As everyone knows, the Democrats and Republicans are currently engaged in a game of “mine is bigger than yours” as they stake out their oh-so-macho positions during the negotiations on the so-called “fiscal cliff.”  Even though any economist with any kind of brain is warning these GUYS that we’ll go back into a recession if we go over that cliff, that has not stopped folks on both sides from drawing a very determined line in the sand.

So, let’s say we make the leap and sink back into a recession.  How does that affect women who are suddenly confronted with an unintended pregnancy (clever segue, huh?)?  What course would they choose – childbirth or abortion?

When I think about it, this really is kind of a rhetorical question because it’s virtually impossible to poll women who had unwanted pregnancies to determine the outcome.  That’s because a woman who gives birth is not going to admit to some poll taker that she had an “unwanted” pregnancy in the first place, especially after she gave birth to it.

I would suspect, however, that most people would probably predict that, since there is a lot of economic uncertainty during a recession, most women in that situation would abort the pregnancy.  After all, parents want what’s best for their child, correct?  They want to raise them in a warm, fuzzy loving environment so they can get a great jump start on their life.  But that’s a very broad generalization, an almost Ozzie and Harriet view of the world.

As always, it just depends on that person’s individual circumstances, their frame of mind, and their outlook on the future.  And the fact is that there are many women out there who – because they don’t have money, because their future is not so bright – might actually be inclined to bring their baby into this world.  She may be single and impoverished and, just for that reason, she might think that a little baby around the house would brighten up her life.  She may not be thinking about the possible hardships down the road, the costs of medical care, school, recreation, etc.  Instead, she may be just focusing on those first few weeks when there will be this little precious person in the crib who is totally dependent on HER, the mother.  Or, perhaps making the decision even easier, the mother might have a relative or two living nearby who would be more than happy to watch the baby during the day.  Heck, it just might have been a would-be grandmother who talked her daughter into having the baby in the first place!

When it comes to major “life” issues like these, it’s very hard to generalize and to put people into certain cookie cutter categories.  Everyone is different.

So, if we do go over that fiscal cliff and go into a recession, be careful about betting on the abortion rate going up.