Blogging for Choice- Better Late Than Never

Yesterday was the 34th anniversary of Roe Vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that grounded the right to a safe and legal abortion in the United States in our right to privacy. I received an e-mail that bloggers were being invited to 'blog for choice' and as a supporter of safe and legal abortions, I am participating in this action. The question to be answered is, why am I pro-choice? My answer cannot be simple. In fact, my first inclination is to deconstruct the question.

I am pro-choice, but I am more than that and I think we have to be so much more than that if we are going to ensure that women are able to be whole and autonomous people. The word choice, to me, sounds too casual. When we talk about abortions, we are not talking about picking something like when we pick what we would like for dinner off of a menu. We are talking about women's lives. We are talking about their ability to make family in whatever way they see fit. I am comforted in the knowing that abortion feels like a choice for some- may it always be. For many, abortion is about as much of a choice as the decision to use a parachute when you are on a plane that is about to crash.

Roe Vs. Wade is an important constitutional protection which ensures the rights of women. However, the fact that the Hyde ammendment came along three years after Roe Vs Wade, taking away federal funding for abortions, is very telling about whose privacy and rights were valued. Fortunately, where the government drops the ball, oftentimes others will pick it up. Check out the National Network of Abortion Funds if you need financial assistance to access an abortion OR if you are a person with the means to contribute. (http://www.nnaf.org) I also highly recommend contacting Backline if you are faced with a pregnancy and need support through your decision making process, (www.youbackline.org).

Volumes have been written about visions of true reproductive justice, so I will stand down on that point for now.

All that remains to be stated is my answer to the initial question, why am I pro-choice? I believe that every woman who is faced with a pregnancy, when provided with information and support, will make the best decision for herself, her family and her community. Or more simply, I believe in women. No one cares more for that potential life than the mother and to stand in her way prevents her from doing what is best for the potential life and herself. I feel a deep frustration that those who oppose a women's right to live her life, of which her reproductive capacity is a major element, claim the name 'pro-life.' The truth is, people who oppose safe and legal abortions are anti-choice and anti-women.