--Ronald Reagan once famously said “I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born,” emphasizing the inability of pro-choice advocates to empathize with a fetus.

  Ronald Reagan made it clear he would stand up for the unborn. Reagan understood the value of human life, he understood that abortion is murder. This type of thinking has found its way out of the public conversation. No longer do advocates for the unborn feel they can speak up for the helpless. Rather, they are crippled into fear of being called ‘bigoted’ or ‘anti-woman’. 

  Half of all fetuses aborted are women, so to assert that pro-life advocates are anti woman is ludicrous. The abortion of a an unborn baby girl “takes away her right to control her own body. It takes away her right to choose anything in the future. It takes away a right more fundamental than the right to choose - the right to not be killed”, according to Campaign Life Coalition. Every American should have the opportunity to achieve the American dream. 

  A fetus is an American life. Upon conception the fetus has their own unique DNA. Their genetic code directs the development and growth of their own body. These are defining characteristics of a human life. Asserting that life doesn’t begin at conception disregards the scientific reality that our genetic code is written at conception. Our genetic code defines us entirely, it reflects the future of our mind, body and behaviors. From conception life should be protected.

  Pro-life advocates want to restore accountability to the individual. If an individual makes a decision to have unprotected sex and someone ends up pregnant because of it the individual who chose to have unprotected sex should be held accountable for the repercussions. Making abortion practices illegal would restore a societal value of sex that has been diminished for decades. 

  Sex is seen as play to the progressive left. It’s viewed as something to do for fun, without any consequences. This is not a moral view of sex, rather a secular justification for carelessness. When a safety net exists, like we have in Oregon, that protects a woman's right to have an abortion up to the end of their pregnancy, repercussions for having sex are seen as minimal to none. 

  A safety net that taxpayers provide to women who choose to have abortions in Oregon as Oregonians have access to free abortion services. Sex should be seen as sacred, or at least valued as an important decision. Abortion safety nets take away the meaning of sex and further degrade our society.

  A common argument against protecting the unborn is women would be put in danger as they would resort to illegal or black market abortions. According to Campaign Life Coalition, “That argument begs the question - is it ok for society to sanction child-murder just because some people might do it anyway? Should we legalize rape so the government can make it safer and cleaner? Should we legalize the underground trade in sex slaves to regulate and make it safer?” The argument that abortion needs to be legalized because people will do it anyways is ridiculous. Just because an activity exists, making it legal does not solve the problems created with the activity. Making abortions legal has only increased the amount of deaths attributed to abortion. US republican rep Chris Smith stated "since 1973" -- when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in the Roe v. Wade case -- "well over 54 million babies have had abortion forced upon them." 54 million deaths topples the 25 million deaths perpetrated by

the Nazis as well as the 2-3 million murdered by the Stalin regime. 

  Another common argument against abortion is that religion shouldn’t influence our laws. As a response to that I will point out that crimes such as murder and stealing come from the ten commandments. Legalizing either of those would simply result in devastation and chaos. The truth is abortion violates natural law, not just Christian teaching. Also stripping the unborn of their natural rights; opportunity for life liberty and property. If something is true it remains true whether or not different parties agree with it. Even if religious people believe that abortion should be illegal, it doesn’t change the reality that abortion violates the unborn child’s rights as an American.

  Often times pro choice advocates will resort to calling pro-life advocates non compassionate for not understanding that an abortion could save a young girl’s future. But as a nation we cannot put the convenience of one individual over the life of another. Abortions are mostly done due to social rather than medical reasons, NRLC reported “Approximately 93% of all induced abortions are done for elective, non-medical reasons such as these.” If it were more convenient to drive through someone blocking the street off than to wait for them to cross it you couldn’t just drive through them! Convenience should have been taken into account long before the individual even got pregnant. It may be inconvenient to put a condom on or use birth control, but these preventative measures need to be valued by the public. Not allowing women to terminate their pregnancy would force the public to value preventative measures and thus avoid pregnancy all together. And to assert that having a baby impedes on all of a young woman’s future aspirations is simply false. With adoption available across the country as well as numerous support programs for new moms the woman can still achieve their educational and financial goals.

  Now comes time to review exceptions to the rule. If a woman is raped and she gets pregnant as a result she should have the right to terminate the pregnancy up to a certain point. Not a late term abortion where the fetus already has a gender, bones, facial structure, brain and love for the mother. Abortion is a painful and torturous procedure for the fetus. As the doctor uses “forceps with sharp metal jaws to grasp parts of the developing baby, which are then twisted and torn away. This continues until the child’s entire body is removed from the womb. Because the baby’s skull has often hardened to bone by this time, the skull must sometimes be compressed or crushed to facilitate removal” according to NRLC. Realizing the amount of pain abortion causes a fetus after it’s well developed should be enough to indicate that limiting the time frame of abortion for rape victims is necessary.

  Earlier term abortions can be done chemically and often times the fetus isn’t developed enough to feel pain. The rape exception is something I stand for. I believe rape is not the choice of the victim, thus the pregnancy is not the choice of the victim either. As opposed to those who seek abortions after careless sex or to avoid taking care of a baby.

  Roe V. Wade declared abortion the right of the woman to choose the fate of the child. But the decision is disputed by judges and legal experts alike. With Senator Josh Hawley saying “My view is that Roe v. Wade had no basis in law or fact.” Also the dissenting opinion on the Roe V. Wade by Justice Rehnquist argued that, "the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend for it to protect a right of privacy, a right which they did not recognize, and that they definitely did not intend for it to protect a woman’s decision to have an abortion. Justice Rehnquist further argued that the only right to privacy is that which is protected by the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures. Finally, he concluded that because this issue required a careful balance of the interests of the woman against the interests of the state, it was not an appropriate decision for the Court to make, but instead was a question that should have been left up to state legislatures to resolve” as explained by Landmark Cases. 

  The legality of Roe V. Wade is still debated today although there is legal precedent in favor of pro-choice advocates. However, hope for change isn’t all gone, citizens across America are standing up for the unborn. Pushing to minimize the amount of abortions occurring and regulating abortion to the fullest extent of the law. In Oregon a ballot measure just failed that would have stopped taxpayer funded abortions. Although progress is coming slowly, the movement of Americans who recognize the value of human life is only growing.

  Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in contemporary politics. The United States stands for human rights across the globe, but we refuse to address the epidemic of the unborn being murdered domestically every day. It’s time for politicians to step up to the plate and stand for life. It’s time to push to regulate abortion to the fullest extent of the law and make it as uncommon as possible. State laws limiting when and how abortions are done is a good start. But at the federal level there needs to be change. There has to be federal law prohibiting late term abortions, particularly partial birth abortions. Which are extremely painful to the infant. 

  My little brother was born 4 months early and still survived. He was human when he was born, he lived. To assert that abortion after 5 months of pregnancy is not murder is to ignore the value of human life. The pro-life movement is strong and will only grow as more people become aware of the cruel abortion techniques implemented across the country.

  Our society no longer values sex, and the safety net of abortion only incentivizes people to have more sex and abort more babies. Taxpayers should not have to fund abortions, it’s a private medical choice so it should be a privately paid for procedure. Abortion innately strips innocent people of their rights as Americans and has killed more people in America than the holocaust. It’s time to fight for the unborn.

PUBLISHED BY THE FREE MEN REPORT 12/20/2018