This is a new concept in the
pro-____ movement. It turns out that showing a
woman disgusting pictures of abortions, telling them they are
killing a
baby, or any one of hundreds of other
extreme methods won't change her mind about whether she will choose
abortion over
full-term birth. (
sarcasm)
Who'da thunk it?(/sarcasm)
When faced with an un(expected|wanted)
pregnancy a woman faces a
decision, but it's not the decision you would think. It's not "Kill the baby" or "Have the baby". It is, instead, "Kill myself" or "Kill the baby".
Now, this isn't to suggest that a woman would kill herself physically, just that having a baby involves an entire-life alteration for the woman. It means the death of their current life, the death of their current options and choices, and a new restricted (and at the time less-fulfilling and satisfying) life. They realize, of course, that this isn't a bad thing in the long run, but for many the perception is that
it is a bad thing right now.
You may wonder why this is called
the lesser of three evils, or why I haven't addressed
adoption. This is the third 'evil'.
Please understand that I do not intend to make judgements regarding any of these decisions, and if it seems so it is only because I am limited by my grasp of the language I am bound to.Adoption is,
emotionally, a
double death. Not only does one give up their current life to become a
mother, but they feel that adoption is
abandonment, or a death of their child. They worry about what kind of
love or
abuse their
child might or might not receive. They continue to
emotionally be a mother to that child throughout their life, and never have the chance to
be a mother physically. This emotional and
physical rift is torture for women.
So they are stuck with the lesser of three evils:
Birth and motherhood,
Birth and adoption,
Abortion. In the case of a
crisis pregnancy, not only is the woman
battling substantial physical and
hormonal changes, but they are also battling their own
concept of life, and a decision that, to them at that time, has
no right answer. They are reduced to making a decision between three powerful evils, and at a time when their emotions rule their physical body.
Rational, logical, left-brain discussions don't address the issues that need to be addressed for these women. They have to
be loved and cared for. They need to have some
source of stability in which they can
feel safe,
no matter what decision they make.