I woke up this morning, thinking that I would post about Greenbelt, looking after Olly and the joy of sleeping in a bed after 2 nights camping.
Instead I woke up to this news story in the Guardian.
I know that not many people read this blog but apart from my mother and Max (hi guys!), I don’t really know who does. So this might offend you and if it does then I’m sorry but I’m not sorry for my opinions.
First, let’s get this straight. I’m pro-choice, not pro-abortion. If I could prevent the 200,000 abortions that happen in the UK each year I would. Abortion is not a good thing, it is a necessary thing. This is why.
Women don’t have abortions to make themselves feel good. They don’t (as a general rule) use them as a form of contraception. They have them because they feel that they can’t continue with a pregnancy.
It could be there is something wrong with the foetus, it could be they already have children and feel that another would tip them over the edge financially or emotionally and negatively affect the lives of the children they already have, it could be that having a child is something they aren’t emotionally or financially able to cope with, it could be that they were raped or abused and they don’t want to have the child of their abuser. It could be lots of things and it doesn’t really matter what the reasons are. They should have the right to choose to continue or to terminate their pregnancy.
This is what I know, if a woman wants to terminate a pregnancy, she will risk her life trying to do that and if a woman really wants to continue with a pregnancy she will risk her life trying to do that too. I know women who have done both. (One before abortion was legal and one after)
As an adult woman she has the right to choose which. She is the person that has to carry a baby to term, to deal with the opinions of others on her pregnancy (I’m always shocked to see that once you are pregnant, complete strangers feel they have the right to touch bumps and tell them not to drink coffee, smoke, have a glass of wine etc), to go through labour and she is generally the person that the burden of childcare falls upon on.
It’s her choice. Not yours. Not mine.
Of course some women have abortions and regret it. That’s sad and I’m sorry for them. However, no decision in life is without regret. Some people wish they they had never been married, does the government insist that every person have counselling before they get married. It seems not. 76% of people in the UK are pro-choice. 200,000 women seek abortions every year. They are all offered counselling and despite what Nadine Dorries claims, it is impartial, you are given other options. I know this because I had an abortion (one that I paid for) and I was encouraged to discuss other options and told that if I was in anyway unsure then I should go away and think about it.
Women should be able to make the choice without fear, they may regret those choices later, but that’s what life is.
If you live in the UK and feel that this change is wrong, do something about it. Here’s the then www.abortionrights.org.uk is the place to start.
Nic Dempsey 