Pro-choice VS Pro-life

Hi there

This is a really important issue and very commonly misunderstood.

What is it to be pro-life?
To be against the acts of abortion (and euthanasia) under any circumstance.

What is it to be pro-choice?
Even if you don't agree with abortion, you agree that women should not be denied their reproductive rights and be given the choice of abortion if they should want it. 

This is the problem, people are thinking that you have to be supportive of abortion to be pro-choice, you don't. Women are being denied their freedom in so many aspects of life, why is it so hard to understand that you cannot decide what is best for someone else, or impose your opinions onto them. Like gay marriage, what someone wants to do with their body or who they love is none of your business and therefore you should not have a say.

It probably doesn't have to be said that I am pro-choice. Abortion can be necessary for many reasons.

• If a woman is financially or emotionally unstable enough that having and caring for a child would be difficult
• If a woman is quite young or in a stage of their career or education that means having a child would disrupt their life
• If any form of birth control the couple were using was ineffective or faulty, or for whatever reason birth control was not used
• If the child was conceived from an abusive relationship be it rape/sexual abuse or in a domestically violent situation
• If the unborn child is known to have a severe disability or disease that, after birth, could result in a terrible quality of life

Or many other reasons. Being forced to continue with a unwanted pregnancy is very damaging, physically and emotionally, and can have detrimental effects on the woman's life.

Abortion is not child abuse or murder, the foetus cannot feel it, there are many laws in place to make sure the abortion is carried out safely and harmlessly. And pro-life activists should be focussing on children who are already alive and living in poverty or with abusive parents or in care. 

I am lucky enough to live in a country where abortion is legal and free. There is lots of support for women in the UK. Criminalised abortion doesn't stop abortion from happening, it just stops it from happening safely. Women die worldwide from trying to abort their babies themselves or going to "backstreet abortionists" who use unclean equipment and aggressive, uneducated techniques.

The male politicians in America that I have heard so much about are trying to control women's bodies.  There are no laws controlling men's bodies. The lack of education and support will have far worse effects than the legalisation of abortion.