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ABOUT GOD, ABORTION AND OTHER PLAGUES  | Aleksandra Đorđević | |
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detail from: KRK Art dizajn
About God, Abortion, and Other Plagues
By Aleksandra Đorđević
Lately, I have read a multitude of left-leaning texts; not in search of confirmation, but precisely because I see myself on the right side of the spectrum. I believe that in life we must place a weight on the other end of the seesaw, one we did not carry from home. Only then can we strive for balance.
There are topics I find difficult to discuss. Because they are painful, delicate, or frightening. Or perhaps because I cannot claim with absolute certainty that one side or the other is correct. For instance, on many key questions people want simple answers: Are you for the right to abortion or against it? Yes or no? Since my greatest fear is to become a person without integrity or conviction, I have long tried to answer this question for myself. And for even longer, I have wondered what drives women to bare their chests in protest to fulfill their demands. It must be injustice, I thought.
As a woman myself, I sympathize with my sisters but love for life, especially for that which is still unaware of its own conception and future path whispers to me of responsibility and another kind of injustice. Thus, children’s rights, for me, stand above women’s rights; my rights end where another’s are endangered. I imagine a healthy woman who, by her own choice and free will, entered into a relationship that, as an unwanted consequence, resulted in pregnancy. Everything is permitted to us, but not everything is beneficial.
Perhaps my criteria and expectations are high, even utopian. Perhaps I am not fully aware of poverty, both material and spiritual. But as an advocate of prenatal psychology and someone who reflects on the lives of those not conceived in love and later rejected, I cannot remain deaf and blind to the fact that people cannot be forced into love. And so I ask: Is life without love equally valuable, or is it equal to death? Indeed, I demand much of man and of life: self-control, a sense for the other, and love for one’s neighbor. And I believe that only if we demand much, we will also deserve much.
However, I would not dare to speak on behalf of women who conceived through violence, nor do I agree with subjecting them to these same rules. I would not go out into the streets to wave banners and chant in favor of one side or the other, because every story is unique. I would only confront those who behead others for disagreement. Ultimately, perhaps people should be allowed to live with their own conscience before we rush to save them from themselves.
Still, we cannot leave everything to the reckless spirit of man and of the times. Legal regulation and sanctions ease our lives and sharpen our conscience. During the COVID pandemic, they protected us, until they no longer did. When, under the pretext of protection, they encroached upon the right to freedom (of choice), they collided with conscience. Some issues require a differentiated approach, and instead of blanket bans, a valve that is gradually loosened: the Nordic model of regulating prostitution, the right to abortion under extreme circumstances with mandatory consultation with a psychologist, the ban on social networks for children under sixteen, in truth, protection of the vulnerable, immature, and rejected.
And as for God, He has been my faithful companion and inner ear until now, so I continue to place my faith in Him. I am aware that we will always clash when groups we identify with are called out or portrayed in a certain light, and that is fine. That sensitivity tells me we are alive. Therefore, I listen, and I speak. I have realized that I can have a stance without having to share it. Today, I share it, not in search of confirmation, but in search of meaning.
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