It's Not the Government's Job to Fix Your Sexual Mistakes

Introduction

There has been a wave of people on social media recently stating things about how it's the government's job to provide free or low-cost abortion, free contraceptives, free sexual planning surgeries (i.e. vasectomy, IUD, tibal ligations, etc.). I have written this document to explain my position on this.

Backdrop: The Comments Being Made

The main comment I'm seeing begins like this: "If the government isn't going to give me an abortion, that means they need to pay for the children I have." When I speak against this, often the next comment revolves around, "If the government doesn't give us free contraceptives, and won't give us abortions, they have to help us raise our kids."

Their position is that if the government makes a law, that means the government owns the consequences. To a point, that would be true if the government really did make such a rule.

It's a Chain of Events

The people making these claims often make statements such that abortion has to be available so that women can curtail pregnancies. However, what we are seeing in society is that 26% of children are growing up in single parent homes already. How did this happen?

I believe this is the more likely scenario. First, people often rush into having sex. While many non-profits and state/federal efforts provide free condoms, people either don't use them or do not think to use them. I am speaking to what I believe is the majority of cases: I realize there are rapes, unfortunately. I realize some lesser men refuse to use condoms. In the heat of the moment, sure, people may decide to just have sex anyways, but that is an illogical and impulsive behavior.

Then when the natural consequences of the act of having sex without adequate preparation or preventions happens and the woman gets pregnant, either the woman and the man get married, try to stay together, or break up. I would think that true feminists would spend more time preaching to the reasons why women should protect themselves against lesser men by advocating for more forethought into their sexuality, but I guess they might be too busy preaching "sexual liberation." Either way, the woman is often left with the consequences: the child. At this point, those who advocate for abortion are already advocating for fixing the consequences with murder. (Again, I'm not talking about rape cases here, so bear with me.) But perhaps they live in a state where they cannot access abortion, or perhaps they don't qualify for free murder, I mean, abortion.

So then the woman is single income and raising her child. Again, per Google searches, 26% of children currently grow up in single parent households. While I realize some of this may be due to other reasons, such as the unfortunate death of a spouse or significant other, it happens.

Then the woman cannot afford to raise her children properly and cannot afford to feed them. (Note that I think Christians should be doing WAY more to help women in this situation, bear with me.)

To then conclude that it's the government's job (anti-abortion laws) to pay for your children is just illogical. A woman or man in such a situation (since some women do leave their children with a man and then disappear) should have 1) not had sex without protection and 2) known their sexual partner a lot better than they did.

What Should Have Happened

First, what should have happened is the woman should not have hastily had sex. People can control their actions. Not controlling one's actions does not obligate the government to help you. Again, I firmly believe that people make mistakes, and as such, churches and all people should be helping women in dire straits. They should be helping children. But that doesn't mean it's the government's job to buy you condoms.

But second, if you got pregnant because you jumped in bed with someone, that's your job to raise the child now. Biologically speaking, the main biological goal of sex is to produce children, not necessarily pleasure. If you put pleasure before self-control, you reap the consequences. Why is it fair to murder the unborn when it's the parent that put themselves into this situation? If I accidentally drop my tea and break my coffee mug, I don't insist the government send someone over to clean it up and give me a new coffee mug.

Again, all people, especially Christians, should be helping women in this situation. And I find it highly reprehensible for men to abandon women because they "knocked them up." I think there should be a better law about making it easier for women to get a DNA test for their child to then link to a man. I don't think men should be allowed to refuse paternity tests. If a man gets a woman pregnant because he wasn't wearing a condom, he should have to pay for half of that child's support. That's logical and fair. One of the real tragedies isn't just abortion: it's that society allows men to be highly irresponsible.

But to the answer of the government having to pay for your child's support, first, the government didn't tell you to have kids. The government isn't responsible for your sexuality because it didn't tell you to do this.

Second, it is directly the responsibility of those who have sex or commit any type of action in general to own the consequences of that action. If I am not paying attention when I drop my tea on the floor, it's my responsibility to clean it up and then pay attention next time. If I hit a pole with my car because I'm not paying attention, it's my job to fix the damage to the pole and my car, as well as to learn from this mistake.

It's the responsibility of women who have sex to own the consequences, if any. That being said, sex takes two, so it is equally the responsibility of the man to provide for any child produced as a result of the sex. If I'm not paying attention to where I (metaphorically) spill my tea, and I break something electronic due to shorting out the circuits, I am responsible for the damage and must pay for a new one if I want one. Like if I spilled tea on my laptop, I'd be cleaning it up and, if there is damage, replacing my laptop. Makes logical sense, right?

Conclusion

It's not the government's job to fix your sexual mistakes.

God DID say that Christians are supposed to help people in such situations, though. So if you're a Christian reading this and you don't help women who are in dire straits, you are part of the problem. Really, all human beings should care about each other.