Potentially Controversial
I’m not one to post controversial conversations on social subjects, but I spotted something in a friends tabloid newspaper today which I thought must be tabloid fodder and surely not true. Upon further investigation this evening, I’m upset to see that it is indeed a truthful account of a website in place.
Inconspicuous looking at first, the above website is true to its name. An American couple who are pregnant, are inviting web users to vote on whether they should keep their perfectly healthy baby, or terminate the pregnancy at the last possible stage.
I like to think I’m an open-minded, fairly liberal young woman, Pro Choice as every woman/couples situation is invariably different and personal to them. However, I can’t agree with a web poll set up by a couple who seem settled and stable, having already suffered three miscarriages who seem to take the decision to have, or not to have a child as a publicity creator to highlight the importance of voting with consequence. There are, understandably many people across the planet who strongly believe in the opportunity for women to be able to abort where required or necessary for them, yet these methods go beyond extreme and to me, are irresponsible.
As I read through the website, I see clearly what the couple are trying to do. The blog is filled with scans throughout the early stages of the pregnancy, and at their own admittance they aim to make the reader feel like they are going through this pregnancy themselves, forcing them to look inside to see how they would feel and would want to do. This in itself could well be a very good way to highlight how pregnancy could feel for different individuals, but a vote which *will* affect whether an innocent unborn child should, or should not live is more than a step too far.
As I look upon the question in place “Should we give birth, or have an abortion?” I immediately wonder where a couple who used an unborn child within such a website really warrant the gift of parenthood. Those who know me in person know that I am far from being maternal, and most certainly not broody for children but for me, it is irresponsible. People close to me struggled with IVF for years, desperately longing for a child. It is natural that the website is interspersed with comments which ask that if the vote remains swayed to “abort” as it is currently sitting, that they give birth but allow parents who long for a child to adopt the baby.
This topic hit a chord for me, and I’m not trying to throw my opinion on others as I know there will be others who don’t feel the same as me. I just had to get it off my chest.
