I have always been in favor of the right of women to abort their pregnancies. This was even before I became a father. Once I became a father, I was even more pro-life, that is, pro-women.
I have daughters and they have a human right to abort their pregnancies, to control their bodies, and to make decisions about their bodies and reproductive rights. I am pretty absolute on this.
Online the last few days, a statement has been circulating on this stand too and people have been sharing and re-posting it. It is a chain post.
Here is part of it:
I‘m pro-life.
Their lives.
Women’s lives.
You don’t get to pick and choose which scenarios should be accepted.
Women’s rights are meant to protect ALL women, regardless of their situation!
The post includes the names and circumstances of women who have had to make reproductive choices under difficulties. The point is be pro-life, supporting women who are alive and need our support.
This is my position. You can call me pro-choice but it is not my choice anyway. But really, I am pro-life, pro-women’s rights, pro-women’s lives. The rest of the chatter about abortion is just political stupidity and religious madness. I ignore it and dismiss anyone trying to control someone else’s decisions about that person’s life.
Most of the ignorant talk I hear is driven by men. Then there are the ideologies they expound that still want rule the lives of women. It is juvenile.
There is one writer in my threads who used Ruth Bader Ginsburg to justify taking away the human rights of women to control their bodies. The writer is so off base there is no reason to even respond to it.
Yet, my bigger point is those of us who are pro-women, pro-women’s rights, and pro-life, should say so. We are pro-life. We are pro-freedom. We are pro-human rights. The anti-abortion crowd is lost in ideological foolishness.
Some of it is political and some of it is religious. Some of it is just ignorance.
I talk to women all the time and my daughters. And women who I call close friends. I know many who have had abortions and some who had to abort to save their lives. I stand with them and all women. If a woman wants to carry a pregnancy to term, I support that. If a woman does not want to do so, I support that.
Poor Women
I remember thinking years ago that this day would come. One day, the backward element in society, the oppressive religious reactionaries hiding behind their beliefs would outlaw abortion. I thought of poor women, the women most likely affected by such a law.
I said, somehow they have to be able to locate safe passage to a state offering abortions, or a country. Years ago, when Ireland banned all abortions, that is what happened. Women traveled elsewhere and got abortions. This is what will happen here. I truly felt that if I can help in some way, I would and will.
That time has come and especially so for poor women who lack access and resources. All of us who are pro-life and pro-women and pro-women’s rights should find out how we can help women and especially poor women access abortion services. It is a true moral act of service as a human being to do this.
Now, that a small segment of the population has been able to impose its backward ideas on all of us, let us answer them with a unified response. We will be pro-life, pro-women, and pro-women’s rights, each and every day. We will do this by standing with them and helping in their time of great need.
—
This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
***
You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock.com