Roxy Hammond

I know the last thing anyone who lives in South Dakota wants to hear about anymore is the abortion ban. We as South Dakotans have found a big, fat spotlight shining right into the state, from both pro-lifers and pro-choicers across the country.

I, for one, am annoyed.

Not necessarily for the attention, but because it has brought the maniacs out of the woodwork. You know, those people who are so adamant about their opinions that they practically assault everyone else with them.

I mean, granted, I’m spouting my opinion right here in my column. However, I’m not accosting you with my poster board with pictures of “genocide” or coat hangers. I’m not reaching out and screaming “WHAT! YOU DON’T AGREE WITH ME?!?! HOW DARE YOU!” and then beating you with my poster board and possibly anything else I can find.

That’s my problem with this whole ordeal. I’m not really a fence-sitter, so to speak, but when it comes to the issue of abortion, I don’t really totally agree with either side.

Here’s the deal-I don’t agree with vacuuming a fertilized embryo out of a woman’s womb. Life or no life, it doesn’t sit right with me. But, I am also not a big fan of governmental control over people’s bodies, and people trying to push their religious beliefs or moral values on everyone else.

Yet, I find it quite irritating when people start complaining about their “right” to choose. This irritates me because it seems as though we are excusing people out of their obligations, their responsibilities, to pretty much everything anymore.

With the exceptions of rape and incest, the woman involved in the abortion CHOSE to have sex. She also had the CHOICE of going on the income-based birth control we have around the state at Planned Parenthood clinics before she engaged in sexual activity. I know these methods aren’t 100 percent effective, but the 97.3 percent is pretty helpful. Not to mention, when you are engaging in an activity that was specifically designed to create babies, you have to take the chance that, hey, it might happen.

I think the least you can do is carry that child to term and give it to a loving family that can’t have children of their own. That’s nine months of responsibility for something that can be so rewarding and add meaning to someone else’s life for years to come.

Hmm, I’m starting to sound pro-life now, aren’t I? Don’t get your panties in a twist yet, pro-choicers. I said that I cannot agree with either side, and I was serious.

There are exceptions to every rule, and I don’t think a full-out ban is the answer. Then again, I don’t think South Dakota formed this law with the intent of keeping it. It’s all a political play to bring Roe v. Wade back into question.

And even if it gets overturned, that’s OK with me. That would allow states to regulate according to local wishes, instead of a blanket answer for the whole country.

I realize that there are many issues on both sides of this argument. I also realize that there is not nearly enough education on the subject. How many of you know the types of birth control offered? Do you know where to get them? How effective they are? How they work?

I think we are trying to fix a problem by starting in the middle of it. There are a lot of prevention techniques that could make abortion obsolete, we just need to be better informed about them. People need to be taught that if you want to dance to the music, you must pay the fiddler.

Whether that be abstaining from sex (not a bad idea if you’re irresponsible and can’t handle a child) or going out and getting on birth control because you want to prevent that child altogether, that’s fine.

The slippery slope goes both ways. By banning abortions, the government could try to interfere with preventive measures as well. I myself doubt it, but if you want to entertain that thought, go ahead. Yet, by the government keeping abortion legal, we have a slippery slope of avoided responsibility. We teach people that their actions come without consequences.

I could never have an abortion. Nevertheless, I don’t think that everyone should have to follow my opinion, nor do I generally expect the country be regulated from things I find wrong. What I want is for you to see a different perspective. Not that of saving a life, but that of taking responsibility for one.

Now please put down your poster boards and quit shouting at me. All of you.

#1.884447:4166095905.jpg:RoxyHammondUsethisone.jpg:Roxy Hammond, Columnist: