a message for the protesters at the supreme court today

Today Roe v. Wade turns 35. I can’t believe it’s been so long. It’s not often that I think about this freedom, this choice that I have. Perhaps I take it for granted. But as more and more state governments chip away at the choice granted by this court decision, I’m forced to reflect on the consequences of this court decision. Who knows how much longer women will have this choice.

Despite my Catholic upbringing, as a child I was pro-choice and didn’t know it. I would hear the message in church, at my private Catholic school in religion class, in conversations my mom had with her church friends. Abortion is wrong. It’s murder. Life begins at conception. I’m not sure how old I was, but I know that I was a kid when I had an interesting conversation with my sister about the subject of abortion. I was confused. Why would a morally abhorrent act be legal? And so I questioned. I shared these questions with my sister. I asked her, “Why is it anyone’s business what someone does with her own body?” She answered, “Because it’s wrong to have an abortion.” I then asked, “Well, then who are we to judge someone who would make that choice? Isn’t it in the bible to ‘judge not lest you be judged’?”

Many women have an abortion because they can’t give that child the best life possible. A friend of mine had an abortion because she was not in a position to raise a child (emotionally nor financially) and felt that it was unfair to that child to bring him/her into the world under such circumstances. Yes, she wrestled with her decision for quite some time. It was not an easy one to make. But in the end it was her choice. And I will never judge her for it.

What anti-choicers don’t understand is that we are all pro-life. Despite the difference in rhetoric, we have much in common. As a pro-choicer, I too would like to see a reduction in the number of abortions in the United States to zero. Not because Roe v. Wade will have been overturned. But because we provided comprehensive sex education to all children. Because women now have easy access to birth control. Because men everywhere decided that they too have an active role in pregnancy prevention. Because Plan B (the morning after pill) is available over the counter to every female who needs it, including minors. Because condoms are no longer locked in a cabinet at convenience stores.

So, anti-choicers, that’s what it’s going to take to reduce the number of abortions in this country. You wanna put down those ‘Abortion is murder’ posters and join me in the fight for better sex ed, cheaper birth control and easy access to Plan B and condoms?

Yeah, I didn’t think so.