Growing up, when the word "abortion" was mentioned near me, the first thought that came to my mind was that it's a sin and not something that must or should be done, and the reason for that isn't far-fetched. You see, I was raised in a Christian home, Deeper Life, to be precise, and our watchword there is holiness. Abortion, then, is seen as taking the life of someone else regardless of if the child has fully formed or not. Now that I've grown up, it's worth noting that I've a little change of perspective about it, not that I'll do it, but because there are a lot of constraints associated with pregnancy and how it affects the carrier, so in this article I'll be talking extensively about abortion based on my opinion.
On the first instance when I hear someone wants to have an abortion, the first thought that comes to mind is that if you know you're not ready to bear a child, then why did you have sex? If you know you're not ready to be a parent, then you should have probably abstained from sex. But then as I grew, I've come to understand that not everyone willingly had sex that led to them getting pregnant, so for someone who was raped, would it make sense if they got an abortion? The truth is that if you ask from a relationship perspective, they'll tell you it's a sin, and so you must keep it, but I don't think it's ideal except if the person agrees to carry such a child, because not everyone has the mental capability to carry the results of how they were molested for nine months and then raised the same for years.
So what then is my take on abortion? Well, the thing is that I don't really buy the idea; in fact, I so much don't buy the idea of abortion to the point where I had the belief that both those who do abortions and those who use birth control are the same and are both murderers. But then I've become wiser from that childish thought and opinion I used to have and now understand that there are some grounds whereby having an abortion isn't in any way bad. Take for instance the scenarios of rape I highlighted above; if you want to have an abortion for that, I don't think it's bad. Also, if you want to have an abortion because the pregnancy poses danger to your health or life, then it's never a bad thing to have an abortion for that reason.
While I believe those above ground can give one the right to have an abortion without feeling they've done something wrong, on the other hand, for those who had sex willingly and are not married and then got pregnant, I don't think having an abortion is good. Unfortunately, that's the order of the day in our world today. Just last month I overheard two students trying to get an abortion from a chemist shop I went to buy medicine from. On the other hand, we used to complain about parents who give birth and can't take care of them, so should it then be ideal if a married couple has an abortion when they're pregnant because they fear they can't cater to such a child and don't want to bring them into the world only to make them suffer?
Talking about if the man or partner of a woman should be aware before his partner has an abortion, it's worth noting that my take might sound biased, probably because I'm a man, but then I think since both are partners and are adults, then they should be able to sit each other down and iron out the situation maturely, knowing what's at stake and what the proper steps are to take. I mean, you can't, because of your desire to have children, risk the life of your partner, for whom pregnancy poses a risk to their life. So my take is that the father should be aware before any action is taken, but peradventure you've noticed as a lady that such a man lacks empathy after previous encounters, then it's best to do things behind him to avoid causing a rift in your relationship.
In conclusion, although I don't buy the idea of abortion and my belief is also against it, I'll not stand against it if keeping such a pregnancy will endanger the life of the mother or if such a child or pregnancy will be seen as a testament to the kind of molestation the mother went through while being raped. Aside from those two reasons, I don't buy the idea. I believe any other reason why you want to indulge in abortion would have made you just indulge in birth control from the onset.
All photos are taken and edited on canva.