Pro...

Abortion.

Pro-life.

Pro-choice

Women’s rights.

This has been a controversial topic as long as I can remember. But lately, it has grown into one of the bigger hot-button topics of the day.

The topic of choice can be thrust into any area of life. My sister recently had a friend say to her that she can’t understand how people who are “pro-life” can have their cats spayed and neutered, since that is keeping babies from being born. That was a new argument that I wasn’t familiar with.

Pro-life proponents are often shown as old white men, who of course are not affected in any way by pro-life legislation. They are all ardent Trump supporters who think that a woman should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, or she is missing the only calling that will give her life worth.

But that is not what all pro-lifers are.

I am pro-life.

I am a 29 year old woman. I am single, and I travel the world and like to have the freedom to do as I want.

No, I have not adopted a baby. That’s one of the arguments, where people say that pro-lifers are only pro-birth, and don’t want to help those lives once they are out there.

But I would love to adopt. I am not in a position that I can currently, but I hope to one day be able.

Because, you see, to really be pro-life, you can’t only say that abortion is bad and ignore the other stuff going on around you.

I know people who voted Trump mainly because of his anti-abortion stance. But, while I respect the fact that he thinks that abortion is bad, I do not believe that he is genuinely pro-life. His stance on the other lives throughout the world show that.

So, while I agreed with his stand on abortion, I felt that I was personally too pro-life to vote for him.

Pro-life to me includes the lives of immigrants, and people who are being attacked for their colour or religion. Pro-life means giving a child a chance for life even if the doctor says he or she will be badly disabled and termination is better.

I’ve talked to people who say that it is none of my, or anyone else’s business whether a woman aborts an unwanted child.

But if I was in a village in India, and saw a woman smothering her infant daughter directly after birth, because she doesn’t want to feed a daughter, and would rather try again for a son, those same people would say it is my duty to step in.

Those people would even advocate for education in poor villages, where they would teach the women to care for their daughters, and teach them that all babies are important. There’s a good chance that most of these people would even approve of punishment for the woman who would smother her daughter, or leave the tiny girl out in a field where she will quickly die of exposure.

How is it different? Yeah, it’s different in that the baby is not inside the woman’s body. But the baby needs its Mother. The woman can’t use her body in the way she desires (trying for a son so that she pleases her husband), because she has to care for this little person who is entirely helpless.

To be clear, I am not saying that we should allow women to murder unwanted infants. But if we wouldn’t allow it in the case of a poor woman who does not want a daughter, why would we allow it prior to birth.

A Mother and child are 2 separate bodies. As soon as a baby is conceived, it ceases to be a single body. Why else would the murder of a pregnant woman carry the weight of two murders? You can’t say that it is a person when it serves you in getting a stiffer prison sentence for a murderer, and not a person when it was an accident.

Back to the comment about pro-lifers spaying and neutering cats…that is a way to prevent births, which doesn’t take any life. We do not take pregnant cats in to be spayed, but instead wait until they give birth, then have all of them neutered. This is to prevent the cat population from reaching a point around here where they are fighting, and roaming all over, getting shot by farmers who don’t want them around.

I have no issue with people getting “neutered”. If you don’t want kids, make it so you can’t have kids. But once you’ve reached the point where there is another being in there, even if it is still just a “clump of cells” according to pro-choicers, that’s where you are screwing with someone else’s life.

If you sleep around, that’s also your choice. I don’t think that people should be banned from sleeping together outside of marriage. It’s probably smarter on a whole lot of levels, but again, this is your body. Two consenting adults…go ahead. But again, if that creates another life, it is no longer only you on this ride.

So be smart about the choices you make. If you’re not ready for a kid, don’t have sex. Yes, it sucks a lot more for women, as they’re the ones with the real responsibility when all is said and done. Though, I think men should be held to a lot more responsibility as well.

If you make a baby, no matter which part you donated, you have a responsibility to that baby. You either raise it, or you find it a new home. But abortion should not be an option. Ever. Choices have consequences. And a baby should not be the easiest consequence to get rid of.

Sorry if this was offensive. But I think it is important to show people who are pro-life, but aren’t old white men who are pro-Trump. I want to be honest here, and if that means occasionally stepping on toes, so be it.

I do not write to be deliberately offensive, and will reply to any questions for clarification on any of my points. I write to share my beliefs and views, and appreciate people who can have a sensible conversation with those who have differing thoughts on matters.

Thanks for your time, and have a lovely day.