Disclaimer: I do not hate children.
Most of my peers don't seem to care about childbirth/motherhood related issues. Why should they? They're at least a couple of years away from getting pregnant, assuming they marry an arranged match. As much time as most girls of my age (i'm 20) spend talking about who's-going-out-with-who, no one really has an opinion on abortion. Many don't even realize that there's a global stigma surrounding this word and what it stands for.
A friend of mine chipped in saying that for most Indian girls, pre-marital sex is itself off the table and consequently, abortion would be an alien territory. I agree with him to a certain extent. Only someone who's been faced with the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy can even begin to have an opinion on abortion.
I get fairly agitated whenever people take a pro-life stand from a religious point of view. Take Christianity for example; Mankind's only significant goal in life as the many christians i've known have conveyed is procreation. So we built bridges, landed on the moon so we could all have babies? Recently, i happen to read this post by a female acquaintance on facebook; liked by about 5 women i know. Check it out yourself.
Let's take a look at the situation in the usa. There are people burning down federal-funded abortion centers; Catholic hospitals don't house abortive pills. So if you're unfortunate to get raped and a samaritan (read: smart ass) gets you admitted to a catholic hospital, you will not be given an abortive pill as a precaution. If you do end up getting pregnant with your rapist's child, then too bad darlin' cos there ain't a damn thing they'll do.
India still happens to remain fairly neutral on abortion. Even though pregnancy out of wedlock is largely frowned upon, at least women in India still retain the right to their own bodies. However, what bothers me is that many young women today claim to be pro-life without any meditation. In a country of recurrent female foeticides and infanticides, abortion by consent is a ray of hope for women who do not want to ruin their future and the offspring's as well. A summary ban on abortion would leave thousands of women stripped of one of their last remaining rights as a woman; India being a male-dominated country.
Unplanned teenage pregnancy is because of unprotected sex or improper contraceptive measures. A large section of people suggest abstinence. I don't really see the relevance. I say i broke the vase and people tell me i should not have broken it the first place? You fix a problem with a solution. There's no going back in time.
Bottomline: Get educated, Ladies.
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