The case for pro-choice.
May. 22nd, 2008 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mollyporterThe other day I was reading through the forums on another site and I noticed that on the "where the candidates stand on the issues" thread that there were a couple of posters who dislikes Obama for his Pro-Choice stance. And while I try to respect opinions and stances which differ from my own, I couldn't help but feel like the posters in question had not fully thought through the issue. So I responded with my thoughts, which I am reposting here. Because I feel like this issue is important, and needs to be thought about in a more nuanced way than it is typically treated in political debate.
While I understand the position of the individuals making anti-abortion/pro-life arguments, I'd just like to take a moment to explain why I personally am ADAMANTLY pro-choice.
Before I start explaining my position, I want to state that I don't think abortion should ever be thought of as a "birth control" measure. It should be regarded as a last resort, not a clean slate.
The first and most political reason for my being pro-choice is that I do not believe that the government has the right to legislate on moral issues such as these. Reproductive rights are highly personal, and shouldn't be controlled by a bureaucracy, especially not by one that so under-represents the group most affected by the legislation. Our Congress and House of Representatives are comprised overwhelmingly of white males who cannot help but be influenced by their male privilege in making decisions. Because of this, they cannot be trusted to take into consideration the practical implications of going through a pregnancy. Even if our government was actually representative of the population, the highly individualized nature of the circumstances surrounding pregnancy and the highly personal nature of reproductive rights should prevent the government from legislating on reproductive issues such as abortion.
Another reason I'm in favor of supporting a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy is because of the physical and emotional trauma a woman experiences during pregnancy. Human pregnancies are dangerous, ask any doctor or biologist. We have HUGE HEADS that make giving birth incredibly risky for both the mother and the infant. There are a million things that can go wrong during a pregnancy. During a planned or wanted pregnancy, the woman's desire to have a child and the support she receives from loved ones helps her to overcome these troubles. Women who decide to have abortions often don't have that support network, and the idea of raising a child fills them with panic because they, for whatever reason, don't have the capability to raise a child. These women often do not have the money or insurance to make sure that they and the fetus they are carrying remain healthy throughout the pregnancy. In those cases, why do we say it is the moral decision to force a woman to put her health at risk just so she can give that child up to social services, and if the child is extremely lucky, to an adoptive family?
There are women who do choose to carry a pregnancy to term and give their children up for adoption. These children do in many cases get adopted by grateful parents, but adoption is not an easy process. There is a lot of expense, restriction, and red tape involved with adoption. Paired with the rising ease of fertility treatments, this means a lot of deserving kids don't have loving homes. Women should have the right to carry the child to term and give it up to adoption if they so choose - but they should have the right to abort as well.
Additionally, the reasons women have for wishing to terminate a pregnancy are many and varied. Sometimes a woman will want to terminate because she does not want to be pregnant, but other times she will want a child, be overjoyed to learn that she is pregnant, only to learn that the fetus is not viable. For some reason, through some biological defect, the child will not survive to term or will not survive long after birth.
The final and most important reason I believe abortion should be legal, legal measures cannot stop abortions from happening. Do some research, and you'll find that back-alley abortions ran rampant before the Roe vs. Wade decision was handed down. I recommend watching the movie Jane: An Abortion Service for more information about illegal abortion services in the United States. The vast majority were extremely expensive or extremely dangerous or both. Women were greatly disrespected by the physician (who was frequently unlicensed) performing the procedure, and in some cases these men would sexually assault the women they were meant to be helping. Legal abortion PROTECTS WOMEN. Plain and simple.
Of course, the best way to reduce the number of abortions is to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, and the best way to do THAT is to get better sex education into schools. Kids need to know how to use a condom. Kids need to be warned about STDs and other dangers in becoming sexually active, and they need to learn how to protect themselves. Leaving kids to figure sex out for themselves leads them to believe stupid things like "you can't get pregnant your first time" or "you can't get pregnant if you do it under water". Abstinence-only sex education is not just useless, it is actively harmful because it promotes ignorance about sexual health.
