Why I'm Pro-Choice
Not to be lazy, but I just posted on this topic not long ago, so I am referring back to it today. Especially since we have the protesters in town.
I hope readers who don't agree with my position will at least respect it. I promise, I respect yours...I just don't agree.
So anyway, here you go...
The "choice" issue has, for me, always meant so much more than the right to get an abortion but the right to self-determination on issues pertaining to one's body.
I've always felt that a person's position on the abortion issue told me so much about their whole outlook on the rights of all humans. The right to have sex with the consenting adult of your choice, the right to abstain from sex, the right to decorate your body, the right to change your body in some way, the right to prevent someone from changing your body...the right to make decisions for oneself and for the body your soul inhabits while on this planet is that too much to ask?
There are plenty of decisions folks may make under this precept that I don't agree with or wouldn't pursue myself, but I'll defend their right to make those decisions till the end. I don't ask for all people to condone abortion, but to leave the decision up to the woman who must face that decision herself.
Would that we had a world where every pregnancy was a wanted pregnancy, unfortunately that is just not the reality. We should all be working to make it a reality, yet those organizations (and their supporters) who label themselves as "pro-life" aren't necessarily concerned with this. The National Right to Life organization clearly states in their mission statement that they do not even have a position on sex-education or contraception!
How can they claim to want to reduce abortion in this country but not even engage in a conversation about how to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies?! As a mother, I know how awe-inspiring bringing a child into this world is. As a mother, I also know the patience, resources and love needed to raise a healthy child. How many children would be raised without those things if we were to outlaw abortion?
And please don't send me a comment about all those unwanted babies being adopted...I'm adopted. You know how many kids in this country go unadopted every year? Being adopted has never once affected my feeling on this issue because of the very premise this post began with--the decisions about one's body need to be made by the brain inhabiting that body.
11 Deserve Mamma's Love:
Right on, sister.
Excellent point. If fewer to no abortions were the goal, contraception and sex education would be a prominent platform. Unfortunately...I'm not even sure that is the actual goal.
I'm with you on this one.
I want to protect ALL life with every ounce of my being. I used to be anti-abortion. But then, when I contemplated the issue at great length and then went through it with a friend, I realized that it should be solely up to the woman who's decision it is...not my choice, but her's. And then, I fully understood the notion of "pro-choice".
And I think that it's ludicrous that many who claim to be "pro-life" are also pro-war and pro-death penalty. Sorry folks...as much as you'd like to rationalize it in your own twisted mind that you're "pro-life", if you support these other things, you can't label yourself as "pro-life". You can't have both.
Mamma - I applaud your sensiblity and your bravery.
It would be nice if foundations The National Right To Life would at least back abstinence programs.
-Sean
What gets me most about many of the pro-lifers I know are their exceptions. I had a friend who was put in the worst imaginable situation which has only fueled my pro-choice fire...and when I bring this up to some pro-lifers they always say "well in that case..."
No, not in that case - you can't be pro-life with exceptions. It's not your place to say "in that case" it's up to the woman in question which is why pro-choice exists.
I'm adopted too and understand where you are coming from. I posted for pro-choice too. Birth control and sex education as well as health care for everyone will reduce unwanted pregnancies and yet the pro-life movement fights these things. So confusing.
I just don't think education makes that much of a difference condsidering we've been doing it in this country for over twenty years and still have so many abortions.
The women ending up pregnant and wanting to abort could have taken precautions in advance. Most women take the gamble by drinking, drugging, or not using protection even though it's obvious those things aren't wise to do.
It's one thing if we're saying mentally challenged women don't know better...or children don't know better...but grown women know better. Pregnancy shouldn't be an "oops" after thought, yet it still is. And despite sex ed starting as at least as early as 6th grade, we're still saying these women can't help it and deserve to turn back time and terminate a life in the process.
It's not the same as war. It's not the same as respecting someone's right to tattoo, be themselves, etc. It's about women not being held accountable for their indiscretions.
Okay, I'm off my soap box now. :D This is a situation that will never improve no matter how many times people debate it.
Love your blog! Ha ha! ;-)
Hey, nice post. I completely agree about this issue reflecting a person's views on the right to self-determination.
P.S. I'm surprised there are babies not being adopted every year considering how long the waiting lists are.
Anyway, I thought I should stop back by to say thanks for letting me have a voice as well. And I'm glad your mom didn't take the abortion route because you seem like a bonus to our world, and I'm sure your child is as well. :D
P.S.S. I'm probably more adamant about this topic considering I went through heck to conceive. Now I've got a child with a heart defect that needs open heart surgery. The thought of snuffing out her life before she was born is horrific. And I will go to any length to keep her alive no matter what the sacrifice on my part. I just can't accept any argument for abortion that's not linked to incest, rape, or saving the mother's life. It seems like such an evil self-centered act. Sometimes it's just not about your own life and your own desires.
Abortion is a touchy issue, but for me it's more about my right as a woman to make decisions about my body and my life.
I love children and my daughter is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I work hard everyday to give her everything she could ever need or want, but at 22 would I have done that? At 17?
It's a personal decision that no one should be allowed to make for me. Don't put me in a box and force me to do somehting I don't want to do. Don't force a child to be born to parents that don't love or want it. Don't force a child into a life of foster care. I have two nephews that are adopted and we love them dearly. I am glad that they were born and I am glad that they came to us, but they languished in foster care for 3 years before they came to us - and they were the lucky kids! I would like to see the statistics on just how many of these pro-lifers have adopted these children whose lives they are "saving".
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