A lot of people had commented on this pin; I saw a lot of negative comments from people who are pro-life. I should mention that I hate the term "pro-life" because it makes me sound as though I am "pro-death" (and I'm not).
I can see how [pro-life] people might be a little angry about this quote. It does make it sound as though she doesn't care one bit for unborn children...but I don't think that's what she was going for.
I'm pro-choice for a number of reasons. For the most part, I don't think that abortion is a decision that anyone makes lightly. There might be a few people who just don't care and are using abortion as a form of birth control, and there probably should be some sort of monitoring system for that, but most people view abortion as the last option. I also think that most people who get abortions have to deal with that decision for the rest of their lives. The point is, none of that is my business because it's not my body. I don't have the right to tell them what they can do with their own body any more than they can tell me what to do with mine.
When I read this quote, I see it as focusing on the root of the problem. Sure, abortion could become illegal. Would that stop the procedure from happening? Absolutely not. People are going to do what they want to do--no matter what the law says. Making abortion illegal does not address the real issue which is how can we help people avoid "unwanted" pregnancies and thus avoid getting abortions? To me, the answer is education.
If we start focusing on children (specifically girls) and educate them properly, I think that we will see a decrease in the number of unwanted pregnancies. Educate girls so that they know about contraception and safe sex, invest in their lives and foster their self esteem so they don't rely so much on sex in order to feel loved.
To me, this is not an either/or issue. I'm not choosing to worry about a child rather than a fetus. It's my concern for both that reflects my decision. I care about the fetus, but there's nothing I can do about it. A fetus is a hypothetical, and I have no control or influence over it. I do have an influence over children. If I use this influence in a positive way, I could very well help out future fetuses.
It's the same as any other issue we face--we focus on the wrong part of the problem. As a perpetual dieter, I can tell you that focusing on the wrong thing doesn't help at all. Of course a fad diet of nothing but celery and lemon juice sprinkled with cayenne pepper would make me lose weight. But what about when I try to stop eating like a crazy person? Have I learned anything? Do I know about portion control, exercise or healthy food options? No. I might stay thin for awhile, but ultimately I'm set up to fail. The plan looked good on paper, but when it's put into practice it's not so useful.
I don't typically write about such serious topics, but I found this quote very interesting and wanted to share it. I promise to return to my patented silly posts immediately.
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