When Texas passed the most restrictive abortion law since the legalization of abortion, women all over the country began to mobilize. On Saturday, October 2, 2021, my daughters and I joined tens of thousands of other women, men and children on the streets of DC to make our voices heard. We marched to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. The march was organized by dozens of groups including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Service Employees International Union and Abortion Care Network.
“We are witnessing the most dire threat to abortion access in our lifetime,” the Women’s March Network said on its website, noting the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to block Texas’ 6-week abortion ban. “We need to send an unmistakable message about our fierce opposition to restricting abortion access and overturning Roe v. Wade before it’s too late.”
I marched because I wanted my voice to be part of that unmistakable message!
As I have stated before, I am not Pro Abortion ~ but I am Pro Choice. My position is simple – if you are against abortion, you should not have one. Period. You do not have the right to impose your beliefs on any other woman.
I believe the best way to reduce the number of abortions is to educate women about birth control options and make birth control readily available. While this will reduce the requests for abortion, it will not eliminate it. In cases where women want or need an abortion, they must have easy, safe access to this medical procedure.
I believe many lawmakers are allowing their “Religious” beliefs to influence their legislative efforts. This is a violation of our Constitution, which guarantees the separation of church and state. While these legislators claim life begins at conception, many citizens do not agree. For example, in the Jewish faith, the belief is that life begins at 1st breath. Religious beliefs must not be allowed to creep into our laws.
No one has the right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. Having a child is no exception. No woman should be forced to carry a pregnancy to term if that is not what the woman wants. It’s her body – it’s her choice!
The following explanation helped me come to terms with the concept of legal abortion:
If a person needs a transplant to survive (i.e., kidney, liver, bone marrow) and you are the only person in the world who is a match, no one can force you to donate anything from your body, even if the sick person will die without the transplant. Although you are the only person who can save the sick person, you cannot be forced to donate. In the same way, a woman cannot be forced to “donate” her body (i.e., her womb) to a child she does not chose to carry.
Her body – her choice. While many have strong opinions about abortion, they do NOT have the right to impose their opinions on ANYONE.
I was proud to march with my daughters and so many other strong women to the steps of the Supreme Court. The assault on women’s reproductive rights is an attempt to keep women oppressed. The choice to have a child is a deeply personal, life changing choice. I will always stand up for a woman’s right to make that choice for herself.
Original source can be found here.
