Even though I don’t follow politics, I manage to hear a few things here and there a long the way, thanks to all the media coverage. This weekend I heard from Rick Santorum and I really don’t agree with what he had to say. Santorum is speaking out against prenatal tests, like amniocentesis, which he says encourages abortions. He is also against Obama’s plan to have employees of religious schools and hospitals to have birth control covered by their healthcare insurance. I have to disagree with him on both counts.
Prenatal testing has been used for years to identify genetic problems in the unborn baby. Women, age 35 and older, and those with hereditary conditions, are encouraged to have the test done. It is NOT a way to encourage abortion. That decision is up to each and every individual or couple to decide, once a problem has been identified. Some problems that are found can even be corrected while the baby is in utero.
One of the main reasons for determining if a problem exists and what it is, is to not only to give parents a choice, but to psychologically and emotionally prepare them for the outcome before the baby is born. Many, like Santorum himself, will choose to have their baby and they will have time to be informed as to what special needs their child will require. Others will have to make a decision to terminate the pregnancy based on the medical information they are given and the severity of the condition. That is their choice to make and, one way or the other, they have to live with it. There are a lot of considerations that go into making this decision. The family’s financial circumstances and whether they have good health insurance has to be a major consideration. How many other children they have and how a special needs child is going to affect their lives may be considered. Parents cannot live forever, the care of a sibling with special needs will eventually fall on the other children in the family. Is it not an easy decision to make by any means.
Santorum’s stand that birth control shouldn’t be covered is ridiculous. First of all, birth control does help to prevent abortions. So if Santorum is so concerned about abortion, he should make sure everyone has access to birth control. Second, I have had an issue with the Church’s position on birth control for years. The Church says it’s a sin and we should all have as many children as the Good Lord wants us to have or use abstinence. Isn’t abstinence a form of birth control? It is a detrimental form of birth control. It can have some serious affects on a couple and their marriage. Why would the Church want to put a strain on marriage when the divorce rate is already so high? They should encourage couples to have loving, sexual relationships without the fear or possibility that they will have more children than they can afford to provide for. If a couple followed the Church’s teachings, I’m sure there would be many more children, but at what cost? If a family is struggling and can’t afford diapers or formula or baby food, will the Church send them a check every week for being “good” Christians and having more children than they can afford to feed? No, they will not. What they will do is expect you to contribute one tenth of your salary every week to the collection plate on Sunday. Is this even realistic? Birth control allows couples the freedom to be loving and intimate without the stress of having additional children that they cannot care for and which will cause additional stress on the couple. I don’t see what is wrong with that, especially if the Church isn’t going to step up to the plate and supplement their income for the extra unplanned children.
This issues are not cut and dry or right and wrong. They are personal decisions best left to the people who avail themselves of prenatal tests or birth control, not the government or the Church. It’s the individuals themselves that will make these choices and have to live with them. To me it would be more of a sin to have six children when you only have the resources to provide for two, or to have a special needs child if you don’t have the emotional, financial or physical resources to care for them. That’s my personal view on these issues.
I don’t see Santorum winning anything if he sticks to his position on these issues. And, to quote Martha Stewart, “that’s a good thing.”
No comments:
Post a Comment