This newsletter is about something that should be of concern to everyone. But, to discuss it, I will be jumping over a topic that is of great controversy within the US. It is an important topic and I have very firmly held opinions. Others have very different firmly held opinions. It just isn’t the focus of this newsletter. Discussing controversial topics is something that people should not shy from but my newsletters are written primarily to inform of basic issues.
So, I jump over a very important period of time. And here we are with an undesired pregnancy. At this point, there are a lot of states and legislators who feel that they should direct the outcomes.
For a pregnancy to occur (at present, cloning or asexual reproduction may not always stay within the realm of science fiction) it requires an egg and a sperm. One comes from a person who has the genetic capacity to produce eggs. The other comes from someone who has the genetic capacity to produce sperm. We call these women and men though genetics are not always so simple (but 99.99+% of the time it is).
A journey is started when the sperm encounters the egg. At what point the result is called this or that is not the focus of this newsletter. It has happened and an end result occurs. What happens then? At this point, there is a fertilized egg. It is estimated that between 50% to 70% disappear before they are noticed by the mother or a pregnancy test can come back with a pregnancy verdict. Beyond that point, it is considered a “pregnancy”.
Now that it is a “pregnancy”, humans start making decisions
Once a pregnancy is known, people start having opinions about it. Some love it. Some fear they will not be a good parent. Some never wanted it. Some others feel that it has been decided by fates beyond the control of humans. For some, it was violently forced upon them. Unfortunately, many who feel “it was meant to be” decide that they want to control the pregnancy and the mother. Yes, I said the mother — the (mostly male, but not exclusively) legislators decide that they know more than the mother, doctors, and the universe what is best. AND they almost always neglect the participation of the father in the event even though IT TAKES TWO to start the journey.
Consequences and Control
50 to 70% of the fertilized eggs disappear before they can be counted within the group called pregnancy. Does that mean that nature, and the universe, has given the fertilized egg a pass? No, in the first trimester another 10% to 20% cannot continue to make the journey towards the outside world and are taken away. But, once it is officially a pregnancy, some legislators want to control the woman (never the man) for what nature has decided — it makes no difference to their legislation how, or for what reasons, the journey has been launched.
What if the mother (or the father — in this situation, the man does often make the decision; I know of several abortions that were insisted upon by the man) decides it is best for the fertilized egg to not complete the journey? This often falls into the same laws that apply if nature/the universe/God has made that decision. Once again, such legislation is pointed towards the woman and NOT the man even though IT TAKES TWO.
Some of the various out-of-balance legislation concerning the journey of the fertilized egg.
Once considered pregnant (even earlier if one counts “morning sickness” and similar bodily effects), the woman is the entire universe of the fertilized egg in transit. As I understand it, rabbinical scholars consider the egg in transit to be an integral part of a woman and not a separate object. It is also true that, in many cultures with high infant mortality, even after escaping into the world, a child is not named for a year or two as something that is part of the family for so short of a period of time does not need one. Those items of information do not sway the opinions of those who feel they should control the woman’s body.
In the US, many government entities and courts feel that the fertilized egg, independent from the mother, has individual rights that are considered to be more important than the rights and safety of the mother. They give themselves authority, and control, over the woman carrying the fertilized egg in transit once it can be defined as a pregnancy. (There are some outliers who want to define even earlier in spite of the very high spontaneous abortion rate.)
Mostly, these controllers of women want to make sure that the mother does nothing to stop the journey of the fertilized egg. Prevention of undesired pregnancies is not of importance, consequences of forced pregnancies is not important, the likely future situation of the escapee at the end of the journey, and the health of the mother and fertilized egg are not important. The journey MUST continue! And that’s a problem in many different ways.
First, is the reality that 10 to 20% of the journeys are stopped by the universe with no direct interference from anyone. But, once recognized as a pregnancy, it is the responsibility of the mother (the father is kept behind the curtain) to keep the journey going and can get into severe trouble if the universe decides differently and spontaneously (as part of that 10% to 20%) end the journey. The choice to terminate this particular journey is removed, regardless of the impact on the woman, her life, and future. The choice is also made by those outside sources not taking into account the future stages of the fertilized egg.
Secondly, the journey is easy for some women. For other women, it is very hard and there is need of all kinds of support — financial, medical, social. But that’s not important to the controllers. Only the journey matters and the woman (not the man) will be held responsible even for consequences directed by the controllers.
Thirdly, once the fertilized egg has moved out from the warm comfort of the woman into the harsh, cold world, the controllers don’t care. And that’s a huge problem since the controllers are making sure the consequences will happen if the fertilized egg is forced to continue to move into the outside world.
What about the man, where is he?
Back to that second half (the sperm) of the start of the journey of the fertilized egg. There isn’t much special during the period before the fertilized egg makes itself known. But once it makes its announcement, the mother faces momentous things in her life. Most of the time, it is hopefully a joyful discovery. But not always and, when outside groups take control of her and her body, choices become fewer and more dangerous.
What about the man? In my opinion, he should be informed. Past that, the mother should be making all final decisions. Should the man be part of this journey? Was his part an unwanted, perhaps forced, event upon the mother? Will the man be a welcomed and supportive part of the journey?
At this point, those who want to control COULD be of assistance. Once identified, the male-side-of-the-journey should be required to financially support. If his part was forced upon the woman then I think measures should be taken such that this never happens again. Prison or castration. At all times, the mother should be in control of her own body and her own decisions.
When control of her body is taken, all support is mandated
Even though not desired, if an outside group does make decisions of control over the woman then they must also commit to support of the mother during the journey and after the possible entry into the outside world. Anything else is completely immoral according to both explicit and implicit standards of society. Aside from the remembrance that a man is also (perhaps exclusively) responsible for the start of the journey, this is the primary point for this newsletter. One can swipe from the comics as “with great power comes great responsibility” but, in any set of words, control must be teamed connected to support.
The community, or village, is there to support
The group of people, with final responsibility, is the community. The village should be in full support of the journey, if desired, within the mother. And, the village should be supporting of those who recognize the completion of the situation which includes the mother and the originator of the sperm. The journey of the fertilized egg started with a man and a woman and, with the woman’s body being that which is most directly affected, the continued participation of the man, and the surrounding village, should be the primary source of support of any needed nature.
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