On Abortion: The Thin Line Between Right and Moral Obligation

Abortion. Just a word. Just an eight-letter word. Just a word - yet, so lethal.
A word that puts a period to a life.

I could recall the great writer Sidney Sheldon writing something about abortion.
In his novel "Rage of Angels," there was a part where the protagonist Jennifer Parker went to a doctor to have an abortion. The doctor asked her to think about, and after thinking about it, re-think about it ONCE again. This is just the author's way of showing his objection with this act. To quote the doctor's exact words about abortion -

"The thing with abortion is it is so final."

Yes. That is the ugly truth - It is indeed final.

One could decide to do it.
Then, one could do it.
But once it is done, it could never be undone.
ABORTION IS FINAL.

There was one article I read years and years back - one woman wrote about her personal experience, and she said:
"They say that the things that we will regret later on in life are not the things we DO, but the things we DIDN'T do. I just had an abortion and I am not quite certain if it is something I DID or something I DIDN'T DO."

I was so touched by her words that they still echo in my consciousness - reverberating through years that passed. Judging from her statement, one could say that she did regret it - and it is evident that she, herself, knows that it is something she DIDN'T DO. It is something that she regrets and will continue to regret until the end of time.

I will reiterate. . . ABORTION is final.
No rewinds. No pause. No nothing.
Once it is done, it is done.
Not a million "sorry's",
not a thousand remorse,
not a hundred regrets,
not an ocean of tears could ever bring a life back.

Let's discuss the main defense of women who do such act (I am not saying "despicable" act, nor "brilliant" act for I am trying to be neutral). They say that it is their body, and they have the right to do whatever they want. It is their right - nobody could question it. Fine argument - it is our body, and we have every right to do whatever we want to do with it.

I cannot help but nod with agreement. It is indeed our body. And we have all the right to it.

BUT  ----- there is a big, enormous, daunting BUT in this statement:
But is it our life that we are taking?

It is indeed our body, but it is NOT our life that we are ending with an abortion.
It is someone else life.
It is the life of a child - our own flesh and blood.

From this point, nobody has the right - for nobody has the right to take a life.

The right to live- that is the right of each and everyone.
Every single human being has the right of life.
And no woman should decide to end one.

If it is cosmetic surgery- breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, or collagen injection - no one could argue with one's freedom of choice.
With cosmetic surgery, one is harming no one.
Nobody has to die for a woman to exercise her freedom of choice.
But with abortion, it is utterly different.

Everybody has the right to choose. That is everyone's natural born right.
But we must not forget that every right comes with a responsibility: the responsibility to uphold others right of life. We could exercise our rights as long as we are harming no one.

Just like the freedom of expression.
We have the right to say whatever we want to say -
Whenever we want to say it . . .
Wherever we want to say it . . .
That is prevalent now in all free countries.
BUT . . . We must make sure that we are not damaging someone else's reputation, or else we will be legally liable for libel (written) or slander (oral).

I am not condemning them - I am not them.
If I would put myself in their shoes, I would not know what I would do, too.

It is just so sad to know that this practice is so widespread, and women are merely shrugging their shoulders nonchalantly and uncaringly.

The worse thing is, some women repeat the same sick cycle over and over again:
getting pregnant unprepared,
having abortion,
getting pregnant again,
then getting abortion again,
getting pregnant again,
committing abortion again. . .
Ad infinitum.

There are some of them who think abortion is just like taking shower: getting dirty, then getting rid of unwanted residues.

It is a scientific fact that some animals, mostly reptiles, eat their young (like snakes, spiders, fish, etc).

When I was young, I read somewhere that mammals (that includes human) have mammary glands that make them care for their young. This characteristic is unique only to mammals - reptiles lack this feature.

Its relevance to our topic is I find human's abortion and animals' filial infanticide similar.
Think about it - if these animals have the human intellect, and they advance in a civilization and live in a society, they would probably commit abortion rather than eat their young, right? ;)

For example, most snakes have no parental care at all. So those who have no parental care and commit repeated abortion should start doubting their "humanity" and ask themselves: "Am I still human?"

Let's go back to the argument of man's right to choose.
Well, I will reiterate my retort for that - How about others' right to live?

There is a thin line between right and moral obligation - that we must not forget.
Before we open our mouths and shout, "it is my right," we should make sure that we do our obligation first.
I know everyone agrees with my conviction:
Our moral obligation comes first - our right follows.

