I've been engaging in a debate on one of my message boards recently that has just kept me thinking. One mom that I know cites his pro-choice stance and voting record on matters of abortion legislation as some of the primary reasons she won't vote for Barack Obama. Conversely, those are two of the primary reasons I will be voting for him. I think reproductive rights for women have taken many steps backwards at the hands of the Bush administration and while they might not be at the forefront of a lot of American's minds these days with us at war and the state of the economy, they are still very important. Many pro-lifers are on record as saying that it would be more effective to slowly chip away at Roe vs. Wade than to directly try to overturn it completely, and I believe that is what's being done. It has to stop.
I'm someone who has found myself pregnant unexpectedly and chosen to keep the baby. Not long after, I tried to get pregnant again and now have two beautiful children. I loved being pregnant, I felt empowered by childbirth, and I couldn't imagine my life without my children. I have also never been as pro-choice as I am now. I had it VERY easy in pregnancy in childbirth. A lot of women are not as lucky as I was. Before I went through it for myself I had very little actual understanding of how profound and life changing the experiences of pregnancy and childbirth actually are. More than ever, I believe that no woman should be forced to remain pregnant because of another person's moral beliefs.
The issue of abortion rights goes beyond whether or not a pregnant woman will get an abortion. The more we concede that fetuses have rights, the fewer rights pregnant women retain. There is only one body, and during pregnancy it is sustaining two lives. Who gets to decide what that one body will or will not go through? The doctor, someone who has only a cordial relationship with the pregnant woman? A group of law makers who have most likely never met the pregnant woman? The fetus, who is not capable of sentient thought? NO. The pregnant woman, the only person who knows what she is mentally and physically capable of dealing with. Many who are pro-life advocate for personhood for fetuses. Granting personhood to fetuses would put us on a very slippery slope where pregnant women could lose a lot of righs. I think a lot of female pro-lifers have on rose colored glasses if they think that anti-abortion legislation would never affect them.
I will never understand how one group of people can think that their moral beliefs should dictate what EVERYONE will do. It is narrow-mindedness at its finest.
I'm someone who has found myself pregnant unexpectedly and chosen to keep the baby. Not long after, I tried to get pregnant again and now have two beautiful children. I loved being pregnant, I felt empowered by childbirth, and I couldn't imagine my life without my children. I have also never been as pro-choice as I am now. I had it VERY easy in pregnancy in childbirth. A lot of women are not as lucky as I was. Before I went through it for myself I had very little actual understanding of how profound and life changing the experiences of pregnancy and childbirth actually are. More than ever, I believe that no woman should be forced to remain pregnant because of another person's moral beliefs.
The issue of abortion rights goes beyond whether or not a pregnant woman will get an abortion. The more we concede that fetuses have rights, the fewer rights pregnant women retain. There is only one body, and during pregnancy it is sustaining two lives. Who gets to decide what that one body will or will not go through? The doctor, someone who has only a cordial relationship with the pregnant woman? A group of law makers who have most likely never met the pregnant woman? The fetus, who is not capable of sentient thought? NO. The pregnant woman, the only person who knows what she is mentally and physically capable of dealing with. Many who are pro-life advocate for personhood for fetuses. Granting personhood to fetuses would put us on a very slippery slope where pregnant women could lose a lot of righs. I think a lot of female pro-lifers have on rose colored glasses if they think that anti-abortion legislation would never affect them.
I will never understand how one group of people can think that their moral beliefs should dictate what EVERYONE will do. It is narrow-mindedness at its finest.
1 comment:
Jen, our opinions are pretty much identical on this issue. Great post!
BTW- This is Zora_111 from Aug PG.
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