I grew up in a very Catholic home. I went to church every Sunday, religious education classes every Wednesday and prayed before meals and bed. I even went to a Catholic high school. That's why when people learn this one thing about me, they are very surprised.
I am pro-choice.
Yes, I said it. You might be thinking, "How can you support killing babies?" The honest truth is that I actually don't. Hear me out.
Will I ever have an abortion? Absolutely not. I could never take my child's life, it is not my place. If I get pregnant and it wasn't planned, it's my mistake to live with and I will love my child regardless of the circumstances. That being said, it is also not my place to tell another woman what she can and can't do with her body. It's nobody's business, really.
Nobody gives a crap if you drink yourself to death, smoke 10 packs a day or eat unhealthy. It's your body that you're destroying, therefore it's your choice. Abortion is very similar. A baby is the consequence of your actions, not mine. It's going to grow in your body, not mine. Aborting it will affect your mental health, not mine.
So why is it my place to tell you that you can't do it?
I personally don't believe abortion is right, but that doesn't mean others don't. It doesn't mean that I should get to decide what to do with someone else's life or child. I know nothing about their circumstances, their life or their state of mind, yet I get to tell them they have to keep a baby they don't want? That seems a little intense to me.
Majority of our government consists of old, white men. What the hell do they know about the struggles of a mother carrying a child she doesn't want? Nothing. They know nothing about pregnancy, nothing about the mental harm an unwanted baby could cause and nothing about how that unwanted baby will be treated once it is born. But it's perfectly fine for them to tell a woman what to do simply because they are in power.
If a man doesn't want a baby, he can simply get up and leave the woman he got pregnant.
Yes, he has to pay child support, but he doesn't have to even SEE the baby if he doesn't want to. So you're going to force this unprepared, scared mother to have a child when the man who got her pregnant doesn't even have to have an ounce of responsibility? You know what that sounds like to me? Sexism.
Along with the great faith that my family taught me growing up, they also taught me to stay out of other people's business and focus on my own morals. The church also doesn't believe being gay is right. Does that give me the right to tell a gay couple that they can't be happy and together? Nope.
Yes, I am pro-choice. I'm not sorry that I vote for politicians who also push that platform. While I myself will never have an abortion, it is not in my realm of power to tell another woman she can't. Period.