(Information about Jane can be found at the IMDb page HERE or HERE at the Feminist Women's Health Center page. Please take the time to look around and educate yourself about the issue)
***This post has been brought to you by a Sex Education Activist***
While I understand the position of the individuals making anti-abortion/pro-life arguments, I'd just like to take a moment to explain why I personally am ADAMANTLY pro-choice.
Before I start explaining my position, I want to state that I don't think abortion should ever be thought of as a "birth control" measure. It should be regarded as a last resort, not a clean slate.
The first and most political reason for my being pro-choice is that I do not believe that the government has the right to legislate on moral issues such as these. Reproductive rights are highly personal, and shouldn't be controlled by a bureaucracy, especially not by one that so under-represents the group most affected by the legislation. Our Congress and House of Representatives are comprised overwhelmingly of white males who cannot help but be influenced by their male privilege in making decisions. Because of this, they cannot be trusted to take into consideration the practical implications of going through a pregnancy. Even if our government was actually representative of the population, the highly individualized nature of the circumstances surrounding pregnancy and the highly personal nature of reproductive rights should prevent the government from legislating on reproductive issues such as abortion.
Another reason I'm in favor of supporting a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy is because of the physical and emotional trauma a woman experiences during pregnancy. Human pregnancies are dangerous, ask any doctor or biologist. We have HUGE HEADS that make giving birth incredibly risky for both the mother and the infant. There are a million things that can go wrong during a pregnancy. During a planned or wanted pregnancy, the woman's desire to have a child and the support she receives from loved ones helps her to overcome these troubles. Women who decide to have abortions often don't have that support network, and the idea of raising a child fills them with panic because they, for whatever reason, don't have the capability to raise a child. These women often do not have the money or insurance to make sure that they and the fetus they are carrying remain healthy throughout the pregnancy. In those cases, why do we say it is the moral decision to force a woman to put her health at risk just so she can give that child up to social services, and if the child is extremely lucky, to an adoptive family?
There are women who do choose to carry a pregnancy to term and give their children up for adoption. These children do in many cases get adopted by grateful parents, but adoption is not an easy process. There is a lot of expense, restriction, and red tape involved with adoption. Paired with the rising ease of fertility treatments, this means a lot of deserving kids don't have loving homes. Women should have the right to carry the child to term and give it up to adoption if they so choose - but they should have the right to abort as well.
Additionally, the reasons women have for wishing to terminate a pregnancy are many and varied. Sometimes a woman will want to terminate because she does not want to be pregnant, but other times she will want a child, be overjoyed to learn that she is pregnant, only to learn that the fetus is not viable. For some reason, through some biological defect, the child will not survive to term or will not survive long after birth.
The final and most important reason I believe abortion should be legal, legal measures cannot stop abortions from happening. Do some research, and you'll find that back-alley abortions ran rampant before the Roe vs. Wade decision was handed down. I recommend watching the movie Jane: An Abortion Service for more information about illegal abortion services in the United States. The vast majority were extremely expensive or extremely dangerous or both. Women were greatly disrespected by the physician (who was frequently unlicensed) performing the procedure, and in some cases these men would sexually assault the women they were meant to be helping. Legal abortion PROTECTS WOMEN. Plain and simple.
Of course, the best way to reduce the number of abortions is to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, and the best way to do THAT is to get better sex education into schools. Kids need to know how to use a condom. Kids need to be warned about STDs and other dangers in becoming sexually active, and they need to learn how to protect themselves. Leaving kids to figure sex out for themselves leads them to believe stupid things like "you can't get pregnant your first time" or "you can't get pregnant if you do it under water". Abstinence-only sex education is not just useless, it is actively harmful because it promotes ignorance about sexual health.
(Information about Jane can be found at the IMDb page HERE or HERE at the Feminist Women's Health Center page. Please take the time to look around and educate yourself about the issue)
***This post has been brought to you by a Sex Education Activist***
