Young Writers Society

http://i.imgur.com/bWxLD.png

Discuss.

Note: Nothing I can say will convince you that abortion is morally ok, nothing you will say will convince me abortion is murder. So ignoring the *moral* issues surrounding whether or not it's okay to abort an unborn child, what do you think about this issue in particular?

My own two cents: It's cheaper to pay for an abortion and possibly for the mother to have her tubes tied if she wants than it is to pay for welfare for her and the child she didn't want and so probably won't give the best life, or to pay for eighteen years of foster care.

The comic there kind of illustrates the mentality of our society, I think. You've got people condemming abortion, TV commercials and billboards and pamphletts at the fair telling you how wrong it is and how there's help for you while you're pregnant. And yet, our society also tends to scorn welfare and those who use and abuse it. Especially so when they're seen as only having children so they can get that much more money every month to spend on pot instead of the kid.

Not my opinion, just the stigma surrounding the welfare system in general. Soooo...

Don't get an abortion, and while you're raising this kid you never wanted, we'll get mad and tell you you're the problem with the system today. You're just popping out babies for the check, or because you're irresponsible. Regardless of whether or not you raise them, we have to pay for them, and we don't want to. It's your problem, and it's your fault you have the problem, so why should we pay for it?

But don't get an abortion.

etc. They say that, and then you're looked down upon and considered the scum of the earth for having a kid you can't afford to take care of, so you (in the eyes of those paying) make others pay for it.

At the same time, Government spending is through the roof, and the level of debt is literally so, so spending more money to make the system strong isn't really an option. If anything, spending is getting cut across the board. It's a real issue that needs to change. America as a country needs to get a hold of its financial situation. So again, ignoring whether or not your god(s) say it is okay to have an abortion, what's your general thoughts on the whole issue?

I disagree with the comic. I would argue that abortion is a fundamental problem and that society should step up to the plate to do everything it can to stop that... and if that means provide welfare checks, then so be it. You'll notice that, while many people argue for the pro-choice cause, hardly anybody argues for expanding abortions to everyone under every circumstance. It's considered, usually, as a desperate choice since the mother is too young, because the mother is too poor, because the mother was raped... etc., etc. I mean, in many of the abortion cases that are most poignant, the mother is completely disadvantaged and really would suffer if the child was born. So, I don't really like abortion at all because it is a choice that the desperate take, mostly due to money issues, while the others who aren't desperate are usually talked out of aborting the baby, because they have so much more to provide. What makes the poor baby better than the rich baby then?

And because of that, I would say, provide the welfare check! Have compassion on these mothers. More than likely, they're spending their money on diapers. If they aren't, there should be a process to send the money to the people actually taking care of the kids.

But as far as abortion goes, it seems to be a symptom to a deep, deep problem rooted in socioeconomic inequality, and I don't like it at all. We should stop focusing on abortion being right or wrong (it is a mere symptom) and see if we can fix the problem behind that.

Compassion is a lovely thing, but society runs on cash, and as Dreamer has already pointed out, welfare is a lot more expensive.
The comic is mainly aimed at hard-right US conservatives, because they are both the main political proponents of the pro-life campaign, but also - and ironically - opposed to a strong welfare system.
Look at another aspect of this issue. What sort of life would a family on welfare be able to provide to the child? Snoink spoke about the deep rooted socio-economic problem (presumably in American society), and families on welfare often propagate this problem. It would be a vicious cycle of poverty.
I'm quite obviously pro-choice. You obviously cannot force someone to abort against their will, but if more people saw it without the needless stigma, I'm pretty sure we could reduce pressure on the welfare system. It's not a choice of welfare or abortion - it's about educating people to make their own decisions, logical decisions.

Er, yes, I speak of the United States.

The comic is mainly aimed at hard-right US conservatives, because they are both the main political proponents of the pro-life campaign, but also - and ironically - opposed to a strong welfare system.

I think Max Weber constructed a good argument on this seeming paradox in his paper "Protestantism and the Spirit of Capitalism." It's a kind of Calvinistic attitude that came over when they settled in America. The full paper is online, if you want to search it up.