Tim Tebow and Abortion

I'm really glad that Tim Tebow's mother did not have the abortion that doctors recommended she have. She made a great decison for herself, her family, Tim and many thousands of Florida Gator fans. She was right, they were wrong. But, she could have been wrong and she could have died as a result. You win some, you lose some. It's wrong to generalize from the results of an individual case, but that's what Focus on the Family did with their Super Bowl commercial.

I'm "pro-choice", primarily because I support the individual freedom that people are supposed to have in America. Even before being pro-choice, I'm "pro-contraception" - I don't want any babies conceived by accident or against the will of the mother. That's why we have only three children; we wanted to stop at three, and we made sure we did. But I digress...

"Freedom" means just that. If it's your body, you should be able to do what you want with it - what could be more personal than that. Not allowing a life to begin, or being able to end your own life, is the most personal expression of freedom that I can think of. I may disapprove of the decisions that some people might make in these areas, but I would never consider taking away their right to make those decisions. That's why I am perplexed by the "get government out of my life" crowd who are also vehemently anti-abortion. Huh?

Secondarily, I'm "pro-choice" because I believe families should make decisions about their future by considering all the likely outcomes of their decision to have, or not have, a baby. Many families, for example, cannot stand the strain of caring for a special needs child on top of the other major challenges they may be facing; many divorces result. Other families might have a structure that would accomodate, or even thrive with, the challenge of raising a special needs child. In short, every family is different; a "one size fits all" prescription on abortion makes no sense in the real world.

Some folks think this issue hinges on the crucial question of "when does life begin"? I don't feel that way at all, even though I'd say I have a very high respect for life. I just believe that life is full of hard choices and tragedies; any of us could be dead tomorrow, for example, from some unforseen cause either man-made or natural. There is no certainty in life, the uncertainty increases as one moves down the economic ladder, and God does not step in to save those who happen to be unlucky - including those who are not born due to someone else's choice.

Good for you, Tim Tebow. Your mother won the pregnancy lottery and you won the Heisman. It's a great story of pluck and luck. Now, let's hear the story of the child born with some terrible defect who died after enduring several years of agony, during which time its family went bankrupt and fell apart. After all, one conclusion based on anecdotal evidence deserves another, don't you think?