Blogging for Choice
As you may have noticed on the sidebar, today is Blog for Choice day. Our mission is to explain why we are pro choice. So, here goes.
My own personal story is probably different than many other pro-choice people in that I started off in abortion politics are adamantly pro-life. Not only did I have pro-life posters in my bedroom during high school, but I also helped to form the Students for Life chapter at my undergraduate college. And, I worked for pro-life Republican candidates.
Although I seemed to be an absolutist, I was supportive of exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
I was, however, also quite libertarian in my personal feelings. I tried to reconcile my belief in personal freedom with my belief that government ought to prohibit abortion.
There was not one defining moment where the light went off, and I realized that I was wrong. It was a series of events. The more involved I got with the pro-life people the more I realized how different I was. Where I supported increased sex education and better access to high quality birth control, they were strict about abstinence. This struck me as somewhat bizarre at the time. I could not comprehend how one could oppose means of limiting the number of unwanted pregnancies.
What I began to realize was that these people were not simply anti-abortion, they were anti-sex. They were modern day Puritans out to restrict freedom and pleasure. As I became more aware of their agenda, my inner libertarian pulled me further and further away from the cause. I came to a point where I believed that abortion was morally wrong, but that it was more wrong for the government to interfere in women's lives.
And, over the years, as I have gotten older (and wiser?), I've moved away from that position as well. I am not sure if abortion is right or wrong. Life is not that simple, it is not black or white, good or bad. People who think in such absolutes are morally stunted.
What I do know is that it is morally wrong for a government to restrict personal liberty, especially with respect to such a private matter as reproductive decisions. It is wrong for me or anyone else to tell someone that she must carry a pregnancy to term. And that is why I am pro-choice.
My own personal story is probably different than many other pro-choice people in that I started off in abortion politics are adamantly pro-life. Not only did I have pro-life posters in my bedroom during high school, but I also helped to form the Students for Life chapter at my undergraduate college. And, I worked for pro-life Republican candidates.
Although I seemed to be an absolutist, I was supportive of exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
I was, however, also quite libertarian in my personal feelings. I tried to reconcile my belief in personal freedom with my belief that government ought to prohibit abortion.
There was not one defining moment where the light went off, and I realized that I was wrong. It was a series of events. The more involved I got with the pro-life people the more I realized how different I was. Where I supported increased sex education and better access to high quality birth control, they were strict about abstinence. This struck me as somewhat bizarre at the time. I could not comprehend how one could oppose means of limiting the number of unwanted pregnancies.
What I began to realize was that these people were not simply anti-abortion, they were anti-sex. They were modern day Puritans out to restrict freedom and pleasure. As I became more aware of their agenda, my inner libertarian pulled me further and further away from the cause. I came to a point where I believed that abortion was morally wrong, but that it was more wrong for the government to interfere in women's lives.
And, over the years, as I have gotten older (and wiser?), I've moved away from that position as well. I am not sure if abortion is right or wrong. Life is not that simple, it is not black or white, good or bad. People who think in such absolutes are morally stunted.
What I do know is that it is morally wrong for a government to restrict personal liberty, especially with respect to such a private matter as reproductive decisions. It is wrong for me or anyone else to tell someone that she must carry a pregnancy to term. And that is why I am pro-choice.
posted by Anonymous at 2:02 PM
1 Comments:
Wow You just describe a friend of mine who may be pro-life(I not sure because her liberal viwpoints ,ake it hard to tell) bt she is for sex education. She said in order to avoid pregnancies we need to teach safe sex. I belive that the sex lineration movement is the cause of abortion. WHy else would abortion of choice exist? GIve me some advice on how to approach her about this issue.
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