Lately I have been reading and learning a lot about the topic of abortion. For my news flash I discussed the problems with abortion that have been brought up by the current health care reform. Also, this weeks readings deal with personal stories of women who have gone through or been affected by abortion at some point in their lives. I have been struggling when trying to identify my position on the topic of abortion. In one sense I believe that women should have complete rights to their bodies, and no one should be able to tell them what to do with it; but on the other hand, I am very pro-life and believe that no baby should be aborted, unless it is under very extreme circumstances.
In her article, "So I Chose", Allison Crews explains that she is very pro-choice. She believes that a woman's right to abort or keep her child is something that should be left completely up to her. If a woman wants to have sex, she should be able to. If she gets pregnant and cannot support the baby due to financial or career purposes, she should not be forced to have the baby. She also believes that men should have some say in whether or not the woman gets an abortion, but when it comes down to it, the woman is ultimately in charge.
I would have to agree with Crews. I know that in a relationship there is more than just one person, and that both people need to be consulted in the case of having a child. But when it comes down to it, having a baby is directly affecting the mothers life. The man in the relationship would not be forced to drop out of school due to being pregnant, would not have to carry the child for a nine month period.
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I believe that the women has the right to do whatever she wants to her body. However, I think that a pregnant women should discuss with the father as Natalie also said. It should be a joint conversion, but in the end the women should have the final say because she is the one that is giving up 9 months of her life in order to have the baby. She is experiencing emotions and events that the father would never have to go through. When hearing about the pro-life rallies and other events I cannot believe that they do not support women with extreme circumstances who want an abortion. Women who were raped and got pregnant by they rapist is what comes to my mind. If a women decides to keep this baby then she will constantly be reminded about that night when she looks into her baby's face. I also think that people should consider adoption more seriously, but in the end if a women cannot go through the 9 month process she should have the right to an abortion. I think as our society continues to change what will happen to the abortion debate? Will it stay this strongly divided?
ReplyDeleteAllison Crews wrote a beautiful essay discussing abortion and I agree with her that pro life is about being supportive of the decisions that women make, whether to abort, adopt, or keep the baby.I also agree with Marissa that it would be nice if a young woman could discuss the option of getting an abortion. I mean, I do believe that it is 110% the woman's choice, but I think it would be nice if men were involved in the conversation as well. Yes, men have enough say so as it is.....but think of the dialogue and education that could result from that dialogue. Is abortion really just solely an woman's thing? Should a father not have some involvement in his daughter's pregnancy or abortion? Should the husband/boyfriend have no involvement? Again, I'm not saying the decision is for the men...I'm suggesting opening up the dialogue so that everyone can be a part of it. I think this would lead to better understanding and more acceptance than people are willing to give it.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Crews and feel that you can be anti-abortion but still pro-choice. In that I mean you can be against abortions for yourself or think that they are morally wrong, but can still fight for the women to have the choice to decide for themselves. Something I often think about is that the idea of pro-choice promotes a very hands-off government, which is usually the stance of Republicans. However, many Republicans are pro-life and allow governmental control over their bodies. This seems very counter-intuitive. I had one issue with Natalie's last sentence, "The man in the relationship would not be forced to drop out of school due to being pregnant, would not have to carry the child for a nine month period." The only reason a woman would have to drop out of school if she was pregnant is because of social sanctions that uphold the patriarchy; she is physically capable of being pregnant and going to school. One way to counter this would be to encourage pregnant women to stay in school by providing medical care on school property. Another way to equal the playing field would be to make men leave school when their partner does.
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