Monday, January 28, 2008

I Missed Blog for Choice.

January 22 was the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, a court case that started the argument for women's reproductive rights in the US. This argument rages on today, and is becoming more heated as the election draws nearer.

NARAL Pro-Choice America is an organization that engages in political action to promote the pro-choice movement in the US. They started "Blog for Choice" day every Jan 22 and encouraged bloggers to write about why it is important to vote pro-choice in the upcoming election.

Why am I writing about this? I didn't plan on writing anything about Blog for Choice day since I didn't think I had anything to add to the great posts out there. I am also Canadian, and didn't think this applied to me.
All of this changed when I got not one but two invitations to join a Pro-Life message board at facebook. I declined them.

I have always stood for the reproductive rights of women. I am a woman. I am a mother. I have a daughter. For all of these reasons I am pro-choice. I chose to be a mother. I want my daughter someday to be able to make that same choice. I do not believe that a fetus has rights that super cede the rights of the woman incubating it. Pregnancy is hard work. No woman should feel bullied into carrying a pregnancy to term because some nameless, faceless people think they know what she needs better than her. The choice to have a child should be no one's but the woman carrying it.

I live a cushy middle-class life. My first two pregnancies were planned. The third one caught me completely by surprise. I knew about the possibility of my becoming pregnant the last time early enough that I could have obtained a prescription for Emergency Contraception. I thought hard about how our life would change either way. My heart told me not to take the pills. I am thankful that I was allowed to make up my own mind. I will continue to support women's reproductive rights so that we can continue to make up our own minds and protect our bodies.

To quote from one of the following articles: "To be born is a gift. It is not a right."

For more information check this article out.
Here is an interesting essay by a young woman who is Christian and pro-choice. I couldn't have said it better than she does.

OK, I feel like I have opened a can of worms. Go easy on me. I welcome articulate, well thought out opposition. If all you have to say is "Abortion is murder! You suck!" try a little harder, please.

1 comment:

Ami said...

I have never been faced with a choice, as both my children were planned.

I don't think anyone has the right to tell a woman what she can do with her body, and if choosing abortion is wrong, no one has to answer to me anyway.

I too am pro-choice, but I'd love to see things work so that no one ever HAS to make such a decision.