My Choice

          So lets jump into the fire with both feet. Lets talk abortion. I have been watching the coverage of the primaries and it keeps coming up so, lets go for it. Let me be clear I am pro-choice. I believe that my body and what happens with it is my decision. I have felt this way as long as I could understand what it was. I was raised Catholic and still believe in the religious aspect of it. I always say I am a non practicing catholic who believes in the faith end just not the application of the religion in our society. I know some of you are scratching your head...how can I be catholic and believe in abortion. Well lets start here...I do not believe in abortion, I believe in choice. And because I have a spiritual belief does not mean I am not allowed to form my own views on today's issues. Religion is there to guide us not dictate us.
          I often hear people say that I am essentially condoning killing. Wow, that is a statement. I disagree. I have heard it all...."something dead doesn't grow". So my answer is that if that fetus was removed from me it would not live nor grow. It is essentially at that point a part of me that requires me to live. I also believe that no one has any right to stand and tell me what I can and cannot do in terms of my health. Nor do they have a right to judge me. It is essentially between me and God. I see people with their kids holding signs with aborted fetus on them. Can anyone else see the irony in that? Often someone making a good choice for their life, is ridiculed, yelled at, told they are going to burn in hell. When if they had that child and they were not ready for it financially, mentally, and in terms of maturity, something far worse could happen. I have no way to know how someone else feels, what their situation is. I try to be empathetic and compassionate but in the end the only person who knows what is going to work or their life is them.
          I am not a believer in late term abortions. Okay, make a decision and be responsible. I also am not a fan of people using this as a form of birth control. A condom is a lot cheaper than an abortion. I think places like Planned Parenthood are so important because they offer not just abortions but because they educate women. They provide health care, they provide birth control, they provide choice. I know this is a really tough issue and like me, people feel very strongly but I think the bottom line is that I need to maintain control of my own body and my own rights. Women not so long ago fought very hard to provide women today with all the rights we have. I slowly see several of those rights being challenged and it bothers me. For me it starts on the topic of abortion. This is my condensed down argument but it is such a huge varied topic that I am sure I will revisit at some point. Just be aware and whether you agree or not I think we can all agree that as human beings we should be able to calmly and rationally discuss topics like this, otherwise we are never going to get anywhere.