I'm Pro-Choice and I Vote

[kcobweb]

Today is the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, and thereby Blog for Choice Day. I don't usually get into these things in this space, but I'm feeling in the mood for it today, somehow.

The Roe decision was handed down on the day I was one month old. I think of that, every year on this anniversary - if she had wanted to, if I had not been the result of a planned pregnancy, my mother would not have had any legal options. That makes me squirm a little bit, on her behalf. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be forced to carry a pregnancy I didn't want. (Being pregnant when you want to be is *wonderful*; my pregnancy only made me more pro-choice, as does having a daughter.)

I have been pro-choice as long as I can remember. Somewhere in the late 80s, while I was in high school, there were a bunch of news stories about abortion (Congress? the Supreme Court? not sure....), and I remember my 15-year-old self being very offended and appalled that a bunch of white old guys in suits and red power ties who were 2000 miles away could decide my fate like that (yeah, that's pretty much how I phrased it back then). And I was *years* away from having sex - but I knew that this impinged on my bodily integrity in a way few other things could.

My first real job out of college was working in an abortion clinic. These days, I lurk - and sometimes comment - in abortioninfo, which is a fabulous community dedicated to providing unbiased factual information without any pressure (either way, really) to girls and women in need. There is so much fear around the abortion decision and especially the procedure itself, even though an early abortion is something like 11 times safer than childbirth. Because it's a taboo issue, most people don't know of anyone around them who has had an abortion - in reality, 35% of women will have had an abortion by the time they turn 45.

I read that community because it makes it *real*. I do think that the pro-choice / pro-life debate tends to get bogged down in the rhetoric and it all becomes hypothetical, semantics, etc. This is not a hypothetical or a theory, this is someone's life, and that's what's on display in abortioninfo. The one thing I'd say I took away from my year working in the clinic is that everyone has a story, and every story is different. I see that in abortioninfo too, and that's what keeps me there - the stories.

I vote. galagan has accused me of being a one-issue voter, and that's actually kind of true. But as I said to my friend Z the poli sci professor, abortion rights is a litmus test for me: if I agree with a candidate on abortion, it is a fairly good indicator that I agree with them on a whole range of other issues. (sanj suggested that queer rights/gay marriage were also a good litmus test.)

Personally, I come down on the side of prevention - there's nothing inherently wrong with abortion, but it would be unnecessary surgery if the pregnancy didn't have to exist. I continually find it damned *appalling* that nearly half of the pregnancies in this country (to women of ALL ages) are unintended. We need better access to contraception (as well as emergency contraception), and comprehensive sexuality education, for children of all ages. I fully intend to be the cool mom who will answer all questions - my daughter can (hopefully) bring home her friends to ask me questions, and I will have a drawer with a boxful of condoms that people can take without my watching over them. Because knowledge is power.

Source for statistics here.

Comments

[pseudosilence.livejournal.com]

I've been lucky, and have never had a pregnancy, but I know at least five women who have had abortions, including two who had abortions when it was still illegal. I've always been pro-choice, but after hearing each of their stories, it's truly incomprehensible to me that anyone would try to insert the law into such a personal and intimate choice.

So I'm with you, and I won't vote for anyone who doesn't support a women's right to choose for herself.

[samtheeagle.livejournal.com]

The only place I'll challenge you is on the one-issue/litmus test thing. There are pro-choice Democrats and pro-choice Republicans, pro-choice economic liberals and pro-choice economic conservatives, pro-choice folks who oppose gay marriage and pro-choice folks who support gay marriage. Maybe the litmus approach works in other places, but not in the Northeast. I'd encourage you to branch out.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

You're probably right - this likely just shows that the other places I've lived, you had to weed through all these nut-cases to find the one pro-choice candidate. Montana has some crazy politics and politicians, I tell you. I'll keep your words in mind. :)

[ltlbird.livejournal.com]

I used to be sort of pro-life (though I have never liked that term), and in a way I still am. I hate the thought of child-to-be not making it into the world. It's not the fetus' fault that there's an unwanted pregnancy. On the other hand, the world is overpopulated already, I can't imagine what the stress of carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term does to mother and fetus (has anyone done any studies as to whether children of unwanted pregnancies are more likely to have medical, pyschological, or social issues down the road? seems to me all that stress could very well have a detrimental effect on both mom and baby), and I firmly believe that only people who really want a child should have one. I default to pro-choice now, in large part because it doesn't seem possible to find a precise definition of when a fetus becomes a person, protected against harm by all the usual laws, other than at birth.

At any rate, I totally agree with you about pregnancy prevention. The stat about the number of unwanted pregnancies is appalling!

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

It's not the fetus' fault that there's an unwanted pregnancy.

We live in an imperfect world: it's not fair to the woman, and it's not fair to the fetus, and it's often not fair to the man, either.

has anyone done any studies as to whether children of unwanted pregnancies are more likely to have medical, pyschological, or social issues down the road?

I'm trying to remember details - but I know I've read various things over the years attributing various social trends to the legalization of abortion. The one that sticks in my head is one (from the late 90s, but I don't know who/where) that posited that a drop in the overall crime rate in the late-80s/early-90s was because the people coming of age then (16, 17, 18, or whatever) were the leading edge of those who were more likely to be wanted children after the Roe decision ('73). However, I've never seen any of these studies be able to differentiate between causation and correlation.

[kouredios.livejournal.com]

There's a fair amount about this in Freakonomics.

[nyssa23.livejournal.com]

Well, I can tell you that I was the result of an unplanned/quite possibly unwanted pregnancy and I have enough issues for a five-year subscription. That's why I've spent lots of time and cash on therapy.

[kouredios.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear!

[saltcod.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. *hug*

[ellinor.livejournal.com]

Love this post. I agree with Sam about the litmus test in one sense -- it is always a good idea to look at a candidate's other views, especially in the Northeast (He and I both know of at least one Republican/Conservative who staunchly refused to run on the "Right to Life" line even though he knew he would lose votes, a move I always respected) -- but I agree that there are some issues that overpower us emotionally and logically and can make us almost one-issue voters.

sanj's suggestion makes me sad, though: There are no electable candidates currently running for national office who support full and equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. Even if I wanted to be a one-issue voter of sorts, there is no candidate I can vote for on my issue. (I don't find Kucinich or Ron Paul to be electable, nor do I find them to be the most appealing candidates on other issues.) So I guess what I am is more of a multi-issue voter with a one-issue deal-breaker.