Good intentions aren’t enough.
I have had many people in my life who had the best of intentions toward me. They cared about me and wanted what they believed was best for me. However, it isn’t enough. You can sincerely believe that your experience will help others, and it won’t. Let me give you some examples.
I grew up in a religious community that had members of all faiths. One particular faith was the majority and many members of that faith talked with me in all sincerity about their belief that their faith was true. I listened of course and was respectful, but I didn’t believe in any faith and I didn’t believe in theirs. You can be completely convinced of something is true, but that doesn’t make it true.
The conviction that you hold your belief doesn’t make something true. I am not here to debate if religion is true or not. I don’t know anything about what truth is. However, it is clear that when we start down the road of mandating religious beliefs, we lose the freedom that we all say we value.
Protecting life is noble if that is your true intention. Actions speak louder than words. If we value women and life, why do we have one of the highest birth rate mortality in the world? Why don’t we support children after they are born? Why don’t we have social policies that encourage children, rather than discourage them?
In order to have improvement and lasting change, we need to make changes in line with reality. Is it a reality when we stop making the technology available for people who are too poor to afford to go to a state where it is legal? Each hostile action against women just further decreases the quality of life for everyone. If women choose to not have children, then what? Do you think that illegal abortions will be stopped? What we have done is inexcusable. Bodily autonomy is sacred.