I Love Abortion: Implying Otherwise Accomplishes Nothing for Women's Rights

[Honeycombe8]

7. You have a right to your view. But I couldn't disagree more.

People who are pro-choice don't say that "abortion should be rare" because they're trying to appease pro-lifers. They truly believe that abortion should be rare. To give their words some intent that you think they mean, by reading their minds, is insulting to their point of view.

As a woman and feminist, I say that abortion is not just a medical procedure. Most women grow up assuming, maybe hoping, that they will have children one day. When many women get pregnant, there is an emotional reaction to that news at a gut level that is unlike hearing "you have a slow growing benign tumor that needs removal."

Then there is also the issue of the man involved. Sometimes the woman is deserted upon hearing the pregnancy news, and that is the reason for the abortion. Or maybe the man pushes her to get an abortion. Or perhaps the parents want the problem to go away (via abortion).

So there are thousands of years of biology mixed in with the reaction to the pregnancy, the biological urge to have babies or protect the fetus, plus the current emotional turmoil because of the circumstances and other people involved. Then there is the lasting memory of the solution to the problem. For some women, no problem. But for others, they have a problem with that in the future. And for a few, they may realize that that was their only chance to have a child, and knowing that, would they do that again.

It's a complicated matter for many women. It's not just a medical procedure to be used in lieu of birth control pills. The procedure itself (a D&C) is painful, as well, and may scrape her out so good that she can never have children.

Abortion should be up to the woman who has to carry the child. It's her body. But it downplays the seriousness of the situation for the women involved to treat it so offhandedly and to say that it's okay for it to be a common occurrence for any woman. If it is, I think it's an indication that there is something psychological at play there. It's a serious decision not to be taken lightly. She should be told of what could happen. She should be helped, if abortion is not her preferred way to go (there is no help for women in small cities & rural areas). She should be asked if the decision made is truly hers and hers alone (I knew a young woman who was coerced into getting an abortion). It's serious. There are consequences. But if she wants one, she has that choice.

Let's not pretend it's like a slow growing benign tumor.