With the leak of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion potentially overturning Roe v. Wade, made public just in time for Mother’s Day, complexes about the feminine are on lurid display all over social media. Many others are doing a fine job covering the material effects of abortion policy, but what are its broad psychological effects, particularly on the archetypal patterns people use to make sense of the world?
May 9, 2022·edited May 9, 2022Liked by Oedipa Maas
An interesting take on the subject (and a very succinct primer on the Anima concept). The true "edge cases" for abortion, which in my humble opinion is one of the key drivers of abortion activism, are Down Syndrome or other abnormalities that can be diagnosed in utero. Something like 90% of DS fetuses are aborted, to the great relief of the insurance industry.
When my wife was pregnant with our first child ~16 years ago, I have to admit that getting a DS diagnosis was pretty shattering for us. We were pretty young and new to marriage, didn't have very much family support, and it felt like the whole world (especially the medical system) was pushing us to abort. All you can think of is the "burden" of a life you didn't want or expect, and aren't ready for.
We considered it, something I'm still ashamed of, and ultimately decided against it with no small measure of horror that we had almost crossed that bridge. The abstract idea is one thing - and i think most "pro-choice" people stop their consideration of the issue here - but the prospect of violently ending the life of your fully-formed child, 20 weeks along and sucking his thumb, was too much to bear.
Our son turns 16 this year, and is an amazing kid with a boundless personality. He has enriched our lives immeasurably, but with no small measure of difficulty. Raising a kid with a disability is not for the feint of heart, and our son is pretty high-functioning compared to a lot of his peers. Then again, raising any kid can be difficult. Our daughter is hyper-intelligent but a bit of an emotional tornado who has cost her parents a lot of sleep. Raising a child is like a marathon, and raising a "challenging" child is like an ultra-marathon. Something you can never be ready for unless you train your way through it and become strengthened (and somewhat isolated) by the pain it causes. But one day you'll realize you're capable of running a marathon, something you couldn't have said at the start.
No person can ever be ready for the maturity required to raise a child, especially your first. It's something you develop by doing. Abortion is not just dark and violent, it's a denial of facing, accepting and undergoing the trials that make a person fully mature.
I'm in no position to judge the choices of others. But having this dark choice affirmed by society is, as you suggest, a "get out of jail free" card that means you never have to grow up. Women who have abortions are indeed "not ready" for a baby. What society doesn't affirm is the fact that *nobody* is.
An interesting take on the subject (and a very succinct primer on the Anima concept). The true "edge cases" for abortion, which in my humble opinion is one of the key drivers of abortion activism, are Down Syndrome or other abnormalities that can be diagnosed in utero. Something like 90% of DS fetuses are aborted, to the great relief of the insurance industry.
When my wife was pregnant with our first child ~16 years ago, I have to admit that getting a DS diagnosis was pretty shattering for us. We were pretty young and new to marriage, didn't have very much family support, and it felt like the whole world (especially the medical system) was pushing us to abort. All you can think of is the "burden" of a life you didn't want or expect, and aren't ready for.
We considered it, something I'm still ashamed of, and ultimately decided against it with no small measure of horror that we had almost crossed that bridge. The abstract idea is one thing - and i think most "pro-choice" people stop their consideration of the issue here - but the prospect of violently ending the life of your fully-formed child, 20 weeks along and sucking his thumb, was too much to bear.
Our son turns 16 this year, and is an amazing kid with a boundless personality. He has enriched our lives immeasurably, but with no small measure of difficulty. Raising a kid with a disability is not for the feint of heart, and our son is pretty high-functioning compared to a lot of his peers. Then again, raising any kid can be difficult. Our daughter is hyper-intelligent but a bit of an emotional tornado who has cost her parents a lot of sleep. Raising a child is like a marathon, and raising a "challenging" child is like an ultra-marathon. Something you can never be ready for unless you train your way through it and become strengthened (and somewhat isolated) by the pain it causes. But one day you'll realize you're capable of running a marathon, something you couldn't have said at the start.
No person can ever be ready for the maturity required to raise a child, especially your first. It's something you develop by doing. Abortion is not just dark and violent, it's a denial of facing, accepting and undergoing the trials that make a person fully mature.
I'm in no position to judge the choices of others. But having this dark choice affirmed by society is, as you suggest, a "get out of jail free" card that means you never have to grow up. Women who have abortions are indeed "not ready" for a baby. What society doesn't affirm is the fact that *nobody* is.
This was excellent! Glad I found your substack