On Burning Bridges

Earlier today, one of my close friends posted in her Facebook wall:

"Don’t burn bridges; you will be surprise how many times you have to cross that same river."
-John Mason

Though she is a good friend of mine, I vehemently disagree with her idea of "not burning bridges".


Eight or ten years back, I wrote in my "About Me" page:
"I burn bridges and dump people just like that.
If people are mean to me, I am hundred times meaner to them."

What stroke me as odd is the fact that so many people believe in "maintaining" bridges, while I stand firm, and tenaciously live up to what I wrote ten years ago.

I reckon that only "brave" people have the "courage" to burn bridges.

There was this one person that my friend and I used to know (the same friend who wrote the above).

At first we thought she was a good person, but later on we found out that she was not.

I didn't hesitate to eradicate her in my life after learning her true color:
A user and a free-loader who saw her husband as an ATM machine.

I know you are thinking now that "that's none of your business".
I know that is none of my business.
That is her life and I know where to draw my line.

But it is my business to choose who to keep in my life.
It is my business to know who I am brushing shoulders with.

I am so meticulous with my circle of people that the moment I learned the ugly truth about her - she was out.
Do not get me wrong.

I am not judgmental, and I am not here to philosophize.

Let me reiterate the main topic again . . . And that is "burning bridges".

My question now is: must we or must we not burn bridges?

This friend of mine believes that we must not burn bridges for we never know when we have to cross the same river again; while I believe that we shouldn't be scared to burn bridges as long as we are either good swimmers or experts in building new bridges.

The example I have given above is the example of a person whom I would not hesitate burning bridge with.

I don't want to judge her.
But I do not want to have anything to do with her either.

Personally, she did me nothing wrong.

But I have seen what she did to others.

She wasn't the first one who I burned bridge with, and she won't be the last.

All my life, I have met so many people: some were really amazing, kind-hearted people who are worth keeping, while some were just waste of time (users, liars, freeloader, no backbone).

These dregs of humanity are ones that we shouldn't keep in our lives.
And by the word "dregs", I do not mean poor or ugly or anything.

I categorize people based on their beliefs, ideals, attitude, and outlook in life - not based on their social standing, financial standing, physical appearance, education, and some shallow things.

I truly believe that you are NOT what you have. You are what you do.

And I have ultimate respect for people who neither take advantage nor use anyone.

Don't get me wrong!
I am not claiming to be perfect!
In fact, I am far from it.

I am mean.
I am rude.
I am straightforward and nasty.

I know my ugly flaws, and I am not proud of them.

But one thing I am proud: I am the "truest" person you could ever meet.
I do not bullshit around.
I do not shower everyone with compliments.
If nice words would come out of my mouth, they are well-meant and true.
I mean what I say and I say what I mean.

You could never expect me to stab you at your back.
I WILL ALWAYS STAB YOU IN FRONT.
It could really get ugly- but at least, you know what I am truly thinking.

The thing with "not burning bridges" is I find it very superficial and shallow.
I find it very insincere.
We, Filipinos, have the best term for it - "plastik".

Why should we keep the bridges with people we do not like, right?
We should never!
We should always be fearless.
It is our life, and we have all the right to choose who to keep in it.

I am very particular with whom I keep in my life.
I always make sure that I keep only the special ones.
Life is too short to be filled with crap.

All my life I had dumped people, and I believe that I will continue to do so.
(Choosy as I am - only the true ones remain)

And unlike others, I resolutely believe that I have the luxury and the right to do so since I happen to be a good swimmer and I have the ability to build "new" bridges with "worthy" people.

I am not self-righteous (though I think that you might think otherwise after reading this blog).

I am mean.
I am rude.
I make mistakes.
I crumble.
I falter.
I fall.
But one thing I DO NOT do - I do not use people.
I love my friends from my heart.
I live by my means. And I do not pretend to be who I am not.

I am neither materialistic nor opportunistic.
Everything I have, I worked my ass off to get them.

I've never harm anyone for personal or material gain.
I do not take advantage of people.
If I help, I do so without expecting anything in return.

But I am not that good either - I am a gutter-fighter who venerates "revenge".

I am very belligerent and vindictive: if one does me wrong, he will find my retaliation ten-fold.
I do not forgive and I do not forget.

BUT once again, I DO NOT USE PEOPLE.

Let's go back to burning bridges. I think that some bridges are just too "unhealthy" to keep.
There are some people who are not good for us to keep in our lives: ex-lovers who used and abused us, ex-friends who betrayed us, ex-employers who degraded us, people who hurt or harmed us in any way.

This is a very big world - a "new" bridge is not too difficult to build, so why not burn the ones that are bad for us?