One morning, during my junior year of high school, all students were taken to the gym for an assembly. No one knew what the assembly was about or its purpose. Once we were all seated, we focused our attention on the woman standing in at the front of the gym, who started to give a speech on the importance of being pro-life. Before you freak out, I probably should have mentioned that I went to a private catholic high school, so assemblies like these were completely normal. I was totally ready to listen to what this woman had to say. However, the points she made and the examples she gave were absurd and began to make me angry. Basically, the point of her speech was if a woman gets an abortion she is a baby-killer and is going to hell no matter the circumstances. So, for one second, put your religion aside while I explain why I am pro-choice.

First, I would like to say I do believe in God, Heaven and Hell. So, if you thought all pro-choice people are cold-hearted atheist, you are wrong. Just because I am pro-choice does not mean I hate God. It also does not mean I hate babies. I love babies, and plan to have some of my own in the far off future. But, if I were to wake up tomorrow and discover I was pregnant, I would get an abortion. I know you may be thinking “how heart-less of her,” but let me explain: I am a 19-year-old college student. In NO WAY would I be suitable or have the financial ability to take care of a child. I can barely take care of myself on a good day, let alone a baby. I would have to cut way back on school or drop out. I would have to get a second job, maybe even a third, because my part-time, minimum wage paycheck that I get right now would only cover the diapers. Between the endless work and trying to stay in school, I would then rarely have time for my child. I understand that many young women live in this very scenario, and props to them, but for others, like myself, could not.

Now you may think I’m selfish, which is understandable because maybe I am. However, I would never want to put my child through my own hardships, and having a baby at 19 would be just that.

Some situations are different. A woman is raped and does not want to carry the rapist baby inside her for nine months. A woman lives in such extreme poverty a baby would suffer under the conditions. A woman has medical issues where having a baby might kill her. Or maybe, a woman simply does not want children. Every reason is perfectly acceptable because a woman has the right to do whatever she pleases with her body. That fact that our government has the ability to take away a woman’s right to choice what happens to her own body baffles me, and the male politicians' who advocate to ban abortions astonish me even more (but that’s a different topic).

Having a baby is a lot of work. The time and money it takes to care for such a tiny human is endless. Some people may think “well, if you are pregnant it does not mean you have to take care of the child – adoption is an option.” Adoption IS NOT an alternative to abortion. Women still have to carry their baby inside them. You would have to live with the fact that somewhere in the world your own child is being raised by people you don’t know. Psychologically, adoption could devastate the birth mother and child.

If you are pro-life, great – we all have different beliefs. My beliefs however, are that women should have the right to their own bodies, and if carrying and delivering a baby is not in their plan that is perfectly okay. Women who have had abortions are not murders or baby killer, but simply human beings who made choice of not carrying and deliver a baby for their own reasons.