This is a repost of an entry I wrote in April after abortion protestors came to my school. It sums it up.

oh baby, here comes a really opinionated entry. these are just my personal beliefs since i feel like ranting.

as i walked across the plaza to biology yesterday, i saw a sign that said "warning: pictures of genocide ahead." intrigued, i made my way to the center of the plaza where 20-foot placards were being put up. quickly i realized that the signs were about abortion; they talked about the inhumanity, the medical risks, showed pictures, etc. now, i fully support the group's right to express their beliefs, and i respect their beliefs. however, i am not pro-life and i strongly disagree with several components of their argument. for example:

1) Abortion is not genocide.
one of the placards uses the word "genocide" to define abortion and compares it to instances such as the Holocaust and Somalia. The American Heritage Dictionary defines genocide as "the systematic, planned extermination of an entire racial, national, political, or ethnic group." are all white fetuses being aborted? are all Jewish fetuses being aborted? are all the Democratic fetuses being aborted? no. that line cannot be drawn and is not drawn. fetuses are not their own cultural group, and to compare abortion to the Holocaust is absurd.

2) A group of cells does not have the same rights or more rights than an adult human.
i got drawn into a debate after economics recitation with a man who was pro-life. the person in charge of the booth asked him if the fetus has the same rights as the mother, and he said yes. i asked him why, and he came back with the question, "what if your mother had killed you?" dude, i wouldn't be standing here talking to you; use another argument. anyway, while a fetus is living tissue, i don't believe that it has the same rights as me or any other adult human. it should not take precedence over the woman's health or her choice.

3) Repealing Roe vs. Wade is a political decision that forces religious and moral beliefs of some people on all people.
some people disagree with abortion for religious reasons, correct? if Roe vs. Wade was repealed for those beliefs, that would violate separation of church and state. some people oppose abortion based on their morals. does everyone have the same morals? no. making abortion illegal based on religious or moral beliefs disregards the people that don't share those beliefs, thereby moving society to a more homogenous existence where there is only one belief system. unacceptable.

4) I will not align myself with hypocrites.
from a political party/ideology standpoint, Republicans are [for the majority] pro-life. they are also, coincidentally, pro-death penalty. this to me seems hypocritical. it's not right for a woman to do what she chooses with her body, and removing tissue from her body is murder, but it's perfectly acceptable to fry someone in an electric chair because it's an "eye for an eye." look at our wonderful president: early in his presidency he spoke of pushing to repeal Roe vs. Wade because it's "wrong," while the state he is the former governor of has one of the highest execution rates in the nation. and my personal favorite is the groups that bomb abortion clinics. i know that they are extremists, but i can't help but laugh at the hypocrisy. "abortion is wrong and it's murder, so we're going to kill the doctors that perform abortions." right. i cannot agree with this contradictory mentality.

5) A woman has the ability to choose what to do with her body.
every one of us has free will. i make my own decisions, as do you. people should be free to choose what they want to do with their bodies and minds. if the choice to have an abortion is taken away, i see it as the beginning of the end. what else could be outlawed? that's a possibility that frightens me and i hope it never comes to pass.

Now, I know that not everyone shares my beliefs, and I know that a person has the ability to [in his mind] refute my arguments. It happened when the protestors came back this semester actually. But it comes down to this: This is one of my fundamental beliefs [hence it is the answer to my question] and as far as I can see I will not change it. So let's agree to disagree if necessary okay?