Growing up, abortion was always a taboo topic, even moreso now as various bills are being passed around the country to prevent or restrict access to abortion procedures. I always thought of myself as pro-life because when I thought of abortion, I thought of babies being unwanted and mother's who just wanted to end their pregnancy because they didn't want the baby.

But now, at 21, I now know there are many more reasons women have abortions beside just not wanting a baby.

It's not being able to afford the children you have now and you have no earthly idea how you would be able to afford another one.

It's a 13-year-old girl who was raped and can't even take care of herself, much less take care of a baby.

It's the women who had their tubes tied to prevent more pregnancies, but still somehow managed to get pregnant anyway (which, although the chances of it happening are low, it does happen).

It's the women who had previous life-threatening pregnancies and would likely die if they are to bear another child.

It's the women who have cancer and are going through treatment, which is very harmful to a baby.

It's the women who found out that the child they're bearing has multiple anomalies, such as heart defects, spina bifida, cleft lip or palate, or some other anomalies that would make it very hard for a child to survive outside of the womb.

It's the women who are in a relationship where they're abused mentally and/or physically and don't feel safe carrying a baby.

Say it with me: Women do not need a reason to have an abortion besides that it's their body and their choice.

Women are not put on this earth for the reason of bearing children. They should be allowed to make whatever decisions they want regarding their own bodies.

And, don't you dare come at a woman with, "Sex has consequences. If you have sex, you should be ready to have a child."

Absolutely not. If sex has consequences, then where were you when single moms are having to raise their children alone because the father left (or vice versa)? If sex has consequences, shouldn't the other parent who decides to abandon their children have some sort of consequence? Most of the time they don't and a single parent is left raising their child(ren) on their own.

It's the start of a new decade. Why should men (I say men because they're the ones I see supporting these anti-choice measures) have any say in what a woman, who they may not even know, does with her body and her pregnancy?

Anti-abortion laws kill women.

We're forcing women to carry on a pregnancy that can harm them and/or kill the baby that they're carrying. We're forcing women to carry a pregnancy that they don't want or that they cannot afford. We're forcing women to carry a pregnancy when they had previous pregnancies that nearly killed them.

So, next time you talk about how you're anti-abortion, remember that this isn't just about babies. It's about the women who carry them.