To Protect Children, We Must Protect Abortion - Ms.

[justaprogressive]

My child is front of mind in every single decision I make—from the obviously big ones, like where we live and our travel plans for the year, down to the smallest, like what color shirt I’m wearing for the day. (My son’s in a “match with Mom” phase right now.) Most parents will tell you the same: that our entire world revolves around the needs of our children. We operate in ways that we hope center their best interests because as parents, we want nothing more than for our children to thrive.

My third abortion was just that—a decision I made with my son in mind.

It should come at no surprise that a parent’s decision to have an abortion always factors in the needs of our existing children. Sixty percent of people having abortions were already parents to one or more children, according to the CDC’s 2019 study. I believe this is because no one realistically understands what parenting is like until you’re doing it. I see this statistic directly reflected in the storytellers that I work with at We Testify, where I’m privileged to call myself the co-executive director. These decisions reflect our best judgments to create an ideal world for our existing children. We have abortions for us, but it’s also really for them.

The concept of abortion as self-care has always resonated with me. I had two abortions prior to this one that allowed me to build a future that I envisioned for my life. But it wasn’t until I had an abortion as a parent that I truly felt the meaning behind abortion as an act of love. Abortion allows us to strengthen and protect our families that already exist—our families that include living and breathing children who deserve the absolute best we can give them. It let me center the needs of my family in a time when doing so in the United States is more difficult than ever before.

The state has failed children, perhaps the most vulnerable and marginalized segments of our society. And in the United States, this failure spans across the political divide.

https://msmagazine.com/2025/05/09/protect-children-abortion-mothers-day/

[CrispyQ]

1. Personally I see a big difference between life & living.

The idea that a woman's life is distilled down to a single organism growing inside of her & nothing she's done & no other people in her life matter, is so goddamned insulting it almost makes me explode with rage. This thing that is alive but hasn't breathed the air of the planet or interacted with any other humans has more precedence & rights than she has. It's sick & perverted.

The white paper in the link below basically states that a woman's 13th Amendment rights are violated when she's forced into involuntary servitude of the fetus. I don't know why the pro-choice groups don't add this argument to their tool chest.

https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1031&context=facultyworkingpapers

The most important decision a woman can make, isn't yours.