Just because I’m a Republican does not mean I can’t be a feminist, just like being pro-life doesn’t mean I can’t be a feminist. Considering yourself one thing does not eliminate you from being something else completely. Frankly, I’m tired of being told, “You’re pro-life? You can’t call yourself a feminist if you’re pro-life,” because no one else should be able to tell me what I can or cannot believe in, or what I should or should not consider myself.

Whenever I hear people say to me, or to other people, “If you’re X then you can’t be Y” my eyes roll back into my head faster than they did when I was a teenager fighting with my siblings, and, trust me, it was a frequent occurrence. Anyway, what people who say that usually don’t understand is that everyone’s beliefs fall on a spectrum. I’m pro-life, so let me tell you a few things that I do and do not believe in:

I believe that a child is a child, and a human being, upon conception.

I believe that all life is precious, regardless of the terms of the conception of any child.

I believe that every baby should have the chance at life, regardless of any hurdles that child may have to face (i.e. Down Syndrome, autism, growth disorders, health concerns, etc.).

I do not believe that ‘not wanting a child’ is a good enough reason to abort a child.

I do not believe that abortion is the only option for unwanted pregnancies.

Those are just a few to get me started, but here are a few things that I understand:

I understand that not every child is conceived in a loving relationship. Unfortunately, rape, incestual rape, sexual assault, and other crimes of the likes happen in our world, and sometimes a baby is the product of these horrible circumstances.

I understand that some women’s lives are in danger because of their pregnancy and that the woman’s life should come first.

I understand that not all babies are expected to live very long after they are born.

Just because I’m pro-life doesn’t mean I’m completely blind to the realities of life. Awful and tragic things happen every day, like rape, and assault, and the inability to carry a wanted pregnancy to term, and I understand all of these realities. What so many people don’t understand about me, and other pro-lifers, is that not every pro-lifer is like the pro-lifers that stand outside any given abortion clinic claiming that you’ll go to hell if you abort your baby.

I’m pro-life, and despite my belief that all babies should be given a chance at life, I understand that some women will die if they carry a baby to term. I also understand that those women are mothers, daughters, wives, friends, and they don’t want to lose their lives, just like they may not want their baby to lose its life. In this specific instance, a choice needs to be made, and I don’t disagree with that choice.

However, what I don’t understand, and this is where I usually start getting the “then you’re not a feminist” speeches, is why someone would need to abort an innocent, living baby if neither life is at risk. I’m not going to try to pretend to understand what it must feel like to go through an unwanted pregnancy, whether it be through a contraception mishap or darker circumstances, such as rape, but there are options other than abortion. No child should be killed because a pill didn’t work correctly, or a condom broke, or one man was a menace and took advantage of a woman.

Even with my pro-life beliefs, I’m a feminist. Feminism is the fight for women to have equal rights as men, not the right for women to abort their babies; feminism is SO much more than that. I believe women should have equal rights as men, women should be paid the same as men of an equal position, and I believe that women should have equal opportunity in life.

Being pro-life doesn’t negate any of the beliefs I've just mentioned but, for some reason, some people tend to think that one person can’t possibly be both pro-life and a feminist. To those people I say, you don’t get to tell me what to believe. I’m not standing on street corners condemning people for getting abortions, and I don’t disrespect people for their decisions, so why do I get disrespected for having my own opinion?

I welcome and enjoy having conversations about this topic, but I hate when people treat others poorly for having an opposing opinion from their own, which is usually how I’m approached when I state my beliefs on being pro-life.

I’m a feminist and I’m pro-life, and these two facts do not cancel each other out. Please stop telling me I can’t be both.