By Evelyn Uddin-khan

I am pro-life, but there are exceptions to all rules.

Let me also make clear that abortion is not birth control. Two consenting adults should take responsibility for their pleasure.

As an educator who spent decades in classrooms, I have seen what teenage pregnancies can do to girls’ lives. These kids have no clue as to what went wrong in their young lives and how their bodies betrayed them.

Boys are interested in learning about sex. Society encourages young men to sow their wild oats. They believe female bodies are necessary for these experiments. The consequences of their actions are not their concern. There is always another girl to hustle.

At high schools in New York, teenage boys could get condoms from the nurse’s office or their coaches. Do they use them? Condoms are more important than biology and respect for girls.

When a 15-year-old girl gets pregnant, what are her options? Have the baby and quit school? Who provides a home, food for two and child care? Should her mother quit her job and babysit her new grandchild? Should she get an abortion? What is the future of a 15-year-old mother?

In all the abortion noise out there, no mention is made of criminals who impregnate girls and women. It seems as if the governors, the courts and the God-fearing citizens support free sex for men. Politicians and the law protect the rapists and men who did the deed.

And yet, men of the law sit on their moral high chairs and decide the fate of abortion. Here are the facts they should consider: 233,986 females were sexually assaulted in 2020. About 15% of assault victims are between the ages of 12 and 17. About 54% are ages 18 to 34. One out of six American women is a victim of attempted or completed rape. Every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Less than 5% of men are punished for rape and sexual assault. 

We have a problem. Abortion is not the problem. Men who rape are the problem. Rape and sexual assault are crimes that should be punished. Men who make laws to punish the victims and protect the criminals are worse than the criminals.

No, abortion is not the solution to unwanted pregnancies. Decent, responsible men are the solution to unwanted pregnancies.

Let’s consider girls under 18 in high school who either have a future to plan for or a dark road ahead. In my years in the classroom, I have seen pregnant teens “disappear.” How can a 15-year-old girl cope with morning sickness, getting fat, getting on the bus to school, homework, helping at home, enjoy a social life and facing the shame of a cruel world?

At the college where I taught, daycare was available for young mothers during the day. This meant young women took classes during the day and were unable to work. The drop-out rate was high.

Sex education in schools would help, but like so many topics that are off limits in public education, one could be jailed for even suggesting it.

What is shocking in this whole abortion business is the silence of women in power. Women judges, elected women, health care and social services. From my experience, when a high school girl gets pregnant, the first stop is the nurse’s office and Social Services is called in.  

Texas’s new law says neighbors, friends, classmates or the culprit who got you pregnant can turn you in for wanting an abortion. Next stop: Washington, D.C., and revisiting Roe vs. Wade. I listened to the Supreme Court hearings on NPR. It was not favorable.

I hope our women in power can find their voices and courage to speak out. If they look at the mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide rate of sexual abuse victims, they might wake up.

Abortion is not right. Abortion is not wrong if you are 15 years old. Raping and impregnating girls and women are criminal acts. Politicians and judges should educate themselves before passing judgment.

Girls are the victims of a silent crime. When is a crime not a crime? When a man rapes a girl.

If a female wants an abortion, that decision is between her doctor, her God and herself.

Evelyn Uddin-khan moved to Salisbury in 2018 after living in the New York City area for most of her life. She taught in public schools and for a community college in the New York City area.