Lately my Facebook feed has been flooded with anti-abortion videos showing fetuses at this week as a ploy to argue against abortion. “How can you just kill this? Murderers!” Well I for one am sick of it. First of all, if you aren’t a woman, shut the fuck up. You will never have any idea what it is like to become pregnant and have to carry an infant to term, rendering your opinion on a WOMAN’S BODY irrelevant. Second of all, if you’ve never actually had to make the decision, I also invite you to shut the fuck up. Because what you think you would do compared to what you would actually do in the event of an unplanned pregnancy can differ greatly… again rendering your opinion if not moot, then definitely not beneficial to the discussion.
I have been pregnant, and I chose abortion. I hardly think of it except to think about how right my decision was. There was no rape and there was no crying. Making the decision to abort doesn’t have to be difficult. When I found out, I already knew I wasn’t ready. I didn’t spend weeks agonizing over it, and that’s ok. It’s also ok if someone does have a hard time making a choice. In fact, if you have any reservations whatsoever, don’t do it. That being said, you also shouldn’t feel guilty if your choice to abort is as easy as what to have for breakfast because mine was. Don’t feel like you need to justify yourself by pretending you spent a solid month crying in your sheets before you took the walk of shame through the clinic doors (SARCASM). And if you don’t regret it, don’t pretend like you do. You are a grown woman that made an adult decision. That also goes for young mothers that might feel pressure to abort when they don’t want to. Only one person should ever make that decision…
Abortion is so demonized that any woman that has one must be a slut (gasp, and now she’s a murdering slut!). Interestingly, when I had my abortion, most of the couples were married with children. The women that have abortions are not “those who must not be named” living on the outskirts of society. In fact, the statistic I see most thrown around is 1 in 3 women by middle age will have had an abortion. This means you more than likely know someone who has had one.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And everyone is entitled to live their own life according to their own morals. But since when is anyone entitled to force other people to live by another’s morals? Not to be the redneck yelling ‘Merica whilst waving an American flag on top of a hill BUT isn’t the whole credo of this country FREEDOM? Why isn’t controlling your own decisions enough? If it’s for religious purposes, I believe you aren’t the one who is supposed to do the judging so just move along. In the first few months of 2015, over 235 anti-choice bills were proposed. Why are we so worried about this? I’d rather my lawmakers spend their time on things like the economy or terrorism. Furthermore, I want to set the record straight: Pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. I support every single woman’s right to follow her heart when it comes to pregnancy (and really anything else, especially medical care). Pro-choice literally means the right to choose. I don’t see either choice as better than the other, only the woman facing the choice has that right.
Being pro-life is a valid opinion. Being pro-choice is also a valid opinion. But these personal opinions should only govern your own actions. Let’s support our collective right to make these decisions and focus our attentions on places where women don’t have the luxury of squabbling over such things. That to me seems like a much better way to use our time.
