.....The Choice is HERS.......
The freedom of choice is one of the many blessings of living in America. Of course, there are restrictions like one cannot choose to commit murder and then choose his or her punishment, that's a given. Other than that, Americans are endowed with the freedom of choice while other countries are not so fortunate.
I support any decision that a person chooses to make, as long as it is legal of course. As you already might have assumed, I am pro-choice. Let me clarify that pro-choice doesn't necessarily mean pro-abortion, it's about letting the woman choose what she wants to do with her body and life. Those choices are motherhood, adoption and abortion. It's NOT my (and the government's) place to make the decision for her. I certainly will not force a woman to stay pregnant if she was raped or if the fetus was the product of incestual relationship. Honestly, I don't understand how anyone can?! In the of case rape where the fetus was forcibly conceived through violence, how can we expect the woman to be mentally prepared to carry and give birth to child that she didn't want??? Yes, there are women who have done that but it's rare. If the woman's life is in danger and she's not willing to take that risk then I also support her decision to abort the pregnancy. This is as far as George W. and I agree on.
A woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to be pregnant, why? Because it's her body! SHE will endure the emotional and physical changes that pregnancy entails. The man doesn't have a uterus, therefore he will NEVER know what it's like to be pregnant. Although he helped create the fetus, he's not the one that will carry it for 9 months and experience the hell that is labor. It's difficult for me to take males who are unapologetically pro-life. Sometimes, I just want to blurt out, "HEY! NO UTERUS, NO OPINION!" I know that's inappropraite to say but is it untrue? And to the pro-life ladies, you will never know what pregnancy or motherhood is like until you have experienced it yourself.
Contraception has improved since it's inception and it's more effective but it's not 100%, only 99! A woman isn't at fault if she properly used her contraceptive but still managed to get pregnant. Yes, she chose to have sex but since she's using contraception she didn't have children in mind. Focing a woman to be pregnant as a punishment for being sexual is unfair, and sexist. Is it hard for you to hear from all the way from the 1600's you damn Puritan!!! If we're going to punish a women for being sexual then we have to do the same for the men! That's right, all they have to do is pay a weekly check for 18 years... a check that some believe is optional to uphold. Oh wait..too late! House Republicans cut the child support enforcement program on the 27th, so deadbeat fathers can run around freely knowing that they won't be as hunted as they were before! Spot on conservatives, spot on.
Abortions/unplanned pregnancies (especially here in the US) would occur less often if the morning after pill was available in all 50 states instead of the 7 that prescribe it over the counter. Studies in the United Kingdom have shown that its existence doesn’t alter a woman’s sex life. On top of that, some pharmacists are still refusing to fill birth control prescriptions. And, abstinence only programs in schools are being pushed by this administration. They are also responsible for the lack of availability of the morning after pill because Dr. David W. Hager (he's head of the FDA and was appointed by Bush) has stalled when it comes to this issue.
Adoption is wonderful, it's a great way for infertile parents or single women or men or gay couples to fulfill their dream of having a child. I'm in no way against it. However, I understand why some women do not choose it. During those nine months, the woman MAY get emotionally attached to the fetus. While some women who have been pregnant before KNOW that they cannot give up a baby after carrying it in their womb for so long. It's admirable when a woman opts for adoption, she's strong and selfless but not every woman is like that. Again, I believe it's wrong and inhumane to force a woman to be pregnant if she doesn't want to be. This is considering that half a million American children are either living in foster care or in adoption agencies. As my fellow liberal pigeon Jamison has mentioned there are over 40,000 that are eligible for adoption each year and don't get adopted. 16% of those children are under the age of one...so newborns aren't being adopted. Those numbers wouldn't be as high if all countries allowed single and gay individuals to adopt.
When it comes to adoption, the chances of a baby going to a good home with great parents are slim and frankly, those chances lessen if the baby is not white or bi-racial. Russia is one of the top countries that Americans adopt from because those children are white and can pass for a "typical" American easier than an African baby (yes, I know that's obvious but I had to say it). While parents who want baby girls adopt from China and other countries in Asia since females aren't as respected, desired, and wanted like men are.
Look, if pro-life supporters can come up with a well thought out and plausible plan that would ensure that EVERY child that is born will be sufficiently loved and cared for (financially), than maybe adovocates for pro-choice like myself would understand your position. And maybe, just maybe we'd push for adoption. The reality is, in life there are very few guarantees and the way that a child's life will turn out is one of them. Look at Michael Jackson, most of us didn't know that he didn't have a childhood until he started living it as a man. We all saw how well that worked out.
