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I Used to Be Pro-Life

I used to be solely Pro Life...


...And growing up a God-fearing Catholic will do that to you.  I was naively led to believe that any person who chooses to have an abortion is irresponsible, sleeps around, is selfish, and uses this medical procedure as a form of birth control.  I was taught that if you receive an abortion, you are a MURDERER, no questions asked.

But then I grew up.  And learned about feminism, sexism, equality/inequality, privilege, and a boatload of other eye opening topics.   My conservative upbringing started clashing with my more liberal learned experiences.  I began having this strange internal conflict and questioning my morals - while I became a mom and found this newfound love that little humans can bring, what did that make of me being *okay* with someone else's choice?

So as I continued to grow (and learn) my naivety made its presence known once again.  I realized that while I had the luxury to conceive and give birth with consent, the statistics are shocking when you look at how often this is not the case.  (And unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, I'm sure you've heard of the #MeToo movement).  And after a little research, I learned that rape and sexual assault account for about 32,000 pregnancies each year.  That is INSANE. 

Now, a lot of pro-life arguments will state that women who become pregnant from rape or sexual assault should look into adoption.  While in an ideal world this sounds wonderful, the truth of the matter is childbirth can be traumatic for anyone.  And after a woman has been sexually violated in the most extreme way?  Not to mention there are thousands of children in foster care IN EACH STATE already!?  It doesn't seem fair that a woman who had a heinous crime committed to her, now has to decide between being "a murderer" (as labeled by pro-life supporters) or adding another child into the system.

But as I dug a little deeper, my quick research showed that rape only accounts for ~1% of abortions in the US.  The truth of the matter is that there are many external factors that go into making this decision - health concerns with mother or child, age of the mother, financial insecurity, etc.  And I'll be honest - unless there was an extreme medical complication that would affect myself or an unborn child, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for me to make a decision like this.  HOWEVER - I also don't believe that MY beliefs should dictate or be able to decide for someone else.

Now this post is obviously a response to the many state bills wanting to ban abortion - and Alabama's now passed "Human Life Protection Act."  As a woman, it's hard to look at the photos going viral on the internet of the MALE representatives voting to take away female rights.  While on the surface these bills state they are against abortion solely, it's hard not to see the blatant sexism.  I recently posted a photo on social media that stated:

"If men are so concerned with what women do to their bodies, maybe they should rethink the whole 'male birth control' again...oh, wait - 'too many side effects...?'" #doublestandard #womensbodiesmattertoo

You don't have to look that far back into history to find common acts of sexism or misogyny.  Cat calling, double standards, unequal pay, name calling (think Bitch, Whore, Slut...), mom vs. dad expectations... I could go on and on.  But the point is - I personally believe these anti-abortion bills are NOT just that, but rather, a way to continue belittling and lessening the worth of women in society.  (think Handmaid's Tale...)  Because if men (or Republicans) were truly so concerned with a "Pro-Life" movement, they would at the very least be open to preventative contraception and education, even if the side effects include mood swings. **I soooooo wish I could insert a laughing emoji here***

There's no doubt I could make plenty more arguments in this post, but I'll end with this - as someone who used to consider themselves "Pro-Life," I would seriously challenge anyone who supports these bills to really consider which 'lives' are they deeming "pro" - because if you do a little bit of your own research, my guess is you won't find it's truly for the mom's or the unborn child's....



**all photos used from account @domandink **
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