Right to Choose

I've been hearing something lately about Tim Tebow and some controversy surrounding him and a CBS Super Bowl ad, but, not being a Gator fan in particular, or football fan in general, and not caring much at all about the Super Bowl, I didn't know what the controversy was. And, frankly, didn't care.

I came on the facts today. Apparently, the American Family Association (AFA) produced a a pro-life commercial to air during the Super Bowl featuring Tebow, regarding his mother's decision not to abort the pregnancy that resulted in Tebow's birth.

Oh, my goodness!! A commercial that actually promotes continuing a pregnancy instead of abortion! The world is coming to an end! We're all going to hell in a handbasket! Okay, so I'm being a little ridiculous here. In my opinion, not much more than the left.

So typical of the left, they are up in arms that CBS is broadcasting a decision that is contrary to what they believe. They are all for choice, unless it's contrary to what they believe. Joy Behar, of "The View", said that abortion would have been appropriate since Tebow's mother didn't know that her child wouldn't grow up to be a "rapist pedophile".

What a stupid statement. Why assume that an unaborted pregnancy would result in a "rapist pedophile" rather than a doctor who discovers a cure for cancer? Or a fireman who saves a life while fighting a fire? or a police officer who stops a "rapist pedophile"? Not every unaborted pregnancy will result in a child who goes wrong just as not every continued pregnancy will result in fine, upstanding citizens.

I applaud the Tebow's for putting it out there. I'll also say that if abortion had been a viable option when I was gestating, I might not be here writing this. Yes, my birth mother was unmarried when she got pregnant with me. She didn't have a lot of choice in those days. She could have had a back room abortion that might have killed both of us. She could have been left unable to give birth again (I know she had another daughter a few years later). Let's assume that I have possibly survived but left severely physically and/or mentally impaired, requiring constant, expensive care. Yep, that would have given her a good life. She choose to give birth and I was adopted by a wonderful couple who loved me as their own, loving and caring for me as their child, until the day they died. I know who my birth mother was (she too, has passed on) and I thank her for making the decision she did.

Abortion is only one of three choices I know of. The others are giving birth and either raising the child or adoption. I note in what I've read about the Tebow controversy that adoption has never been mentioned as an option by the left. Why does the left seem to believe that abortion is the only acceptable choice? What about adoption? It's as viable a choice as abortion.

I don't believe in abortion as a method of birth control. I also don't believe in a woman continuing to turn out child after child, continuing the welfare cycle. I won't ever say that the number of children produced by one woman or couple should be limited, but as long as she, or they, can take care of the children, it's not my business. Only when the family is continuing the welfare cycle does it become any of my affair and that's only because I'm helping to support that family through my tax dollars. I'm still working on that issue trying to find a solution that isn't contrary to my values, but also will help women and their children from falling into an abyss they can't get out of.

Personally, I'm Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. That means whatever decision a woman makes, to abort or to continue to give life, we should all shut our pieholes and respect her decision. I might not agree with her decision, but, guess what? It's HER decision, not mine, and no one else's. I don't believe anyone has the right to criticize a woman who makes the decision to abort or to continue a pregnancy.

And when the left makes statements like Behar's they just look and sound stupid. Why should I or anyone else listen to anyone making statements that are stupid?

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Note: I just learned more of the Tebow story. I didn't know that Pam Tebow was a missionary in the Philippines when she became pregnant with her fifth child, who would become Tim. I didn't know that she was ill during the pregnancy and the doctors were insisting that she abort the pregnancy.

While I didn't know these facts, it still doesn't alter my opinion that the decision made was a decision that could only, and should only be made by the people involved - the parents. While if I were asked, I would offer the opinion that had Ms. Tebow chosen to abort the pregnancy, under the circumstances it would be understandable and (to me) an acceptable reason.

But, it's not my opinion that matters. It only becomes anyone's business because AFA chose to use the story as a plank in their Pro-Choice platform. The Tebow's obviously believe in Pro-Life (and are maybe even pro-choice, I don't know) and chose to allow the story to be used. In that, they had to expect that they would become the center of controversy.

That's not the way it should be, but it is. I'm not criticizing anyone on the side of Pro-Choice or Pro-Life. I'm not criticizing the Tebow's for "going public" with this story. I might have some criticism for AFA, but they were allowed to use the story, so, I guess not too much.

I do have criticism for those who think that Ms. Tebow made the wrong choice. She made the choice that was right for her; the choice that was core to her values and morals. Had she gone against those values and morals, who knows how it might have affected her life, the lives of her other children, and the people whose lives she touched since then?

I don't believe it's right to impose one's own morals and values on anyone else. I personally will not judge the women I know who have had abortions. It's a decision they made, based on their own values and beliefs, and their very particular situation at the time. Some have regretted it, but understood it was the right choice for them at the time.

And how dare anyone second guess anyone else's choices in life? Just because you might be pro-abortion, don't assume you have all the answers. You haven't walked in anyone else's life and can't assume you know what is best for them.

And I still say that Joy Behar's statement was just plain stupid.