Post-abortion depression is myth. There have been no studies proving that women have a great chance of experiencing this unlike postpartum depression which can happen after giving birth and a lot of women suffer through it. Look at Marie Osmond, she left her family and separated from her husband! But when she got help she returned to them. No woman is proud to have an abortion. Obviously, abortion is not a delightful process since it's a medical procedure (very few are enjoyable to begin with). Like most medical procedures risks are involved. And yes, a woman will not be the same after having one, but this also applies to motherhood and adoption which drastically changes and affects the woman's life.
This is not to mention the kind of life the fetus might have being born when it was unwanted or unplanned. The mother, the father or both may be resentful towards the child. Some are so apathetic and selfish that they try to abandon it in a dumpster or a public bathroom. Yes, that does happen in America and oddly enough, those stories haven't gotten as much attention since Bush has been in office. Sadly, a lot of these instances result in death.
Pro-choice is not pro-death. I value the life of the woman because she's not physically dependent on another human and when she's in distress she can emote (much like a crying infant). And if she decides to stay pregnant, then she obviously views and values the fetus as a life and in that case, so do I. I will support her whether she chooses motherhood, adoption or abortion. But I will not force her to choose what I think is best for her. It's her life and body.
I am pro-choice because I know women who have had abortions or chose motherhood. I've seen how their decisions affected them. And not one of them regrets it. What I learned is, they don't deserve our judgment or criticism, they need compassion and support. These women are our sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts, cousins, grandmothers, girlfriends, best friends, neighbors etc.. They are not faceless monsters, they are humans in a very difficult situation.
If we get rid of pro-choice then freedom of choice has to go too. I’ve read and heard that some pro-lifers have chosen their stance because they knew someone that had one and regretted it. We all have regrets and for the most part, we learn from them. And if our government eliminated or outlawed freedom of choice simply based on the possibility of regret, then we wouldn’t be a “free” country.
This entry is in light of Bush choosing Samuel Alito Jr. as a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor. It's hard for anyone not born before 1973 to imagine a time where abortion was illegal and women were getting sick or dying because of back alley abortions. That's like me wondering what it was like to live under Hitler's reign, I don't have to travel back in time to know that it was horrible. And I truly hope that Roe v. Wade is not overturned because as a society and a country, we would be taking a huge step backward in time and for womens' rights.
I support any decision that a person chooses to make, as long as it is legal of course. As you already might have assumed, I am pro-choice. Let me clarify that pro-choice doesn't necessarily mean pro-abortion, it's about letting the woman choose what she wants to do with her body and life. Those choices are motherhood, adoption and abortion. It's NOT my (and the government's) place to make the decision for her. I certainly will not force a woman to stay pregnant if she was raped or if the fetus was the product of incestual relationship. Honestly, I don't understand how anyone can?! In the of case rape where the fetus was forcibly conceived through violence, how can we expect the woman to be mentally prepared to carry and give birth to child that she didn't want??? Yes, there are women who have done that but it's rare. If the woman's life is in danger and she's not willing to take that risk then I also support her decision to abort the pregnancy. This is as far as George W. and I agree on.
A woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to be pregnant, why? Because it's her body! SHE will endure the emotional and physical changes that pregnancy entails. The man doesn't have a uterus, therefore he will NEVER know what it's like to be pregnant. Although he helped create the fetus, he's not the one that will carry it for 9 months and experience the hell that is labor. It's difficult for me to take males who are unapologetically pro-life. Sometimes, I just want to blurt out, "HEY! NO UTERUS, NO OPINION!" I know that's inappropraite to say but is it untrue? And to the pro-life ladies, you will never know what pregnancy or motherhood is like until you have experienced it yourself.
Contraception has improved since it's inception and it's more effective but it's not 100%, only 99! A woman isn't at fault if she properly used her contraceptive but still managed to get pregnant. Yes, she chose to have sex but since she's using contraception she didn't have children in mind. Focing a woman to be pregnant as a punishment for being sexual is unfair, and sexist. Is it hard for you to hear from all the way from the 1600's you damn Puritan!!! If we're going to punish a women for being sexual then we have to do the same for the men! That's right, all they have to do is pay a weekly check for 18 years... a check that some believe is optional to uphold. Oh wait..too late! House Republicans cut the child support enforcement program on the 27th, so deadbeat fathers can run around freely knowing that they won't be as hunted as they were before! Spot on conservatives, spot on.
