Monday, January 22, 2007

Blog For Choice

Today was a lot busier than I'd planned for , so this is the first chance I've had to sit down and blog. In the interests of getting this up quickly, I'm going to use the bulk of what I posted in a note on facebook several months ago:

A Note on the Phrase "Pro-Choice"

By the way, because I've had to have this talk with a few people who I thought were too intelligent for this kind of thinking, "Pro-Choice" does NOT simply mean "Pro-ABORTION." This kind of oversimplification undermines the entire movement.

Pro-Choice means I support comprehensive sex education, so that young people can make an informed choice about their sex lives, rather than being taught that sex is something to be ashamed and frightened of. Pro-Choice means I support easy access to birth control, such as condoms, the patch, the pill, EC, so that men and women can be responsible about their choices, without having a stranger in the pharmacy tell them they're immoral. Pro-Choice means I support a woman's right to choose what to do after she gets pregnant, whether she chooses abortion, keeping her child, or adoption.

My mother has always been staunchly pro-choice. If she'd chosen not to keep me then I would have died for something I believe in. She chose to have a child (two, even!), and at the age of two I attended my first pro-choice rally. In high school, my parents took me and my boyfriend to the million-strong March For Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. I have helped Planned Parenthood raise money in one of their phonebanking drives. I support NARAL Pro-Choice Texas through donations. I attend the Voices for Choice meetings because I enjoy being with likeminded individuals who want to make a difference.

I just want to point out that being pro-choice is not just a fly-by-night decision for me. I don't want to get flak from one more person who a) can't remember the last time they did something for a cause they believe in, and/or b) hasn't done enough research into the Pro-Choice movement to have an informed debate with me.

Also, go check out LibraryPrincess' post for today!




Blog for Choice Day - January 22, 2007

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