JSA members debate abortion

Highlights

Michelle Banayan, news editor

The Junior Statesmen of America club (JSA) meets monthly to debate controversial topics with their peers.  At their latest meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10, club members discussed abortion and their stance on being either pro-life or pro-choice.

“I felt that abortion was a good topic to debate because I figured a majority of people would have a strong opinion on it, and they did,” Vice President Chaliz Taghdis said.

Throughout the debate, students varied in their views, although most students were pro-choice.

 “If someone doesn’t want to have her baby in the world, that shows that she can’t take care of it and that she’s not going to be very responsible with her child,” a student said. “So instead of harming the baby at a later time, they could end the whole situation before anything serious happens when it grows up.”

However, others, like senior Avital Simone, stood undecided.

“Abortion is a really gray area,” Simone said, “because on one hand, abortion entails killing an unborn baby. But on the other hand, circumstances like rape occur that might justify the action.”

Students who participated in the JSA debate found the meeting one that opened their eyes to their peers’ perspective.

“I really enjoyed taking part in this discussion because it gave me a chance to discuss a topic with my friends that we don’t usually talk about. I got to hear a side of them that I haven’t before,” senior Shana Kheradyar said.

Furthermore, Taghdis felt that although she knew where she stood on the topic, listening to what fellow members had to say made her consider opposing views.

“I’ve always been pro-choice because I think that everyone has the right to decide what to do with their own bodies,” Taghdis said, “but when I heard what some of my friends who didn’t exactly agree with me had to say, it made me rethink my own views and made me ask myself why I believe what I do.  Through listening to others, I found out more about myself and my beliefs.”

Except members such as senior Daniela Zokaeim were not as affected by the meeting.

“Although it was interesting to hear what everyone had to say about abortion, I didn’t leave the meeting with that much of a different perspective since a lot of us shared similar views,” she said.

JSA will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 7 in vocal teacher Ethan Smith’s choir room, room 190. In light of recent school shootings, the topic of discussion is scheduled to be gun control.

 

(Edited May 2, 2023)