Pro-Choice

I am Pro-Choice.

If, you're not from the USA or have been living under a rock, this means simply that I believe a woman has the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy via abortion. In America there are two extremely divided views on this belief. The opposition, the Pro-Life advocates, feel abortion is essentially murder and have their own beliefs that guide them to this conclusion. Today's rant isn't about the differences between the view points on Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life. No, today I instead want to talk about Planned Parenthood and the negative response of the Pro-Life advocates against it's existence and services.

Planned Parenthood is not a creature that I fully understand myself as I've never had need of their services. So, I went searching about the internet for answers to what really goes on at their centers. First off, just the facts as presented be the planned parenthood website (www.plannedparenthood.org).

The planned parenthood mission statement reads as follows:

"Planned Parenthood believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual's income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence. We believe that respect and value for diversity in all aspects of our organization are essential to our well-being. We believe that reproductive self-determination must be voluntary and preserve the individual's right to privacy. We further believe that such self-determination will contribute to an enhancement of the quality of life and strong family relationships."

Okay, so they are more or less what I figured they were. A sex education and health group that advocates free choice of the individual. Now for some of the more nitty-gritty facts of their services regarding abortion. In 2010 Planned Parenthood assisted in the preforming of over 329,000 abortions. This number accounted for three percent of their total services in that year. The majority of Planned Parenthood's services go to screening for sexually transmitted diseases, contraception services and cancer screening and prevention (according to their own published statistics).

Now, my perspective and rant is such. Those that know me extremely well know I'm a heavy believer in personal choice in all matters in life. One of my own creeds for how I live is to believe that anyone has the right to do anything as long it doesn't directly harm another (more on my this in a future post I promise). Abortion is a... hard to side on event. Depending on an individual's view and values, it could be seen as harmful, to both parties involved, not to mention the people directly associated with the female receiving the procedure that may or may not have a say in it (i.e. the potential fathers to be). Regardless of how you personally view abortion, my opinion is simply that we as a people have no right to enforce our morals or views on another. Someone I deeply respect once told me that you cannot legislate morality. So, while I hold life as a precious thing, worthy of protection, I also value individual freedom of choice so much more. I think that if able anyone that has a pregnancy, planned or otherwise, should carry the child to term. But, that's only if you're able to do so, and being able is a very broad and unspecific idea. I'm sure any woman out there that's had children can attest to the severe tolls just being pregnant has to your life. Beyond heath concerns there's financial concerns, issues with body image and after effects, impact on your social standing (i.e. how others react to your pregnancy) and a slew of other deeply emotional and unknown circumstances that go along with being pregnant.

Planned Parenthood was recently in the press after the Susan G. Komen group pulled funding for Planned Parenthood because of a change in their requirements for how they fund groups. I don't personally doubt part of this was motivated over political leanings or pressures. The, and I hate using this terminology because I honestly don't know enough about it to make a generalized assumption, right-wing conservative republican establishment has long been against Planned Parenthood because of their abortion and contraception services. And, I have no misconceptions regarding the way politics in our country are run and the way each side throws its weight around to get things done in its preferred way. Thankfully the public outcry over the actions of the Susan G. Komen group were so grand they quickly rethought their position on the topic and reassured that their funding would continue.

My grandfather listens to right-wing conservative radio daily. It has consistently been a bane in my side because I have to listen to him repeat his misconstrued view points based on the things he hears from the radio personalities. I try to be objective in life, I'm not always successful. But, I know that no news organization, especially ones with personal agendas, can ever be trusted to provide unbiased reporting on anything. Without a doubt, this overwhelming repetition of their side of things fuels the majority of issues I have with the world these days. I'm not saying the right is wrong or that the left is right. I don't have a particular belief that either side really knows what's best or ever has. I just disagree with any group that wants to infringe on personal liberty and freedom of choice.

To sum things up, I do not think abortion is wrong or evil. I do not think it should be used willy-nilly without careful consideration. But I would never remove someone's choice. The world as we know it has over seven billion people in it. That's a seven followed by nine zeros. I really doubt the 1.2~ish million abortions annually in this country are such a horrible thing, especially in our current economic climate. There are 1,000 millions in each billion. One thousand. That's a lot of people. Abortion is a personal and private thing, a choice that few women make easily. They don't need to be persecuted for making a choice that already weighs so heavily on them.

Read more about abortion statistics at the Guttmacher website. And go out and talk to people that have had abortions. Hear their reasons, understand their view points, and try to be objective. No one gains anything through hate.