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Old 09-11-2007, 03:34 PM   #8 (permalink)
SecretMethod70
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EDIT: WOW. OK, I can't read. I thought you said you were "very pro-life" for some reason. Anyway, I'm not going to bother editing what I said, because it still applies, just a little differently

A couple things...

1) Ultimately, the decision is hers, but there's nothing wrong with you expressing your opinion, so long as you're supportive of what she decides in the end.

2) JumpinJesus is right that your life will go on. Whatever your decision is, it's not the end of the world. So, don't get yourself down too much. That said, it would be disingenuous not to point out that while life will go on no matter what, some decisions will give you more control of your life than others.

So...

3) If she's on the edge about it, encourage her to get an abortion. <strike>I know you said you're pro-life, and it's not worth debating, but</strike> here are a few things to think about:
a) Despite the propaganda that says otherwise, abortion does not cause mental anguish. <a href=#one>[1]</a>

b) This is not to say that mental anguish some women experience after an abortion is not real, just that it is not "caused" by the abortion. If you were both brought up in an environment that is opposed to abortion, or if you simply feel yourselves becoming depressed after doing it, you should both absolutely get counseling. Abortion is certainly not an easy decision, and sometimes it takes professional help to get through your emotions after difficult periods in your life.

c) Assuming you get professional help, if needed, abortion is most certainly the option which allows both of you to continue on with your lives as planned, taking as much control of your own destinies as possible. I know this isn't the kind of thing you want to hear - especially now - but as perfect as you think this girl is, the odds are that the two of you won't end up together, baby or not. (If you do, that's wonderful, just saying the odds aren't in your favor.) On top of that, it is much easier for a man's life to recover from an unplanned child than it is for a woman. So, you owe it to her to encourage her to get an abortion if she's willing to consider it, because in the long run it's far more likely to throw her life off track than yours. She's the one who runs the risk of ending up as a single mother (the largest group of welfare recipients by the way), trying to have a career while also taking care of her kid and having difficulty finding a man who is interested in dating someone who already has children. All while you'll be able to move on with your career and life, should you two split up, while only needing to pay child support. Inconvenient, sure, but not nearly as bad. I'm not saying you will split up, or that you will be absent with the exception of child support, but the point is that the risk to her future is too great not to support abortion as an option.
4) <strike>If you're incapable of encouraging her to have an abortion, then at least don't discourage her.</strike> If she ultimately decides against having an abortion, then adoption is the next best thing. It'll throw her life off track for ~9 months, and she's even more likely to need counseling, but 9 months is nothing in comparison to the rest of her life.
a) Let me explain what I mean when I say she's more likely to need counseling. That is not, in any way, meant to discourage putting children up for adoption. However, carrying a child to term provides much more time for the body to release bonding hormones, which will make it difficult in the end to be giving the child up. It is, undoubtedly, at least as difficult a decision as choosing to have an abortion.
5) Finally, again, if she ends up having the child, your lives are not over. Yours especially, but even hers. Life will be difficult and you will face many challenges. You probably won't get to do all, or even most, of the things you want to accomplish in life right now, but you'll find new things that you want to accomplish and you'll focus on those. So, don't spend too much energy panicking. Take a day or three to feel crappy about this situation that you've been thrust into, and then get serious about deciding where to go from here. Whichever decision you make, life will go on, but some decisions will make that life easier. The two of you are the ones who have to figure out which decision is right for you.

<a name=one>[1] http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/329/index.html
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Last edited by SecretMethod70; 09-11-2007 at 05:00 PM..
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