Out of all of the issues that feminism deals with, abortion has to be one of the biggest. I contemplated writing about this topic for a while because it’s incredibly tricky. Abortion has been a controversial topic since it’s origin, and it still is today. There are so many different view points that every person on this Earth could probably think up a different reason for what is “right” and what is “wrong.”
What I would like to focus on, however, is the issue that you can only be a feminist if you are pro-choice.
“They [her friends] showed me that being pro-life doesn’t necessarily mean you’re backward, or hateful, or ignorant. It doesn’t even have to mean you’re religious” – Claire Swinarski, author of the article “Why I’m A Pro-Life Feminist”
This is assumption that most likely began when the feminist movement was created in the 1960s and 70s. Abortion was one of their biggest issues because about 5,000 women were being killed each year from complications from illegal abortions according to “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry” a film by Mary Dore.
In that time period, when the movement was in full swing, it unfortunately became a bit malicious. Feminists were beginning to tell other women that they had to leave their husbands because they were the oppressors; women were even banned from bringing their male-born sons to their meetings. Some of the feminists became the oppressors because they were overwhelmed with having to prove to society that women were not weak by doing everything they could to detach themselves from the patriarchal aspects of society.
This type of mindset is sometimes seen in some feminists, for example, when they are talking of abortion. Some may say that you have to be pro-choice to be a feminist and that is just not true. It’s kind of like saying you have to be a democrat to be a feminist. Even though you don’t have to be pro-choice, I’m going to tell you why most people are and why there is a big feminist ideal within it. (This is not me trying to sway you to be pro-choice if you are not. I’m simply trying to explain.)
So, I am a pro-choice feminist. I am pro-choice because I don’t think I have the right to tell someone that they aren’t allowed to do something because I don’t believe in it. Now, there is a point in an abortion where I think the mother should have the child, but in the beginning, I think it should be legal.
The biggest feminist ideal found within this belief is the ideal that no one should have a say about our bodies, but us. There is a lot of controversy behind that belief because even today, women’s reproductive laws are being voted on by panels made up of only men. They simply do not understand what it is like. These women could have been victims of rape or incest, or they could have simply not wanted a baby yet. They could have been in the middle of high school or college. They could have wanted to focus on their job. They could have not wanted kids now or ever. The point is, you don’t know what these women’s situations are like. You have no idea what they are going through.
I’m sorry if this post is lacking on factual evidence or if it’s unconvincing or just not good, but I think for anyone, abortion can be a tricky topic to maneuver. I wanted to give my opinion, and hopefully open up a new perspective inside of you.