Being Pro-Choice Does Not Make You Selfish

In this day and age, abortion is a dangerous topic to speak about, even in the most accepting of groups. Most people are fiercely divided between being pro-choice and pro-life – those who believe that it should be a woman’s choice decide whether or not she wants to have an abortion, and the people who believe that abortion is murder, and should therefore be illegal. Though I can see both sides of the situation, I am staunchly pro-choice. Now, I don’t advocate abortion being used as birth control, nor do I promote late-term abortions, as I believe that at that late of a stage, a fetus is well enough formed to be considered a human being. I believe it is a woman’s right to choose whether or not she can afford – mentally, emotionally, or financially – to have a baby; after all, I know several people that should have had an abortion rather than have their children. Those people were, and in some respects, still are unfit for motherhood: they do not have jobs and rely on their parents for money, they go out and party when they should be at home taking care of their children (and I’m not talking about going out once a week or so to party – these people do it all the time), and they treat their children as nothing more than a hobby. Please tell me how it was beneficial for those children to come into a world that was not prepared for them rather than for the mothers in question to have that pregnancy terminated and wait until she was better off to have a child.

However, I’m realistic; I know the world – especially the South – we live is intolerant of abortion, and we teach that abortion is never the answer. If we are to teach that abortion is wrong and it should never be done except in cases of rape and incest (and I know people who are against even that), then we must take steps to ensure that people will rarely feel the need to get an abortion. We must be more open and educate people about abortion and ways to prevent it. We must be more willing to teach about birth control and different ways to protect oneself from getting pregnant. Also, we cannot be so judgmental toward people who decide that abortion is the better route for them; they are not “loose” or “selfish” just because they choose not to have a baby. In fact, they are more responsible and selfless than many pro-life people I’ve encountered. Lastly, we must educate people about pregnancy (when a baby starts to fully form, when the fetus is able to move and kick, etc.) I believe that if we are able to educate people on the fact that, no, life does not begin at conception, then we will become more open-minded as a people about abortion.