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Women need not always keep their mouths shut and their wombs open.
-Emma Goldman
I want to write something important on this anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but I'm certain my own remarks aren't enough. Choice is under attack and we all need to speak in order to be heard.
The Blog for Choice campaign has asked participants to respond to this question, "Why are you pro-choice?". My philosophy on this topic simply boils down to this: every child should be a wanted child.
Every day we walk among crowds and in these crowds are women who have fought their way through abortion clinic doors, some alone, others with friends, even boyfriends and husbands. We talk among our friends as though we all avoided abortion. And yet, if you're paying close attention, one or more of those women bites their lip as others speak of abortion in the abstract. To some it's real, where a day rarely passes without a thought of introspection, anger, or even of complete and utter relief.
Popular culture perpetuates the image of the happy couple rejoicing in celebration with the appearance of a second line on a pregnancy test. But the truth is, one in three women will take that test and crumble into tears or fall to shock. The question that had to be asked, "am I pregnant?" is now answered with no relief. Choices now have to be made.
Imagine for a moment taking that test and knowing there is no one you can share the results with.
Imagine for a moment struggling to even come up with the money to have an abortion. Or getting the time off of work.
And imagine for a moment, becoming a single mother raising a child with an income of less than $38,000 in the Midwest:
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Housing
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$4,740
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Food
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$2,539
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Transportation
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$1,337
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Clothing
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$991
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Healthcare
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$749
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Childcare/Education
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$882
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Other
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$1,004
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*This info taken from http://www.babycenter.com/costofchild/ Please note, this calculator did not allow for an income lower than $38,000. Most single moms would be terribly grateful to be pulling down so much! A high school graduate can expect to make about $26,000 and a recent college grad not much more.
That's an annual cost of $220, 356! The choice of motherhood should not be taken lightly. There is the emotional burden, the physical burden, and not to be downplayed, the financial burden. Biology alone does not make a mother.
For women who face an unwanted pregnancy, unwanted due to many different and valid reasons, can be making a responsible decision by choosing abortion. Not every woman is intended to be a mother, and not every zygote is intended to have a name and birth date.
Having an abortion is a deeply personal decision that affects each woman differently. For many it has allowed for them to regain their lives and become greater assets to society. Yet our government has made a circus of it. Women who seek abortion services are harassed as they enter clinics, and even further assaulted by mandatory waiting periods, pre-abortion 'counseling', parental notification laws and other such atrocities.
It comes down to this, my body is not to be legislated by the predominately old, male Congress (or anyone for that matter). Their wives, their mothers and their daughters have faced unwanted pregnancies. And in secret, these women, like so many throughout the country, have gone quietly to a clinic and sought refuge to maintain their image and to reclaim their bodies. These women will lead our country to a greater good, without the burden of securing food stamps or wrestling for child support.
And let's not forget, as so many in our generation do - Roe v. Wade didn't exist at one time, but abortion always has. Good women have died in the pursuit of abortion. Whether your personal views are pro or con, never forget, there will always be unwanted pregnancies and women willing to risk it all for an abortion.
That woman could be you, your sister, your girlfriend, your daughter...
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