Do Republicans Understand Abortion?

     I often get the feeling that Republicans do not understand abortion. It is never an easy decision, done out of sheer indifference toward the sanctity of life. Nobody likes abortion, but those who deal in absolute and cry "murderer" when any attempt at a civil debate is made are hard to convince otherwise. These are difficult decisions to make, and the only reliable estimate of the reasons can be found below:

1. 74% of women are worried about the impact it would have on their lives. This includes women with jobs or school who cannot afford to give up their education or their career or divert attention away from the children they already have.

2. 73% of women are financially incapable of raising a child, and those who suggest adoption ignore the fact that 9 months of prenatal care and the act of delivery costs tens of thousands of dollars thanks to the flawed health system our nation has.

3. 2% of women say it was the result of rape or incest, but the fact of the matter is that the number is most likely far higher because reporting it as such would lead to imprisonment of a man who may be the only source of financial support and also ignores the emotional state of victims.

4. 48% of women are in abusive or unstable relationships that don't allow for proper fetal development or a proper home life once the child is born. 

     The definition of life is the ability to maintain homeostasis, or constant conditions in the body. A fetus cannot breathe or feed, and, therefore is not alive.

     Republicans claim that abortion is cruel when it is done with a pill and not the knife and vacuum they love to portray. 

     Republicans decry third-trimester abortions while ignoring the fact that less than five percent of abortions are in the third trimester and fetuses do not have fully-developed nervous systems until then. 

     Republicans cry to defund Planned Parenthood and restrict abortion access while ignoring the fact that abortion has been declining since Roe vs. Wade and that Planned Parenthood provides family planning services that lead to fewer pregnancies (and thus fewer abortions) as well as STD services. They also ignore the fact that since the legalization of abortion, countless hundreds of women have been saved from illegal back-alley abortions. In fact, after Bill Clinton lifted restrictions on Planned Parenthood, abortion declined by 20%. 

     Republicans claim that there should be punishment for women who receive abortion rather than working to prevent them. Some have even said that dangerous ectopic pregnancies should be forced to continue. These facts, on top of the myriad of violent protests and even deadly shootings, lead me to believe that Republicans do not understand abortion.