On Thursday, November 7, 2013, I protested for the first time in my life. A group on campus (whose name I don't know -- they didn't really advertise that) had an anti-abortion display up that was so disgustingly inaccurate and offensive that something in me broke down and I knew it was time to stand up for what I believed.
First of all, they were saying that abortion is genocide and that we're going through a new Holocaust. We won't even get into how misleading and offensive such a faulty comparison is. Secondly, they were showing obviously mislabeled and extremely graphic pictures of aborted "9-10 week old" fetuses that were obviously way, way more developed than 9-10 weeks.
I stood across from the display with signs of my own proclaiming my own pro-choice views and eventually people starting standing with me. Lots of students came and went, using up their gaps between classes to stand for what they believed. A lot more stood for a long time, and many sacrificed their lunch in order to make themselves seen and heard. At our strongest point, we probably had about 20 ladies and gentlemen out there with signs, peacefully protesting.
The amount of strangers who came up and thanked us for standing up against the group was astounding, and the support we garnered was heartwarming in the most unbelievable way. Lots and lots of people stopped and offered to buy us hot drinks, to bring us food, and to apologize that they were going to class and couldn't stand with us. It was amazing.
But unfortunately, such a stand doesn't leave much room for discussion with people on their way to class, and signs can only hold so much information, so I didn't really get to explain my views, only present them. Now, I would like to share the top five reasons I'm pro-choice and the reasoning behind them.
5. We do not have enough resources to care for all potential children.
It is undeniable that the Earth is running out of resources and that overpopulation is already a problem. If every single fetus were to become a person, we would run out of what little we have even more quickly.
4. Abortion only affects the couple going through it.
If a woman wants/needs to get an abortion, nobody else has to know. It does not affect anyone but her, and the father of the child. (I do think the father should get a say in what happens, as long as he's not a rapist or something, but that's a whole separate issue.) By choosing to have an abortion, it doesn't affect anybody else's life, but by making abortions illegal, people are directly affecting the life of that couple.
3. A woman should have more rights to her body than a fetus.
There are laws that state that no person can use another person's body without their continual consent. If a woman is pregnant and no longer wants to be, then the fetus is using her body without her continued consent. By not allowing a woman to terminate her pregnancy, we are giving a fetus more right to her body than her.
2. We currently lack viable alternatives to abortion.
Most schools in the country teach abstinence-only sexual education, which are ineffective. By not teaching students about sex in a frank and transparent way and creating an environment where students are not comfortable asking questions, we are not keeping teenagers from having sex, only from having educated, well-informed, protected sex.
In addition, we need free contraception for all citizens. Allowing our taxes to go towards paying for birth control would actually save us money, because pregnancy is far, far more expensive, as are welfare programs and other expenses that come from supporting children that are born into a family that cannot afford them.
1. Every child should be wanted.
Most importantly, I want every single child that is born to be wanted. Every baby deserves to be raised by people who love him or her and chose to bring them into their life. In cases of adoption, because I know not everybody who wants children can have them, there will be enough people morally opposed to abortion that would be willing to put their children up for adoption. We already have more children that need homes than homes for them to go to, and that makes me sad.
I hope this entry helps you get to know me a little better, and I hope you think closely about the abortion issue and where you stand.
No comments:
Post a Comment