The False Power of the Almost Aborted

I am not swayed by the person who might have been aborted. I think it is great that his or her mother decided to keep them rather than aborting them, but I do not see this person as a living argument as to why abortion should not be legal. It doesn’t matter what they accomplish in their lives, or whose lives they touch. I would say the same thing if peace protesters dragged out a few people from Korea who have lived full lives because the Korean War ended with a divided Korea rather than with MacArthur marching on to China. It’s also not any different than dragging out a stable happy family whose mother had an abortion when she was sixteen, before she went on to become a doctor, marry a lawyer, play a major role in protecting local wildlife, and raise three wonderful children. It’s someone’s story. It’s not a reason to make a particular decision on an incredibly complex issue. Even though Betty Sue wasn’t adopted and went on to do great things, outlawing abortion still means you force a woman to have a baby (or seek an illegal and most likely unsafe abortion). Abortion is still the killing of a living thing. It is still true that no one favors abortion. Many of the mothers who seek abortions are still only children themselves. Many women seeking abortions are still in no position to raise children. Not all children who might have been aborted but weren’t will lead great lives. The factors that cause women to seek abortions still need to be addressed. Contraception is still an important way to limit abortions. Anecdotes are proof of nothing, and are certainly not an excuse to acknowledge and confront the complexity of the issue.