14 February 2007

Tennessee Legislators: Abort this abomination!

Privacy keeps coming up. We all know there’s no censorship on the internet; sensitive personal information is at the fingertips of the wrong people. I’m all for freedom of speech and expression and the internet is a great outlet for creativity.

Switching gears, Tennessee legislature introduced a bill calling for death certificates filed by would be mothers. I wish I was joking, but my sense of humor doesn’t twist that far. Unborn, unwanted, and unnamed fetuses will be documented. There’s an entire sector of our nation off the books and Tennessee wants imaginary infants registered. If only there were some way the government could tax these non-citizens. Don’t these moms have enough to worry about?

"The number of abortions reported to the state Office of Vital Records is already publicly available. The office collects records _ but not death certificates _ on abortions and the deaths of fetuses after 22 weeks gestation or weighing about 1 pound." (Schelzig, 3).

Call it a scare tactic or a guilt trip; I term it outrageous and unnecessary. The latent parent’s social security number and other sensitive information decorate the document. Who benefits from this invasion of privacy? Not the mother, nor the unborn child, but the mystery lies in the purpose these data serve. If made public potential employers, adoption agencies, creditors, and other modern day detectives could access the records.

I’m not pro-choice or pro-life; I’m not convinced enough to take a side. Resembling so many other debates, policy makers try to slap hard and fast rules on, abortions deserve case by case consideration. Perfectly healthy productive members of society should use contraceptives instead of having multiple abortions. It’s more economic that way, too. But don’t think abortion doesn’t affect me. It affects us all in a myriad of ways; I was almost an uncle. I also would’ve been a primary caretaker for my niece or nephew. However, I believe most adults who decide against bringing a baby into this world have good reason not to. Politics aside, it’s her business. Adult is the key word. When babies have babies, the pregnant adolescent’s parent or guardian should have the final say, because they’ll help rear the child.

It’s only a matter of time before all public records will be even more public (i.e. online). Many already are; for a small fee you can find out how many DUIs your alcoholic college roommate has. As aforementioned, I don’t fully subscribe to either slant, still, absurdities such as this push me closer to a staunch pro-choice stance. What’s next? Will miscarriages carry more paperwork in addition to misery?

Article: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/14/D8N9LFT00.html

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