Why I'm Reluctantly Pro-Choice

I grew up in a primarily pro-life household. My parents and I have had several impassioned debates on whether on not the fetus that grows inside a woman should be protected from abortion. Now, when I say my parents and I debated, I don't mean we have completely opposite views on the subject. In fact, most of our views are very similar: none of us believe abortion is right, except under certain circumstances.

Rape is the first one. This is a point that many people bring up when supporting abortion and is one point that I have found many pro-life and pro-choice people agree on. Rape is unfortunately very real and so is pregnancy from that rape. These women were put in a position where their choices were taken away and their control of their bodies was taken away. I believe their choices should be given back to them when it comes to deciding whether or not to keep that child. Another instance where abortion should be allowed that we agree on is when the pregnancy could be life threatening. Whether the pregnancy is life threatening to the mother or to the fetus, I believe she should be allowed to choose whether or not she wants to go through with that pregnancy.

After these points our opinions deviate. This is the point where my parents become pro-life and I, pro-choice. I believe abortion is terrible, awful, and wrong. I think the choice to kill the life living inside of you just because you don't feel ready to be a parent is despicable. I understand people have their reasons and because of this they may not agree with me, but I know with all of my heart that I could never get an abortion just because I didn't want to be a parent. You may wonder at this point why I am pro-choice, then. In the end, I really don't know, but something about the abortion debate makes me push my right-leaning viewpoints to the side and look to the left. Maybe it's because I understand these pregnant women who are not ready to be mothers must be scared. Maybe it's because I think people should be allowed to make their own terrible decisions. Maybe it's for some reason deep inside me that I can't put into words. Anyway, whatever the reason, I guess I'm pro-choice.