When people hear the term "pro-life" they typically think abortion. They think of the aggressive "pro-life" people (by the way, I don't like to associate with them). When I tell people I'm pro-life, they automatically come to the conclusion that I only care about the baby when it's unborn and not after. They think I hate women, they think I'm just a religious freak, they think I am working towards taking away rights.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Here is my story. I'm adopted. I was adopted at birth through an adoption agency. For years, I hated being adopted. I felt worthless, unwanted, and so much more. It wasn't until I was 17 that I found out why I was given up for adoption.

My birth mother was homeless on the streets of Florida when she was pregnant with me. This is something a lot of people don't know right off the bat, and in arguments as to why abortion should be legal, they often times bring up "what if the woman is poor or homeless and can't afford a child."

That's when I ask them, "So say my mom was homeless on the street. Do you think my mom should've aborted me? Even though I've done a lot of incredible things in my life?"

Often times this stumps them, and I'll explain how she actually was. Then I'll go through the list of things that I'm proud that I've done in my life. Then I bring up adoption.

What I really like to talk about is adoption. What do YOU think of when you hear adoption? Foster care most likely... right? Exactly. Information about adoption agencies is a little know fact. My adoption agency actually helped my mother get off the streets. They'll have a list of adoptive parents and you get to pick from them. Once it's a solid match, the adoptive parents actually pay for expenses such as housing, appointments, everything. So when people say adoption is just throwing kids into a broken foster system, they're not always right. I do agree there are issues in the foster system that need to be fixed if a child does end up in it, but it's not the only adoption route.

So, do I only care about the baby when it's in the womb and not care about a person after they're born?

Absolutely not. Being truly pro-life goes BEYOND abortion and babies. I care for all lives, all of the time, no matter the age, gender, race, or sexual orientation. Should kids be locked up in cages in ICE facilities? No. Should someone be murdered because of the color of their skin or sexual orientation? Absolutely not. Should the death penalty be legal? Nope. Should women have equal rights? Yup. Should schools get more funding? Duh. Should assisted suicide exist? No.

Of course, abortion shouldn't be legal either.

So, do I hate women and want to take their rights away? Simple answer is no. Women should have the right to choose what they do with THEIR bodies, but when it comes to pregnancy, it's not just their body anymore. It's two separate bodies.

The human fetus has its own unique DNA. It is moving, it is functioning, therefore, yes, it is alive. I could go into this more, but for the sake of the length of this article, I won't. If you want to ever have a civil conversation about this, I'm open to it. I'm not aggressive, I'll listen, and I'll give you my point of view and the actual facts I have to back this up.

(Oh, and just so you know, no I'm not pro-life because of my religion. I'm actually an atheist.)

I'm pro-life because of my birth mother. I am pro-life because I believe in human rights for ALL, born and unborn. Our world will never truly have true human rights until we acknowledge EVERYONE as a human and treat them as so. Whether they're born or unborn, BIPOC or white, LGBTQ or straight.

I am pro-life for ALL lives, and I am proud of it.