birth. If the woman refuses abortion, pro-birth individuals are happy to support her emotionally and tell her she can do it. Once the baby is born, all that attention is gone, and the woman is expected to raise the child on her own (or the man, if we’re talking about a father). The government is acting the same way. Let’s look at the government.

The Government is All for Pro-Birth, not Pro-Life

Every country needs more people. Well, apart from several overpopulated ones like India and China, of course. But most nations are interested in seeing more babies being born.

Every baby equals another person who will grow up, start working, and begin paying taxes. Every new adult will also pay for the current pensions. If there is a mandatory military service, every child is also a potential defender of the nation. Therefore, the nation benefits from having an increasing population.

Now, look at Poland. Research their rate of birth. What do you see? A steep decline. The country isn’t banning abortions because they are principled and have good morals and family values; they are doing so simply because the government failed to motivate their citizens to start family planning and hasn’t provided support both social and financial.

But what about Argentina? Well, there is a decline as well: from 3.1 in 1960 to 2.28 in 2018. However, it’s not nearly as bad as in Poland. Therefore, one country is forbidding abortions, while another one is considering legalizing them.

Here’s What the Government Should Do Instead

Violating human rights in the current era is horrendous and absurd. 2020 was horrible as is; there is no need to worsen things.

Instead of committing this — for lack of a better word — an abomination, the governments need to do the following:

Improve sex education.

Reiterate the choice of choosing to have or not have children; de-stigmatize the child-free option.

Offer numerous incentives to future parents, such as subsidized or free education for parents and the child; financial support and tax benefits; allowances and subsidies for food, extra-curricular activities, etc.

Offer new parents access to unique governmental programs. For example, offer career development/advancement for parents.

Subsidize the family’s shelter: implement interest-free mortgages or subsidized rent.

The options are nearly endless. So, instead of suffocating the population and trying to control their reproductive rights, the governments should look for incentives to offer their people.