Recently, abortion has been a hot topic in the news, locally and nationally. A group of people appeared on Appalachian State’s campus to protest abortion. Donald Trump made a public statement regarding his beliefs on abortion, saying that women who did go through with abortions deserved some kind of punishment. I shared this article on Facebook, and another friend of mine shared the same one but added more opinion to it. Not long after she shared it, someone we know from high school hopped right down her throat.

I can be respectful when it comes to arguments about abortion. We are all entitled to our opinions. But it is incredibly frustrating -- and honestly offensive to all who are Pro-Choice -- to know that probably one of the biggest arguments that the Pro-Life community throws against the Pro-Choice community is that we support abortion. Surely, I am not the first to tell you that this is not the case.

When women go in to get abortions, that is completely their choice, because -- as the Pro-Choice community believes -- we have the right to our own bodies. Sometimes women are not in a place to financially, mentally, emotionally or physically support a child, in which case it would be in their best interest to not go through with the pregnancy. Sometimes women are raped, and rapists don’t typically wear contraceptives -- by that I mean they do not wear contraceptives because they don’t actually give a shit about who they are raping. In both scenarios, the future of the woman is the important part here. If her future is in danger than how can she be expected to go through with a pregnancy?

I am in no way saying that I am Pro-Abortion. If I were Pro-Abortion, I would be encouraging every pregnant woman that I met to get an abortion. If I were Pro-Abortion, I would not be primarily concerned with the well-being of the woman or fetus; I would not be concerned with the possibility that if she were to go through with the pregnancy, she would give the child up for adoption, only for it to have a very good chance of living the first 18 years of their life in an orphanage, and then having to learn how to live on their own immediately after that. If I were Pro-Abortion, I would only care about the abortion.

This is the most controversial article I’ve ever written, but I am not afraid of publishing this article. I stand by my opinion, I am entitled to my opinion, and I could say everything I’ve already said over and over again.

My body is my choice.