Today is January 22, 2008, the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Roe vs. Wade established that women are entitled to privacy regarding their health care choices, yet the anti-choice activists are hellbent on limiting those options. So why do I vote pro-choice?
I vote pro-choice because I am:
Angry and confused as to why other people think their religious and personal convictions regarding my body somehow outweigh mine, and perplexed as to why the majority of these people seem to have an XY chromosome and never, ever, will be faced with the decision to have an abortion.
Devastated that only 13 percent of women in the United States and only 7 percent of women in Wisconsin live in a county with an abortion provider.
Frustrated because abstinence-only sexual education DOES NOT WORK, yet the federal government refuses to fund anything but. Let's face it, kids are having sex. Shouldn't we arm them with the facts and information they need to be safe?! I simply cannot wrap my mind around the warped argument that talking about sex will make people have sex.
Highly concerned about the amount of misinformation regarding birth control methods and sexual education being distributed by anti-choice groups. Let me lay some facts out for you. Plan B does not cause abortions; it works by delaying the release of an egg or by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus. It cannot end a pregnancy. Depending on the method, birth control has a failure rate of 0.03 percent to nine percent, compared with the 85 percent failure rate of no birth control. Using a condom does not cause/increase the risk of STIs; in fact, besides abstinence, condoms are the only way to protect against STIs. Giving young girls the HPV vaccine will not encourage them to become sexually active. It will, however, protect them against the strain of the virus responsible for the majority of cervical cancer, and how is that a bad thing?
Disturbed because pharmacists can subject me to their morals and refuse to dispense Plan B, the FDA-approved emergency contraceptive, based on conscientious objection.
Scared because Wisconsin has not repealed its pre-Roe vs. Wade abortion ban, and should Roe vs. Wade be overturned, having an abortion in Wisconsin will become a felony.
Horrified that the US Supreme Court upheld the 2007 Federal Abortion Ban, which does not have a provision for the health of the mother! Just wait...SCOTUS will be performing your next pap smear.
But I do have hope. The Wisconsin State Assembly recently passed the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Bill, which requires all emergency departments to provide information on emergency contraception to all victims of rape. This was the first pro-choice bill to be passed by both houses in over a decade. With a pro-choice governor, it is expected that this will be signed into law in the coming month. The three Democratic candidates for President support Roe vs. Wade and a woman's right to choose (I can't say the same for the remaining Republican candidates).
In the end, I respect your morals and convictions. However, I do not share them. My body, my choice--not a pastor's, not the president's, not anyone but me and who I choose to make the decision with.
Peace and love,
M
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