Abortion; the ongoing conflict

Choice. (chois) n. 1. The act of choosing; selection.
2. The power, right, or liberty to choose; option.
3.One that is chosen
4. A number or variety from which to choose: a wide choice of styles and colors
5. The best or most preferable part.
6. Care in choosing.
7. An alternative

Choose. (Chooz) v. 1. To select from a number of possible alternatives; decide on and pick out.
2. a) To prefer above others: chooses the supermarket over the neighborhood grocery store.
b) To determine or decide: chose to fly rather than drive.
(Thanks todictionary.com for these definitions)

A choice is just that; a choice. In America, the land of liberty, (a word used in the definition of choice) should women not be able to choose whether they can have an abortion? It’s nothing but a choice. Having this choice available to people does not force women who don’t want abortions to have them. Having a choice available is a healthy, good thing. No one is forcing the pro-lifers to have abortions, so why should they force the pro-choicers not to? I feel that that is unfair. Having freedom, rights, liberty, is this not what America is about? Isn’t this the land of the free? So why should our choices be confined, I think that butts heads with what America stands for. A choice is nothing but a choice, if I chose to have an abortion, it wouldn’t hurt you, so why would you pain me with guilt and remorse for an already difficult decision? It’s why it’s called pro-choice. It’s America, the land of the free, where we’re supposed to be given the power to choose things for ourselves.

A few facts about abortion:

1) 52% of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25: Women aged 20-24 obtain 33% of all abortions, and teenagers obtain 19%
2) 43% of women obtaining abortions identify themselves as Protestant, and 27% identify themselves as Catholic.
3) Over 60% of abortions are among women who have had 1 or more children
4) On average, women give at least 3 reasons for choosing abortion: 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 2/3 say they cannot afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner
5) 9 in 10 women at risk of unintended pregnancy are using a contraceptive method
6) 97% of abortion facilities provide abortion at 8 weeks, and 86% provide services at 12 weeks, but provision drops off steeply after that, with only 13% of providers offering services at 24 weeks
7) In 2000, the cost of a nonhospital abortion with local anesthesia at 10 weeks of gestation ranged from $150 to $4,000, and the average amount paid was $372
8) Eighty-eight percent of abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, 1998.
9) The risk of abortion complications is minimal; less than 1% of all abortion patients experience a major complication
10) The risk of death associated with childbirth is about 11 times as high as that associated with abortion
11) Almost half of the women having abortions beyond 15 weeks of gestation say they were delayed because of problems in affording, finding or getting to abortion services

(Thanks to:guttmacher.org for these stats and facts, you can find many many more there, along with the citings for these facts.)

I’ve also heard some interesting arguments from other people on TOD that I would like to share. The first comes from Pandora*Aphrodite A point I’ve seen her bring up in many notes to pro-lifers is the fact that a fetus has no brain activity, and since death is classified as the absence of brain activity, a fetus cannot possibly be alive by our own medical terms of life and death. A fetus is a small mass of cells, much like the skin on your knee. When you scrape your knee, you don’t pine over the ‘loss of potential’ or make a stranger feel horrible because they killed the cells on their knee. It’s just not something that happens.

Another point I’ve seen around (although I can’t remember where, or I would link it for you…) is that wanting women to not have a choice is like being a mysoginist. Why in this day and age, when women have the right to vote, and can fight for equal rights, would you want to take away a woman’s right to decide important things about her body?

Serenade*Waltz argues that 95% of the women who have abortions are sluts. (Dont believe me? Click back to my last entry and read her notes…) You can also read my responses to her notes in her journal.

Some people, Like Jack & Sally twist my words so much, I don’t give them much notice. But she has a vendetta with me for saying that the meat you eat had as much potential as the mass of cells in a woman’s uterus. She got upset for me comparing fetuses to meat. But humans are meat. Thats what that muscle is. I couldn’t even dignify her with a response, I was so taken aback by her stupidity. Since then, she has changed the entry. Anyone who is pro-life should be vegan, too.

You know what else? Congress (which is made up by the majority of men) shouldn’t be able to tell women what to do with their bodies. They will never be able to understand what it’s like to carry something inside of you, or to bleed once a month, or to be forced with that decision, or to give birth, or to have an abortion. Since they can’t possibly relate, why should they be able to tell us no? Just some things to ponder. Let me have the hates notes and the loves notes, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Always

Afton

PS… sorry to those who have already read this, it was suggested I repost, and I thought it was a good idea, given I am too busy to write atm.