Part III: The War on Women

In all honesty, it is, at best, delusional to suggest that there is a so called ‘war on women.’ The closest to the bullseye might probably be an old fashioned battle to control society stemming from a fear that if women are left to their own devices, society might fall apart. While there may be truth to this, one needs to grapple with the oxymoron that is gender and, on top of the questions already posed, delve into whether the war on women is waged by men or by women against women. And while we are at it, we might as well respond to some of the questions we sought to answer following Parts 1 and 2 of the editorials on the War on Women.

For instance, we wanted to know whether there was a correlation between anti abortion campaigns and the hugely profitable market for unwanted babies. The math to this is basic: Many women get pregnant under less than favorable circumstances. Conversely, a whole host of parents cannot have their own child or are, in the spirit of compassion, partial to adopting an innocent child. In the middle of these two parties is human agency able to broker and arrange for legal and safe adoptions. Adoption is, in simple terms, big, unregulated business!

But let us, for the moment, return to the heart of the matter: Do women WANT to have abortions or just NEED them? If there is a palpable silence, it perhaps stems from the fact that the individual and personal circumstances are not key to the loud noises and fluff that make up America’s culture wars. It is very much like the debate around homosexuality. Because society does not understand it – and because it presents a threat to the precious circle of life, the majority will sit upon the minority’s rights. And this is the lens through which we need to view this ‘war on women.’ Many are wont to think of the circumstances under which a woman is compelled to undergo a procedure that terminates the ‘wondrous’ joys of making another creature. If women just want to have abortions with feverish abandon, then they are evil. On top of that, they are – in the choice words of those that do not understand the essence – sluts!

On the other hand, if a woman puts herself in a situation where she is with child, then it might be argued that she ought to face the consequences of this condition to their logical conclusion. However, this smirks of punitive measures for a natural process a great many have no control over. Cynically, because of all the evil things women have done to mankind, childbirth is a punishment for what the woman did 9 months before. Many Christians take the additional perspective that all life is precious and that each child is sanctioned by the Lord himself. Thus, like already mentioned, the details to the individual circumstances go through are lost to the wind – like mentioned above. The men who put the women in these situations are not even put into consideration.

Now, we could go on to analyze the bare boned aspects of abortion vs. adoption. One of these aspects leads to an end of the process while another leads to a new life. Secondly, while one is a less complicated medical procedure, the other is a whole multi stakeholder bureaucracy. Adoption is, for the most part, a complex process where the law of demand and supply not only apply but also perform like an ordinary commodity.

Logically, in terms of demand and supply, there is a demand for babies. Many women are not able to have children or even able to carry pregnancies. Translated, this means that fertility clinics are very profitable ventures; women that do not want to keep their babies are very important to those who want to experience the joy of parenthood and if there is a constant supply of unwanted babies, there could be happiness for as many people as possible. Many women that have unwanted pregnancies are especially in life situations where they feel like they are in a lose – lose situation. Again, this is not about getting into the overall psychology of those who decide against abortions just so they can give their children up for adoption. It is a cold hearted attempt to say that women do not want to have abortions, women that have abortions are mostly compelled to have them and lastly, when they can carry the pregnancy to full term and still give up their baby, surely someone must have convinced them of the benefits, the downside and all that comes with being a mother. And there is a monetary part to all this. Infertile or compassionate families adopt children for a price. You have to be able to afford this incursion. The chain between a woman’s fertilization, her realization that she does not want to have a child and the decision to go against her wishes is littered with decisions, feelings of guilt, lots and lots of speeches, sad thoughts and at the end, it is important to remember that women under these circumstances are usually alone.

Thus, in line with this thought process, there’s no doubt that if abortion were allowed to legally roam the streets – looking for victims – then the market for adopted babies would be severely dented. Women would miss out on the joys of motherhood and many women would be ‘happier.’ Of course this is upsetting for many a mother who has had thoughts of abortion but then realized the joys of a successful child. Why, a mother may ask, would anyone want to abort a child? Summarily, there are too many individual circumstances for us to consider this a war on women, for us to take to the streets and march against those who do not want to have a child and lastly, it is absolutely hypocritical for the men who put women into this situation to actually go on a rant about how women need to be controlled. It is a pure case of keeping the fox in the hen house. However, there is another part that says that younger women need to be taught of the downside of unprotected sex or shall we say, fornication.

To be continued in the last part.

Dennis Matanda,
Editor – [email protected]