Don't you just love the fact that as non-JW's we are free to actually think about this type of issue, inform ourselves, and make a descision based on our true feelings rather than someone else's? :)
Atheists Against Abortion?
by AK - Jeff 28 Replies latest jw experiences
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beksbks
Yes I do Changeling!
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JeffT
Me too!
I've thought for some time that one of the appeals of JWism is a snare for the weak minded: they never have to actually think about anything.
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AK - Jeff
Don't you just love the fact that as non-JW's we are free to actually think about this type of issue, inform ourselves, and make a descision based on our true feelings rather than someone else's? :)
Beautifully stated. Precisely. And the wonderful freedom to discuss it civily among others of our peers, and to even agree to disagree. What tremendously valuable opportunities we have found in this freedom.
Jeff
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Growingup
I say, if you don't want abortions to happen, just don't get one.
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Elgiard
I say, if you don't want abortions to happen, just don't get one.
A lot of people share this mindset, and I have to say it doesn't make much sesne to me. No one would say "If you don't want murder to happen, just don't kill anybody," or "If you don't want stealing to happen, don't steal anything," and expect that to be okay with everybody. Naturally, if someone is opposed to something wrong then they're not going to do it themselves. I'm against raping people so I don't do it, but I don't think it's okay for other people to do it either.
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beksbks
But this is not a subject that everyone in our society agrees on. So it is something of a matter of opinion. Your opinion is not more valid than anyone elses.
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Elgiard
I don't agree that my opinion is no more valid than anyone else's. I would argue that there are plenty of opinions which are less valid than mine. I believe that opinions are like that other thing that everybody has one of, some stink more than others. But that's not the issue at stake.
Obviously not everyone in our society agrees that murder or theft are wrong either. All you have to do is watch the news to see that. Once upon a time a lot of people didn't agree that slavery was wrong. Should the abolishionists then have just kept their opposition to themselves since not everyone agreed and their opinion was no more valid than anyone else's? If everyone opposed to slavery had just been satisfied with not doing it themselves, then slavery would still be legal in the United States today. The same is true for child labor, women's suffrage, and every other moral injustice in history which was once accepted before being overcome by civilized society. It's not the ones who "just don't do it themselves" who change things for the better.
It's socially acceptable to have an opinion on almost any issue of morality except abortion, and then if you're opposed you're supposed to just not do it yourself and let everyone else get on with it, and that's not rational. I think that the moral dancing people do around this one issue is silly.
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wantstoleave
Nathan, when I was 16 at school, there was a girl in my class, timid but popular, who by that age already had 6 abortions . So I know what you mean about being shocked etc. For her, she was proud of it...like a badge of honour .
Abortion is a very hot topic and one that is still fairly taboo. I have friends who've had abortions and I wouldn't treat them any differently. While I would never get one, I understand that it's a personal choice and I'm not in a position to judge or pass comment. All I can do is support the person. Having said that, young ones should be educated about birth control.
For matters of rape, that's where it gets tricky. If I was the rape victim, I don't think I could go through with the abortion but I understand if the next person could. I personally know a witness girl who was raped on the way home from work when she was 16...and fell pregnant. She had the baby. While she adores her child and wouldn't have it any other way now, she still feels sad that she has no idea who the father was, and has to explain to her child when older how she was conceived .