Why I'm Pro-Choice

I think a lot of women my age in this area wonder why someone would be pro-choice.  They've grown up on a steady stream of anti-abortion rhetoric, and have always lived in a world where abortion was legal, if not always accessible.  So here it is; why I happen to be pro-choice.

Keep in mind that I'm not speaking as a representative of the pro-choice community, or for anyone else who happens to be pro-choice.  I'm only speaking for me, and my views are my own.

#1 - I have a sense of history.
I am kind of a history buff in general, but when it comes to abortion, I find the history in America fascinating.  What many anti-choice activists don't seem to realize (or care about) is that abortion has been around basically forever.  It's not as though it started in 1973.  In America, it actually was legal for quite a long time.  If you want to learn about that, read "The Worst of Times" by Susan Brownmiller.  I don't have time to get into it here.  The point is, during earlier parts of this century, women died routinely from illegal abortion, many times leaving behind several other children.  I don't see how it's humane to "save" one baby at the risk of the other 7 the woman has at home.  Those children count more, in my opinion.  They are already here and need to be cared for.

#2 - I don't believe life begins at conception.
Do I know when exactly life does begin?  I would say birth, but obviously we get into some murky territory around the 5th month or so.  However, I definitely do not equate an embryo with an infant.  I believe that embryos are potential life, but not equivalant to the crying babies in the maternity ward.  I also know that the Bible keeps pretty quiet on the issue, as did Jesus, and a church telling me something I should believe just because they said so does not hold much sway with me.

#3 - I've been pregnant.
I've heard many people say that they were pro-choice until they became pregnant, but honestly, pregnancy made me more pro-choice.  Pregnancy is a life-changing, profound event that is not to be taken lightly.  It has an enormous impact on your body and mind and is not something women should be forced into.

#4 - I don't think women are stupid.
I'm not saying there aren't stupid women out there (just look at Sarah Palin), but when it comes to childbirth, women have the capacity to make up their own minds.  Noboby "stops in for an abortion" while doing their grocery shopping as Michele Bachmann so callously put it.  Abortion is a serious decision, and women think seriously about it.  They make up their own minds in the context of their own situation and beliefs.  I'm not them, so I don't feel it's my place to tell them what to do.  I don't know what they're going through, so who am I to tell them what they should do?

#5 - I value children as people.
When I see those pro-life billboards, they infuriate me because they treat babies as though they're puppies.  Cute, cuddly things that you take home and play with and show off to the neighbors.  I don't see babies as just babies, but as people just starting out.  When you create a baby, you're creating an eventual adult, who will live a life marked by tremendous pain and suffering.  Yes, that life will hopefully also contain a lot of joy and happiness, but you can't ignore that people inevitably suffer.  I'm not saying life isn't worth living, but that it's a big responsibility to bring someone into the world.  We shouldn't be encouraging people to do it just because babies are cute.

#6 - I don't think that life under any circumstances is always a good thing.
Yes, I do think that being aborted is a better fate than being born to abusive parents who beat you mercilessly until you die as a toddler.  Sorry, I just do.  Does that mean I think that every unplanned pregnancy should be terminated?  No. I was the product of an unplanned pregnancy and my parents rose to the challenge, as most do, and became great parents.  However, they had a great support system and a lot of help.  Not everyone does. I can't assume that eveyone facing an unplanned pregnancy is as fortunate as my parents were.  Had they chosen abortion, I wouldn't know any better because I wouldn't exist.  It's not something I agonize over.  In the big scheme of things I'm just a minor speck.  Besides, there is a difference between an unplanned pregnancy and an unwanted pregnancy.  I simply think that women deserve the respect to decide for themselves which they are dealing with.