I'm pro-choice
But that being said, this does not mean that I:
- will want or have an abortion
- don’t like you if you choose to carry out your pregnancy
- hate you if you’re pro-life
- hate children
- am a liberal
- don’t value life
All it means, for me personally, is that I don’t believe the government should tell any woman what she can or cannot do with her body.
“These Alabama “pro-life” protestors retraumatized a mother whose baby died in utero: Pro-choice marchers recalled a particularly painful event last month when a woman whose baby had died en utero was coming to the clinic to have it removed. In an awful coincidence, that was the day, Watters said, when the pro-life demonstrators collected a children’s choir on the sidewalk to sing “Happy Birthday Dead Baby” to anyone driving in. “Will had to physically restrain the father,” Watters said, nodding to one of the men marching in a pro-choice jacket. “And by the time she walked through them, she was an emotional wreck.”
—Friday Feminist Fuck You: Alabama anti-choice protestors
For #RoeAt40, all of my favorite pro-choice resources
As my long-time readers know, abortion is an issue I’m very passionate about. So passionate that I have a bookmarks folder simply labeled “Abortion” that has about 75 links in it. For your edification, some of my favorite response to pro-life ignorance:
“Banning abortions would decrease abortions.”
Nope - abortion rates are the same in places where they’re illegal. But women and other pregnant people have to get dangerous illegal abortions, which are often unsanitary and not performed by medical professionals. Or worse, they do it themselves.
“Funding Planned Parenthood funds abortions, even though the Hyde Amendment prohibits it.”
Actually! Federal funds for family planning prevent 800,000 abortions per year.
“Abortions cause breast cancer.”
“Most women regret their abortions.”
Also no. Here are some stories of women who don’t regret their abortions.
Yes, some people do regret their abortions. Some people regret not having one too. Some people regret having kids, and some people regret not having kids. Some people regret their hair cuts. “You might regret doing it” is not a valid reason to make something illegal.
“Abortion causes mental illness.”
The American Psychological Association put together a special task force to investigate if there is a link between getting an abortion and mental illness, and found no evidence to suggest that there is.
“Before Roe v. Wade, there weren’t abortions.”
Ahahaha, no. Read this incredibly Mother Jones story about “The Way It Was” in America before legal abortion. Abortion has always existed and will always exist. The key is keeping it safe and legal and trying to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies through sex ed and accessible family planning.
“Just tough it out with the pregnancy for 9 months and give your child up for adoption.”
First of all, pregnancy is not some “inconvenience” you “tough out.” A year ago, I asked my readers to submit stories from their own pregnancies with the tag #9months (whether they terminated the pregnancy or not). Read their stories here. Pregnancy is expensive, painful, and all-consuming. Every single aspect of your life is affected by it. It’s not like getting a root canal.
Second, giving your child up for adoption is actually a mental health risk, unlike abortion.
Third, there are hundreds of thousands of children in the foster care system right now who are waiting to be adopted. Unless you’re planning on giving up your white, perfectly healthy baby right after you give birth, your child will probably languish in the system for the majority of their lives.
“But I saw this Silent Scream video…”
—-
If you’ve never read “The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion,” please do. It’s very eye-opening about how pro-lifers justify their own abortions (yes, they get them). If you’re someone who is still conflicted about being pro-life or pro-choice, I highly recommend “How I Lost Faith in the Pro-Life Movement” for some eye-opening insight on the reality of the pro-life faction.
So at the end of the day, choice is important because 1) banning abortions doesn’t prevent them from happening, 2) women (and people with uteruses who don’t identify as women) have the right to have sex without giving up their body for nine months thereafter, 3) the only things that prevent abortion are thorough sex education and access to birth control.
If you have any specific questions about abortion, I will be answering them all day today.
