Choice?

Almost everyone is aware of the raging debate over abortion in America. The country is divided along scientific, moral, ethical, gender and other boundaries. So I thought I'd jump into the discussion.

I'll start by saying that I am completely opposed to abortion. But having said that I want to present a different view about Choice.

People who do not oppose abortion use the label of "Pro-Choice" to identify themselves. Those who oppose abortion describe themselves as "Pro-Life". As a person, I completely enjoy the freedoms of choice we have in the US. That being said, let's explore the Choices...

The US Declaration of Independence (corrected) provides every US citizen the right to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness'. Of course there is more to the freedoms defined in the Declaration (same correction), the US Constitution and the Constitutional Amendments, but let's start there for now.

As a child, parents or guardians establish rules or limits by which we are expected to behave. We choose, daily (sometimes hourly) to live within those rules or to break them. In school, we are presented another choice: study, learn, succeed or not. Assuming we make it to high school, we are faced with another choice: College, Job, or whatever. Around the same time, we are faced with choosing who to hang out with, who to date, whether or not to drink or take drugs or have sex. As a young adult, we are faced with choosing to pay our bills or not. Buy or rent? There are literally thousands of choices we make in our lives! In America, we are guaranteed the right to make those choices. So you might say I am pro-choice on all these topics.

I am, without doubt, pro-responsibility. You guessed it, if we enjoy the freedoms to make choices, then we must be responsible for the outcomes of those choices. If I choose to not pay attention in class, then I (and only I) am responsible for my poor grade. If I choose to skip work repeatedly, then I am responsible for getting fired. If I drink and drive, then I am responsible for the damage done, life lost, etc. resulting from my drinking. Likewise, if I choose to have sex and a pregnancy results from that choice, then I am now responsible for the pregnancy. So do I support a woman's right to choose? You bet, but I put the decision point earlier in the process. A woman's right to choose is before she has sex.

I am all for the right to choose...I want the right to choose where my children attend school (including homeschooling if my family so chooses)...I want the right to invest the money I earn in any way I choose to...I want the right to choose to get a job or go to college...I want the right to choose whom to marry...the right to choose where we go on vacation...the right to choose my friends...the right to choose my faith...the right to choose where I eat...and the right to choose with whom I have sexual relationships. But when exercising my rights limits another person's right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness, or in some other way interferes with their freedoms, that is where my rights end.

I do not have the right to end another person's life, even if that person is unborn. We as Americans enjoy a truckload of rights and freedoms, I suggest that we use all of them but remember, choose wisely. And be responsible for our choices.