Abortion is a highly controversial topic in this country. Everyone has an opinion and only God knows who is right. When I began this semester at the Houstonian I told myself I wouldn’t touch this topic because I felt that it would really serve no purpose. But after reading of George W. Bush’s recent executive order to stop all funding for overseas family-planning organizations that provide abortions I felt I must say something.I am pro-choice. I believe women should be able to decide for themselves what is right for them. No government agency should have any authority in this matter. Middle-aged white males have no business telling a women what is right for her. To me this issue is simple. If youre pro-life don’t have an abortion, if youre pro-choice, than choose. I understand pro-lifers position. But, we must remember this is America and everyone is entitled to their freedom. Whether that freedom be religious choice or abortion, Americans by design of our nation have the right to choose.If you are pro-life than most likely you are religious and may take comfort that in the end God will reward you for your choice, but please quit trying to regulate everyone else.Well, there’s my background opinion on the subject of abortion but what I really want to write about today is President Bush’s recent executive decision.When thinking about the state of many overseas countries today one sees people living in extremely poor conditions. Take for example many countries on the continent of Africa, these places have extremely high poverty rates. People are dying by the millions of hunger and AIDS. Overpopulation is rampant. Children are born into terrible conditions and most won’t survive to adulthood. These children’s lives will consist of much misery, starvation and sickness and in most cases, ultimately premature death.Maybe abortion isn’t the answer. Most pro-lifers say adoption is the answer to abortion–how many people do you know that want to adopt malnourished HIV infected babies? Not many I’m sure. So yeah, let’s cut off their family-planning funding and perpetuate the problem. Generation after generation of people destined to live in misery. Sounds good. Hey, maybe everyone in these overpopulated, malnourished countries will contract AIDS and die anyway so we don’t have to worry about funding their family-planning organizations anymore. Yep, there’s the solution. Nice thinking, George. Like I said before I understand pro-lifers position. But in thinking of the issue from a global standpoint, not funding family-planning organizations that provide abortions is not the answer. There are people living in poverty, dying and we can help them. Now, I am not saying go into every underdeveloped country, get all the pregnant women and give them abortions. What I am saying is to allow family-planning organizations to go into these countries and help. Educate people, give them birth control, and yes, if needed, provide them with abortions.Many in these poverty-stricken places need information, they need birth control, and they need the help of these organizations. What they don’t need is the morally righteous Republican Party imposing their holier-than-thou values on the rest of the world.
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