Rant #3,398: My Prerogative

I posted the main body of this on Facebook the other day, and I think that it is worth reposting here.

I used Google to look up hot topics on voters' minds as we approach Election Day, and this information came up randomly, although it did not surprise me one bit.

According to the Statista Research Department, in a survey conducted in February 2024, the most important topics on voters' minds as we get closer to the November 2024 presidential election are inflation and prices, followed by healthcare; immigration; jobs and the economy; climate and the environment; national security; and taxes and government spending.

Way down at number eight on the list is abortion.

So why does it get so much play as we approach Election Day?

Because it is a flashpoint topic, a topic that certain legislators from both sides can hang their hat on, and create outrage--

Even though, in all honesty, abortion directly impacts a miniscule amount of the population.

I am not talking about states where it is legal versus states where it isnt; I am talking about the number of American citizens who are really and truly impacted by abortion

How many women are there who are actually confronted with this choice?

I would say very few, yet it is a topic thst is among the most incendiary ones in the United States.

According to the March of Dimes, in 2022, there were approximately 65.5 million women between the ages of 15 and 44, which they consider to be childbearing age.

According to other sources, there are about 939,000 abortions per year in our country, so that works out to a slightly above 1 percent rate of those of childbearing age who had abortions for that year.

Of course, not every woman of childbearing age became pregnant that year, so the actual percentage of women becoming pregnant and giving birth versus those deciding to abort is probably a smidgen different.

But let's go with the number I originally reported.

Repeat--a little more than a 1 percent rate--

And that us why it is so far down on the list of concerns as we approach Election Day.

Yet, this topic is only going to ramp up with the situation at hand.

Here is what I put up on Facebook. Agree, disagree ... but this is the way I truly feel about this subject:

'Now that the topic of abortion is going to be put in the forefront with Vice President Kamala Harris being the likely Democratic candidate for president of the United States ... here is what I have to say about this topic.

You have a choice, right at the get go. 

You choose one way, you are completely safe.

You choose another way, no matter how much safety you exhibit, there is still a chance that things can turn out in a way you did not expect.

You have a choice, whether you acknowledge it or not, and do you really want the government in your bedroom?

I happen to be pro-abortion, but not when it is used as birth control.

If the pregnancy imperils the woman or her child, or both, then abortion is absolutely necessary.

If the pregnancy is due to rape or incest, an abortion is absolutely necessary, without question.

Those states that say that it isn't in these instances are completely off base.

But those situations aside, women--and men--do have a choice.

The choice of responsibility for your own body, and for your own future.

Use that choice wisely, and stop blaming the government for your lack of common sense.'

There, I have said it.

We all have our own opinions on this volatile subject.

What are yours?

Actually, I am way more concerned about cereal costing $9 a box than I am about abortion.

And I don't think that I am alone in that feeling.