Wednesday, February 15, 2012

I Am.


I am a woman.
I am a mother.
I am someone's wife.
I am a professional.
I like to shop.
I love to read.
I procrastinate.
I worry.
I have sex.
I have breakfast with friends and dinners with my
family.
I get my hair done and wear makeup and change my clothes 10 times before leaving the house.

I am just like you and I am the face of the fight for women's reproductive rights.

I'm cracking open ye olde blog after nearly 3 months of no activity to talk today about the very real threat against women and our reproductive rights and what We are doing to make our voices heard. We will be heard.

Here are some interesting stats about abortion:

  • 55% of all abortions are provided to women who are either married, divorced, or co-habitating. Unmarried women account for only 45% of abortions.
  • 54% of all women who have abortions were on some form of birth control (usually condoms or the pill) when they got pregnant. Only 8% of women who have abortions have never used any form of birth control.
  • Only 26% of abortions are performed on women who have had one abortion before, 52% on women who have never had an abortion before, and 22% on women who have had more than one abortion in the past.
  • A vast majority (61%) of abortions are obtained by women who already have children.
  • 88% of abortions are performed in the first twelve weeks, with 61% of those before 9 weeks, 17% between 9 and 10 weeks and 9% between 11 and 12 weeks. 6.6% are performed between 13 and 15 weeks, with 3.8% between 16 and 20 weeks and only 1.5% performed after 21 weeks. There is no data on abortions past viability, but most statistical agencies agree that it is an astronomically tiny number.
And now some myths:
  • If abortion was made illegal, people would stop having abortions.
  • That serves them right/they got what they deserved.
  • You should just give the baby up for adoption. There are so many nice waiting families who would love it.
  • Abortion is Murder.
  • If you're pro-choice, you have had an abortion before.
  • Abortions are covered by government assistance.
  • Partial birth abortion exists and is a common method of abortion.
Really, I could go on. I believe in education. Educate yourself.

Would I choose abortion for myself? Probably not. I am an upper middle class woman with insurance, an incredible support system, and the means to care for a child. But I don't want that choice taken away. I don't want ANYONE'S choice to be taken away. It's more than just the right to choose to carry to term. Its my body. It's MY body. Where is the line? When does it become someone else's decision what happens to my body? Where is the line between forcing women to carry to term and investigating women who have had miscarriages for the "murder" of the fetus or in some cases, an EMBRYO? What about masturbation? Should the spilling of a potential life from a man's penis be considered abortion? After all...those microscopic sperm COULD HAVE CURED CANCER!@(*!^$&

I started this post with things that I am. Here is something that I am not:

I am not anti-choice. In anything.

Leave me and my body alone.





3 comments:

theFarschside said...

Thank you so much for speaking out!

kirsty said...

Wicked awesome..Indeed, leave our bodies alone, dammit!

i'm no one's legislative volley ball...

Kirsty

Fausta said...

Beautifully said!! Thanks!

Fausta