I am a card-carrying choice supporter. I have been involved (generally on the periphery, sometimes more directly) with pro-choice activism since I understood what reproductive rights were. A woman’s right to determine her own reproductive life is a no-brainer to me, and here are some reasons why:
1. Having a child is a huge and awesome responsibility. It is a life-altering and transformative experience, and one that, once chosen, can not be undone. I believe that no one should be forced to undertake such a task unless she is emotionally and physically ready for it.
2. What goes on inside a woman’s mind and body are no one’s business but hers and her doctor’s. End of story.
3. No one takes the choice to end a pregnancy lightly. In my experience talking with women and being one, I have never once heard someone speak flippantly about termination. It is ALWAYS a difficult, heart-wrenching decision, one that no one wants to have to make.
4. While some speak about adoption as an easy alternative to abortion, the reality is that it doesn’t work for every situation. Sometimes just carrying a pregnancy is an unsupportable burden for a woman due to circumstances beyond her control.
5. No birth control method is 100% effective, and even abstinence fails in the case of rape. Many young women are ashamed or unable to procure adequate birth control, and many are confused about its proper use. And, let’s face it – some men (young and old) refuse to use condoms.
6. No one has the right to force another to have an abortion (see point 2), and if you don’t want one, don’t have one. But no one has the right to force another to have a child, either. Until you know another person’s life and mind, who are you to say what’s right or wrong for her?
I talk to my daughters about tough things. I hope they trust me enough to come to me if they are ever in trouble, pregnancy-wise or not. I want them to have the opportunity to determine their own courses the through life, without being derailed by an unsupportable pregnancy at any age. It is for them, as well as myself, that I am proudly an choice supporter.
Elsmama 
In my heart of hearts, I would like to see a world where abortion would be irrelevant, but we all know that is never going to happen. What’s more, I wish the Neo-Cons and their flock would understand this–you can’t legislate morality. If you could, I’d be voting to legislate them outta business. All that aside, as a survivor of human trafficking, it would have been my worst nightmare if I would have come out of that pregnant. Until the government can abolish all crimes against women and girls (including catcalling at construction sites because the entitled attitude that supports rape starts right there!), they have no business governing the bodies of women. If they want to start legislating morality, they ought to start with the attitudes and behaviors of men that allow for the loopholes that only some of them put into their ridiculous bills–“only in cases of incest and rape”. They would say that it’s impossible to govern the mind and will of a human being. Exactly! So, until that day comes, put that speculum down! You’re holding it wrong. And, leave us alone….I’m getting off my soapbox now.
Well said!
While hormones can be an intoxicant, we as a species are still (supposedly) rational and volitional, whether you believe in God or not. No one gets a free pass for catcalling, abuse or rape – those are things one chooses to do.
Until people wake up and take ownership of their choices, then women will need to have the option of terminating a pregnancy. And until birth control is cheap, easy, infallible and universally accepted, the right to choose must remain inviolate, because our bodies seldom are.
Thanks for the like!