To the men protesting outside of my local planned parenthood,

Now I know that the pro-life vs. pro-choice argument is as old as time, but I still don’t understand why it needs to be an argument. Every time I drive past my local planned parenthood, which isn’t easily avoidable because it is on a common thoroughfare, with out fail, I see men, never women, protesting outside of its doors protesting. This is not a bash on men, lets get this clear, its simply an observation to my experience. They hold their signs proclaiming that women are murdering their babies, and so on.

My question to these people is, if this is so important to you that you take time out of your lives as well as time off work to stand outside of an establishment to complain about your distain for a minority of services offered at this establishment, why don’t you offer some alternatives? Why don’t you try to help these individuals who need abortions, or try to understand where they are coming from before you quickly write them off as vial murderers of helpless fetuses?

More often than not your beliefs come from a religious stand point, which I respect, this stand point also believes that one should remain a virgin until marriage. Hate to burst any bubbles here, but statistically speaking, about 3% of the United Sates population waits until marriage to do the deed (according to the CDC). If we are realistically thinking about this, teaching abstinence in schools isn’t exactly doing the job. We all know that the majority of our teenaged brains did whatever the heck we wanted, regardless of what our teachers, religious officials, and parents told us. I know that holds true for myself and a large amount of my peers. Realizing this, why don’t we provide our youth with the correct information instead of sweeping it under the rug, pretending it doesn’t exist to avoid some awkward conversations. I can guarantee having a conversation with your teen about an actual unplanned pregnancy will be a whole lot more awkward. Like I said before, I respect your religious values but you need to realize that the times have changed, kids can find anything on the internet, factual or not, no lets at least provide them with the correct information.

Do you guys know that the institution that you protest actually offers some of these services such as sexual education, health screenings and STI testing for individuals at a reduced price and even for free for those who need it? That is Planned Parenthood’s main mission, to educate and provide safe choices for whom ever may need it. This mission is actually their main focus, NOT abortion.

Another thing that astounds me is the complete and total lack of respect held for these people who need abortions. There are many instances that people fail or refuse to see that could play into the need for this procedure. A woman could have a medical condition, not be emotionally and or financially stable to have and raise a child, become pregnant from rape, and the list goes on. At the end of the day I can guarantee you that a woman doesn’t just rush to abortion as a solve all to her problems, but I do believe that it should be an available option to anyone who needs access to it. Women should have the right to what happens to her body, and that should be defended and supported just as much as the next thing we hold in high standards.

As a woman, and a college student, I am completely unsure what I would do if I became pregnant right now. I have no idea, and I hope I never have to experience this or make this impossible decision. I know that I would consider all of my options, abortion being one of them, and I could tell you how attacked I would feel when I walked into my local planned parenthood when I saw all of those men with signs saying that I wasn’t cherishing the life that God blessed me with, and that I was murdering a life, when I knew deep in my heart that I wasn’t mature, or financially stable enough to support a child with all of the care and love it needed or deserved.

I do not disrespect any one with the pro-life view, but I do disrespect the fact that you take your views to such a level that you disrespect women, attempt to strip them of their rights, and dehumanize them for needing to do what is right for their own bodies. I don’t go outside of your local doctor’s offices and protest you for needing a prescription for a boner, I don’t tell you what to do with your body, so why should you tell me what to do with mine?

I have the upmost respect for all mothers, parents, and caregivers of children who were planned or not. But this was a decision too, at the end of the day this woman who had this child decided to keep it because that was what was right for her, not what was right for anyone else. I applaud these individuals for having beliefs, caring about something, what have you, but these beliefs should not attack, disrespect, or overshadow a woman’s right to her own body.

If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t get one.