Thursday, October 23, 2008

I can fix it!

I'm increasingly annoyed by the propaganda re: Right to Life, blah blah blah, vs. Right to Choose. Because I understand there is No. Middle. Ground. Here. The facts are that some people consider the fetus' rights a trump card over the mother's; others consider women's right to choose an integral part of freedom.
But I have a solution. I think it's quite elegant, and while the few people I've presented it to have been horrified and all agog at my derring-do in even suggesting it, if the ultimate goal is truly to end abortion and ensure that all fetuses who can be born are, it works. It also evens out the disparity of responsibility long associated with the most effective birth control.
Ready? Perform reversible vasectomies on all young male adolescents, let's say, starting at age 12. For those who don't trust the medical establishment, offer sperm freezing (heck, given the studies that show older dude's jizz isn't quite up to snuff and has a higher rate of birth defects and other health problems, maybe, for the sake of the fetus, all pregnancies should be started with cryogenically frozen baby batter from the would-be papa's halcyon days).
Oh wait, said some folks: that's an invasive medical procedure performed on a minor without his knowing consent! Really? You mean, like male circumcision to make the penis pretty/less ooky-seeming? That's interesting too, as some would consider an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy invasive. So we're trading one for the other for a while--let's call it, say, 400 years, just a little trial period. Seems fair to me.
But the overwhelming reaction is more that, while they saw it as a logical and even "elegant" solution, "no way a nation of dads and their adolescent sons will let you close to their penises with a laser." Oh. So it's not about an individual's right to choose a medical procedure/condition. It's about the penis. YAWN.

1 comment:

jenn stewart said...

I said it before and I'll say it again. I don't think there's much wrong with this plan. :D

The only thing that'd make it better is if these mandated reversible vasectomies were free for those who couldn't afford them...a la flu shots.