I know this is a touchy subject for many people. If you are pro-life and easily offended, I suggest that you stop reading here. Otherwise, please continue if you wish.
The reason I am writing this today, now, after midnight on a Saturday morning, is because I just read an article that one of my Facebook friends shared on her timeline. This friend of mine is fairly openly pro-life. In many respects, our backgrounds are similar: we were both homeschooled through the end of high school; we both have siblings; we are both pursuing degrees in the field of classical music performance. However, the fact that she shared this article makes me question how much I want to remain friends with her, not because of her beliefs but because she posted something so blatantly one-sided and had the gall to ask anyone, whether pro-life or pro-choice, to read it.
I wish I could say the article was written from a completely open-minded perspective. It was written by a woman whose first experience of abortion was as a teenager, seeing a teenage friend forced by her parents to get an abortion. In fact, all of her experiences of abortion seem to be that the woman in question was forced into it: by her family, by societal pressure, by some other external force.
The author goes on to call for parents to allow their teenage daughters to carry their babies and give birth to them. She calls for colleges to offer scholarships to young women who want to be pregnant and seek a degree simultaneously. She paints Roe v. Wade as an enemy to women. And I can see where she's coming from -- some of the time.
Wouldn't we all like to have it all -- family, career, peace? Well, we can't, and we shouldn't. There's something gritty about making difficult life choices that makes people stronger and more resilient. I believe that we have to struggle in order to become our best selves.
I agree that parents should never force abortion on their daughters. If a 17-year-old girl wants to have a baby, she should be allowed to. If she wants to have an abortion, she should be allowed to. My problem with the author of this article was that she had a problem with parents who force their daughters to have an abortion, but didn't even mention parents who force their daughters not to have an abortion.
As a young woman who is currently pursuing a degree full-time at an institute of higher education, I don't believe that any woman my age could have the time or energy to carry a baby, give birth, and care for her newborn while in school. There's a reason why pregnant girls drop out of school, and even if it is mostly societal pressure, that societal pressure exists because of a deeper reason.
And as for Roe v. Wade, I cannot ever believe that it was detrimental to women's rights.
This has been the opinion of one person. It is not intended to offend anyone, or to cause any pain.
Thank you,
Roz