Abortions/unplanned pregnancies (especially here in the US) would occur less often if the morning after pill was available in all 50 states instead of the 7 that prescribe it over the counter. Studies in the United Kingdom have shown that its existence doesn’t alter a woman’s sex life. On top of that, some pharmacists are still refusing to fill birth control prescriptions. And, abstinence only programs in schools are being pushed by this administration. They are also responsible for the lack of availability of the morning after pill because Dr. David W. Hager (he's head of the FDA and was appointed by Bush) has stalled when it comes to this issue.
Adoption is wonderful, it's a great way for infertile parents or single women or men or gay couples to fulfill their dream of having a child. I'm in no way against it. However, I understand why some women do not choose it. During those nine months, the woman MAY get emotionally attached to the fetus. While some women who have been pregnant before KNOW that they cannot give up a baby after carrying it in their womb for so long. It's admirable when a woman opts for adoption, she's strong and selfless but not every woman is like that. Again, I believe it's wrong and inhumane to force a woman to be pregnant if she doesn't want to be. This is considering that half a million American children are either living in foster care or in adoption agencies. As my fellow liberal pigeon Jamison has mentioned there are over 40,000 that are eligible for adoption each year and don't get adopted. 16% of those children are under the age of one...so newborns aren't being adopted. Those numbers wouldn't be as high if all countries allowed single and gay individuals to adopt.
When it comes to adoption, the chances of a baby going to a good home with great parents are slim and frankly, those chances lessen if the baby is not white or bi-racial. Russia is one of the top countries that Americans adopt from because those children are white and can pass for a "typical" American easier than an African baby (yes, I know that's obvious but I had to say it). While parents who want baby girls adopt from China and other countries in Asia since females aren't as respected, desired, and wanted like men are.
Look, if pro-life supporters can come up with a well thought out and plausible plan that would ensure that EVERY child that is born will be sufficiently loved and cared for (financially), than maybe adovocates for pro-choice like myself would understand your position. And maybe, just maybe we'd push for adoption. The reality is, in life there are very few guarantees and the way that a child's life will turn out is one of them. Look at Michael Jackson, most of us didn't know that he didn't have a childhood until he started living it as a man. We all saw how well that worked out.
Post-abortion depression is myth. There have been no studies proving that women have a great chance of experiencing this unlike postpartum depression which can happen after giving birth and a lot of women suffer through it. Look at Marie Osmond, she left her family and separated from her husband! But when she got help she returned to them. No woman is proud to have an abortion. Obviously, abortion is not a delightful process since it's a medical procedure (very few are enjoyable to begin with). Like most medical procedures risks are involved. And yes, a woman will not be the same after having one, but this also applies to motherhood and adoption which drastically changes and affects the woman's life.
This is not to mention the kind of life the fetus might have being born when it was unwanted or unplanned. The mother, the father or both may be resentful towards the child. Some are so apathetic and selfish that they try to abandon it in a dumpster or a public bathroom. Yes, that does happen in America and oddly enough, those stories haven't gotten as much attention since Bush has been in office. Sadly, a lot of these instances result in death.
Pro-choice is not pro-death. I value the life of the woman because she's not physically dependent on another human and when she's in distress she can emote (much like a crying infant). And if she decides to stay pregnant, then she obviously views and values the fetus as a life and in that case, so do I. I will support her whether she chooses motherhood, adoption or abortion. But I will not force her to choose what I think is best for her. It's her life and body.
I am pro-choice because I know women who have had abortions or chose motherhood. I've seen how their decisions affected them. And not one of them regrets it. What I learned is, they don't deserve our judgment or criticism, they need compassion and support. These women are our sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts, cousins, grandmothers, girlfriends, best friends, neighbors etc.. They are not faceless monsters, they are humans in a very difficult situation.
If we get rid of pro-choice then freedom of choice has to go too. I’ve read and heard that some pro-lifers have chosen their stance because they knew someone that had one and regretted it. We all have regrets and for the most part, we learn from them. And if our government eliminated or outlawed freedom of choice simply based on the possibility of regret, then we wouldn’t be a “free” country.
This entry is in light of Bush choosing Samuel Alito Jr. as a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor. It's hard for anyone not born before 1973 to imagine a time where abortion was illegal and women were getting sick or dying because of back alley abortions. That's like me wondering what it was like to live under Hitler's reign, I don't have to travel back in time to know that it was horrible. And I truly hope that Roe v. Wade is not overturned because as a society and a country, we would be taking a huge step backward in time and for womens' rights.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home