Her body, her choice?
This question has become a battle in many minds and has become a battle on capitol hill. Should it even be a battle, should it even be the business of others? A woman should have the right to her body in all manners of speaking. No person should dictate what she does. Do people dictate what men do? A man rapes a woman and impregnates her, almost always he gets away with it, now the woman is forced to keep a baby that she did not ask for and will have to raise and have as a daily reminder because she was violated. This is not in any way fair. She should be allowed to make a choice to abort if she wants. Maybe she will choose to adopt out, but these are her choices.
Here are some situations where a woman/child should be allowed to have a right to her body. Rape; a sexual assault is a violation of a person, they did not ask to be put in that position and if they are impregnated they should not be forced to have the child.
Incest; this is when a family member takes advantage of their roll in the family and assaults a member sexually, there may be a possibilty that member is impregnated and why should they be forced to carry that child especially when the chances of birth defects is great.
Sex trafficking; almost always girls are kidnapped or sold for a price and forced to have sex with multiple people multiple times a day and for a great length of time. They are kidnapped sometimes at a very young age and kept till they are in their twenties or thirties, it’s mind blowing and disgusting to think that it’s happening and not being stopped. They are forced to perform sexual acts for porn or work in child labor camps. If they get pregnant why should they be forced to keep that child?
Illness; there are varying illnesses that can cause a woman to become so sick that she will have to abort the baby to save both lives. There are also illnesses that will cause a woman to abort to save her life. Examples are, heart disease, preeclampsia, stroke, thrombotic pulmonary embolism, placental abruption; these are just a few examples.
Places like Planned Parenthood are available to help women have a safe abortion. Closing them down will cause women/girls to find alternative places and ways that are unsafe to have an abortion, they will endager themselves. I do not believe that she comes to such a decision in a hasty and quick-minded manner. I am sure that if she was not put in these positions and asked to have a baby then she’d have it gladly. Being forced into a position of having a child that you clearly did not ask for or a matter of life and death makes you stop and think and question life itself.
I have been in two of these positions in my lifetime. During these times I had thought, ‘what if I get pregnant, what will I do? What will people think of me? Will I survive? Can I do this? am I less of a person cause I am thinking of getting an abortion if I get pregnant?’
Thankfully I never got pregnant, that I know of. If I got pregnant and miscarried early but I was too young to know what was happening to me then there is that possibility.
I was a victim of incest from the age of 11 till the age of 17. I would constantly beg my family to stop it from happening but I was ignored. I was always told I had asked for it or that I was lying. I would tell people that I thought I was pregnant to get their attention and still I would be ignored. I even self-hurt. I would go as far as trying to break bones to get the attention of others. No one would listen, no one would believe me. I felt so alone. I grew up in a religious home and went to a church that was more like a cult. They drilled in to your head that abortion was wrong. I felt as though if I had gotten pregnant that it was the only answer, but I knew I would be judged.
When I was in my twenties I worked at a christian school. I had met up with an old friend, we had a one-night stand. He had regrets and didn’t want me to get pregnant by his err in judgment so he forced me to take the morning after pill. So he took me into Planned Parenthood to get it because they offered it for free. I felt awful afterwards and told a close friend. She told my boss at the school and I was fired because they considered it an abortion. But, was it?
A few years later, I was on the way home from a babysitting job, I had to take the train and I was followed off the train by a guy and I was raped. The guy forced me to drive him home. They never arrested him, he was not convicted, nothing, no prosecution, no penalties. NOTHING!!! I was so angry!!! Thankfully I did not get pregnant. But, if I had I would not have kept the baby. How could I have?
I know that there are many people out there that do not agree with me on this subject, but I know there are many that do.
Where do you stand on the topic?
What would you do in any of these situations?
If you had a daughter and she was in one of these situations would you support her if she chose abortion?
The decision is not an easy one to make by any means but having support is important.
Talk, Be Heard 