Some Thoughts on Planned Parenthood and Personal Responsibilty

01/25/2017 at 1230 am

I did a few things before work. I called the bank, did some dishes, ate some food, added something to the website, watched some TV. Mostly watched stuff about the rioting and woman's rally. I think that a lot of them want attention and social points. I am not sure what rights woman have lost in the past few months or years. At least as a whole. I'm sure some woman are doing well and some are not but I am not sure it is the government to blame solely for either case. I also do not know what President Trump can do to take rights away from all woman at once.

Discontinuing funding for certain programs like Planned Parenthood might be a good thing. Especially if it isn't effective, efficient or moral. My personal thoughts on abortion are complicated and I do not have a final word on it at the moment but I do know that a large amount of people think it is very, very immoral and don't want their money going toward this act. I do not think they should be forced to do so. But I also don't think anyone should be forced to do things that they find morally reprehensible when not doing it doesn't hurt anyone. If a woman gets pregnant, unless I had sex with her, it is not my responsibility. Or at least it shouldn't be. I shouldn't be forced to pay for abortions nor should I, or anyone else, be forced to pay for the child if the woman decides to have the baby. And I certainly shouldn't have to pay for the adult that arises from this.

Procreation is a responsibility and an obligation that people should not get into lightly or ignorantly but if they do it should not be put upon others. That does not mean that those people shouldn't be helped or that they should suffer. I believe that anyone can provide value, even if that value is simply friendship, which will compel others to help them. Charities have existed for a long time and a free market of charities could sustain the needy because the array of giving, when voluntary, could be vast.  An added benefit would come when people relying on the kindness of strangers would be compelled toward kindness in an effort to be taken care of.

So, are woman mad that some woman will have to pay for their own abortions? Or their own contraception? Condoms are cheap and if insurance companies don't offer female contraception, then that sucks and it would be great if they did. Regardless, it is still up to women and men to make sure they don't make babies if they can't take care of them. I also know that no matter what anyone thinks about abortion woman will get them. Woman have always found ways to abort fetuses and there are certainly cases where it makes medical sense. In a free market abortion clinics would probably exist and if people didn't like them they could make their arguments against it known and shop somewhere else.

Now, there might be an argument that easier access to abortions and contraception is good for the nation so far as it reduces unwanted children that will most likely end up in poverty. I think that it is hard to tell what the true rate of abortions would be if it were not subsidized and what effect that would have on the conception rate. People have always been having children they couldn't take care of and in the past some of them would die. Disease, childbirth, nature, infection, starvation and the like. This is not ideal and I'm sure it was hard on parents. I could see someone saying that force might be justified if it means that less people will suffer but I am not sure what the true cost of allowing force to be justified for these circumstances. This is another reason why people gave to charities and volunteered to help the needy, because they saw the suffering and wanted to help. When it is a local issue it seems to be easier to feel compassion and take action.

I also think that incentives and consequences matter to decision making. When the consequences of an action are reduced people, if already inclined, will continue or increase their rate of engaging in that action. When consequences are high people tend to engage less in them and ultimately every action has a consequence whether it gets passed around or distributed among many. Nothing is "free" in a personal sense or in a financial sense. We are limited by our biology and we are limited in our resources. Even the wealthy are limited by these things (less on the resources side, obviously).