There has been endless controversy about abortion. Each side of the argument can debate until the world's end, but one thing remains: pro-lifers will never be quiet about their belief. That isn't meant to be an offputting statement, but it is much easier to find arguments which are pro-life, be it on a billboard, Facebook, or any other form of expression.
As I've grown older, I have found more and more girls speak their mind on being pro-life. With each girl who speaks up, I am tempted even more so each time to defend the pro-choice movement.
While it is impossible to discuss this side with each woman individually, it is possible to create my own statements which all women can read.
The pro-choice party has faced never ending scrutiny for everything it stands for. It is deemed more of a "pro-abortion" argument by the opposing side, which is a false way to see it.
Pro-choice supports a woman's right to choose whether or not to get an abortion. It doesn't mean it encourages abortion, but provides help and emotional support for those who choose to have one.
You can be pro-choice and still believe you, personally, could never have an abortion. It doesn't mean you will, but you won't stop other girls from making that choice.
The topic of it being murder is a grey area for many women. Many struggle with this point in the debate, but for the most part, pro-choice has a fairly unanimous agreement.
An undeveloped fetus is obviously nowhere near the same as a baby that can be birthed (be it prematurely or not). Many people would rather have a petri dish of cells be dropped than an actual infant.
Along with this, if a woman getting an abortion and the doctor performing it both view the embryo or fetus as a non-sentient being-- one without conciousness-- it is not murder. It is not alive enough to understand or feel in the way an infant can.
"Well, why not put it up for adoption instead?"
Are you going to pay for every girl's doctor visits to the obstetrician? If a woman's health cannot support the pregnancy, will you allow her life to be put at risk just so a baby can possibly make it into the world?
If a baby is predicted to have severe health problems at birth, will you pay for the medical bills for it or allow the mother to have a baby for such a short time just to lose it soon after it's born?
Adoption isn't alway an option for some women. Some girls simply can't make it through pregnancy, be it for health or finances.
"Well if she can't support a baby she shouldn't be having sex."
Here's the truth though: most of the time, people are having sex for fun. They don't expect pregnancy. They might even have used protection that ultimately ended up failing.
Chances are, many women have been sexually active in a time of their life when they aren't the best off on funds. A time like college, maybe?
It's wrong to say a woman shouldn't have sex if they can't afford a baby or pregnancy, but to still have sex in a time when you're just making ends meet. Not everybody has financial support and simply cannot afford to follow through with a pregnancy.
The biggest and most important point though is this: it's her choice.
She can choose not to support any other life in her body in that time of her life because it's her body.
No one should be able to prevent a woman from making a choice. If someone pro-life was forced to get an abortion, they would be pretty angry, and even more so if it had stipulations like watching videos of a procedure, or to bury the remains.
Pro-choice women don't want someone else making rules about their body and having all these stipulations forcing them to feel terrible.
Ultimately, no one should stop a woman from being able to make decisions about her own body. Abortion continues to be controversial, and the more restrictions we put on it, the more unsafe and hidden these procedures will become.
Women will continue to make their own decisions, and no matter what laws are passed, what billboards people put up, pro-choice women will always do just that: make their own choice.
