It’s more involved than ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-choice’

The election season is soon upon us, and battles will be waged between the anti-abortion zealots and the pro-abortion zealots.

Both sides honestly believe in their positions and are trying hard to get the public to vote for candidates who will legislate in their favor. But, as in all political campaigns, they use snappy slogans to try to win over supporters.

But what’s really behind those slogans? What does it really mean to be “pro-life” (aren’t we all?) or “pro-choice” (aren’t we all?)?

When my husband and I had been married for about two years, I became pregnant. We were thrilled to be having our first child.

Then, toward the end of the first trimester, when we were visiting our parents for Thanksgiving, I began to hemorrhage. At the doctor’s office they performed a D&C (which stands for dilation & curettage), where they removed the tissue from inside the uterus. Needless to say, the unviable fetus was removed.

It was a time of deep grief and concern. Would we ever have children?

Then after our first child was born, I became pregnant again. This time, in the middle of the second trimester, I started having severe labor pains. Was this going to be another miscarriage?

We went to the hospital and I was told that the fetus was no longer alive. I asked to have my labor expedited so I could end this painful process.

The hospital refused and insisted that I go through full labor, after which the dead fetus was delivered. To make matters worse, my room at the hospital was in the maternity ward, where I could hear the cries and laughter of the newborn babies and their mothers.

Those were sad times, but over the years we were blessed with three healthy children who now have their own families. However, in today’s political environment we wonder: would those miscarriages have been considered abortions and prosecuted in certain states?

What these experiences made clear is that, with a pregnancy, the fetus is not the only life involved. Those who are opposed to abortion should understand that their position on preserving life means a lot more than preserving the fetus.

We should be looking at each situation through the multiple lives of those who are intimately involved in the pregnancy. The mother, the father and the siblings are all involved, as well as the future life of the grown fetus.

If a young girl is raped and feels that she cannot have the child, how will she feel about the baby once it is born? The girl, her parents and her family bear the responsibility of deciding what steps to take with their lives.

If a pregnant woman has cancer and the treatment will save her life but abort the pregnancy, who but she and her family have the right to tell her she cannot have the treatment?

The decision as to whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is associated with the situations described above, but it is also inextricably linked to sex.

Sex, obviously, is the primary means by which we procreate. However, nature has designed us with sex drives that cause us to yearn for the act of sex even when we’re not interested in procreating.

For those who want to have sex without the risk of procreation, there are ample means of birth control, from the pill to condoms and several other methods.

If the woman becomes pregnant, and the circumstances in her life create problems for parenting, abortion can be an option. However, it is the most serious option and one that has significant ethical considerations.

It shouldn’t be a decision to be taken lightly, and pro-choice advocates should not treat it so.

So, enough with the sloganeering. Every pregnancy has a story behind it, a story involving different lives and situations.

Try to understand the emotions, the environment, the individuals and the health issues before applying a slogan to the situation. After all, it’s real life and politics should have nothing to do with it.

Enid Seiden is a retired reading specialist and classroom teacher. She serves on the Foster Care Review Board of Maricopa County and the Scottsdale Library Board. Michael Seiden serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. He retired as president of Western International University. Reach them at eseiden@cox.net and mseiden@cox.net.