In answer to a letter I received regarding my statistics on unplanned pregnancies and failed contraceptives leading to abortion, I must admit the following: The letter writer says that I used bad logic and he is right. I do apologize for misleading my readers -- I did not intend to do so. I understand that my percentages and statistics were off -- instead of 100,000 Canadian abortions it was only 97,000 or even as few as, thank goodness, 93,000 as he states. And it is true that my failed contraceptive figures were convoluted. However, the fact is that only a small percentage of pregnancies result from failed contraception so what about the rest of the pregnancies?
My true intention -- and I’m sure most readers understood -- was to draw attention not really to the figures but to the undeniable fact that practically all abortions result from what can only be selfishness on the part of one or both parents, the result of passions that got the better of them or the condom failed. (Less than 1% of abortions in Canada last year were done because the mother’s life was in danger, so let’s remove that as a viable statistic for 100,000 abortions).
To round it off let’s say that 90,000 abortions were performed because a baby would have been inconvenient. That’s a large town, 90,000 pairs of shoes, of coats, of diapers, of strollers, of beds and blankets, requiring jobs and employment for many people. That is like wiping out the whole population of say, Brantford, Ont., or Red Deer, Alta., Saint John, N.B. My figures were wrong but my logic is right. What is wrong with our society?
Perhaps a mindset? Do you recall back when AIDs was new? The realization that unbridled sex was the main cause led the moviemakers to put the lid on overt promiscuity? But because the moviemakers had an industry to support it didn’t take too long before obligatory sex returned. Why? You will always grab attention with sex even when the supporting story is lousy.
A good story requires intrigue and ingenuity and only a few of the current writers have the skills to attract and capture an audience. You can always fill seats with an audience which needs a distraction from a boring life -- and there are very few movies where two people don’t fall into bed as part of the script. You are never shown a resulting pregnancy. It just doesn’t happen in the movies. So the fact of abortion is never mentioned. Meanwhile we have 90,000 per year because the responsibility of the probable result of intercourse is not shown as a consequence. Then the beer ads promote sex, fashion promotes sex, much pop and rap music promote sex, and when the natural result of a pregnancy causes an inconvenience, well just get rid of it.
Now, when you add this in with the gratuitous violence and killings in movies and TV cop shows (again, because the writers can’t write) you can see how life is looked upon as a disposable item. The progression is continual. It is a downhill progression. It is tied in with the sad culture of today – a culture without principles, a mindset which disrespects life.
You only have to look at the proliferation of shootings and murders in Toronto over the last few months. There is little value for life within this present-day culture. But that is what we are taught – life is disposable. No wonder abortion is so acceptable.
The letter writer states the following ‘inconvenient’ reason for abortion: “Of course inconvenience could mean a number of things. For nearly 5 million Canadians in 2004, the inconvenience would have been that they had low income before tax.
I assume he feels this is okay. What a sad excuse! Low income is an inconvenience and is therefore an excuse to abort a baby?!! The mind boggles. The fact remains that abortion is the height of selfishness – there is no satisfactory excuse, especially low income. If you can’t afford it, don’t do it. You are not a mindless animal. Think self-control. Or at least use some form of contraception, but always and ever keeping in mind the real fact that it might fail and you may have a baby.
That was my point.
Michael is a freelance writer in Toronto. 
