Oct 29 2008
Pro-choice Equals Pro-Woman
I wasn’t always pro-choice. In high school, I was very much anti-choice, but then I had a friend who was 15 years old and pregnant. I was there when she took a pregnancy test. I saw the horror in her eyes. Her boyfriend was older and unemployed. She chose to have an abortion and it was clear to me that this was the right thing to do. She and her mother had to drive into a different city to get the surgery. Her boyfriend did not respect her decision and the relationship ended. Of course people at school found out and she was getting threatening calls on a daily basis and being called a “murderer” and a “baby killer.” She is 26 now, does not have any children and graduated with a Master’s degree a few years ago.
Now let’s look at the flip-side. Say she had gone through with the pregnancy, thus making her a mom at the age of 16. She would be pregnant walking down the halls of school over-hearing snickers and whispers of “slut” and “whore.” Her deadbeat boyfriend would still be unemployed, shrink on his responsibilites, and ultimately leave her after the baby’s birth. She wouldn’t see a dime of child-support because, hey, you can’t draw blood from a turnip. She would probably rely on her parents to care for the infant until she finished high school. Then she would move out on her own with her baby and a new boyfriend, buy a trailer, and live in poverty for the rest of her life.
This may not be the alternative story that you’ve witnessed, but believe me, this is the pattern in small-town West Virginia.
I do not believe that men should have abortion rights. Puh-lease. That’s just crazy talk. Why should a man have control over my body?! When men start having babies, they can have abortion rights.
Contrary to popular belief, pro-choice does NOT mean pro-abortion. I am an advocate of birth control and condoms and if anti-choicers were actively promoting birth control, I would stand alongside them against abortion. The reality though is that most of the anti-choicers that I’ve met are against birth control. Does that make any sense at all???!!!!
And while I’m on my soapbox, abstinence only education does NOT work. Kids need to be educated about their bodies and birth control. Period. Wouldn’t it make sense to prevent pregnancy rather than dealing with it after it’s already happened?
