My letter to Teen People
Dear Teen People,
Thank you so much for featuring the March For Women's Lives in your September issue. I was priveleged to attend and march with my mother in April to retain our reproductive rights. While I believe opinions on both sides of the issue deserve to be heard, Morgan Davis' anti-abortion stance bothered me. What bothered me about her stance, and many like her, is not her stance on abortion itself, but the blame she places on women for wanting to have sex and dealing with the consequences of her actions in a manner that best suits her life. She is right, abortion is serious. So is bearing and raising a child. And one must be absolutely certain she is ready for the kind of responsibility it takes to do so. She seems to think that deciding to have an abortion is an easy decision for a young woman to make. To her any pregnant woman can just walk into a clinic and have an abortion on the spot. It does not work that way. There are many loops a woman must jump through to exercise her freedom of choice.
What Ms. Davis is wrong about, however, is that who ever feels they are ready for sex, should also be ready for parenthood. Sex and parenthood, while obviously linked, are not the same thing. If she feels that she is not ready for the consequences that may come with having sex, then she should wait. But most women I know like to take it one step at a time. Being ready for sex is not synonymous with being ready for a child and people should stop treating it as if it is.
Abortion should not be abolished. It is a valid option for women who choose it. It is not a bad thing. It is not a good thing. It is not for us, society, to decide what is good or bad for another individual especially when it comes to her personal life. Every woman needs to figure out for herself based on her beliefs and values what is best in her situation, not the government. If you do not believe in abortion, then it is best that you do not have one. It is not a forced law for all women. Nor should it be. It is a choice.
Carrie Frye
(x-posted. and I'm making it public because imortant stuff like this should always be public.)
Thank you so much for featuring the March For Women's Lives in your September issue. I was priveleged to attend and march with my mother in April to retain our reproductive rights. While I believe opinions on both sides of the issue deserve to be heard, Morgan Davis' anti-abortion stance bothered me. What bothered me about her stance, and many like her, is not her stance on abortion itself, but the blame she places on women for wanting to have sex and dealing with the consequences of her actions in a manner that best suits her life. She is right, abortion is serious. So is bearing and raising a child. And one must be absolutely certain she is ready for the kind of responsibility it takes to do so. She seems to think that deciding to have an abortion is an easy decision for a young woman to make. To her any pregnant woman can just walk into a clinic and have an abortion on the spot. It does not work that way. There are many loops a woman must jump through to exercise her freedom of choice.
What Ms. Davis is wrong about, however, is that who ever feels they are ready for sex, should also be ready for parenthood. Sex and parenthood, while obviously linked, are not the same thing. If she feels that she is not ready for the consequences that may come with having sex, then she should wait. But most women I know like to take it one step at a time. Being ready for sex is not synonymous with being ready for a child and people should stop treating it as if it is.
Abortion should not be abolished. It is a valid option for women who choose it. It is not a bad thing. It is not a good thing. It is not for us, society, to decide what is good or bad for another individual especially when it comes to her personal life. Every woman needs to figure out for herself based on her beliefs and values what is best in her situation, not the government. If you do not believe in abortion, then it is best that you do not have one. It is not a forced law for all women. Nor should it be. It is a choice.
Carrie Frye
(x-posted. and I'm making it public because imortant stuff like this should always be public.)