Jessie's Story
"Pro-Choice is a way of life"

We've all heard the expression "be fruitful and multiply." Well that should have been penned for a fruit tree. It is a woman's right to choose what she does to her body, when to do it, where to do it and how. If a woman is raped by a stranger and as a result, is impregnated, what right does anyone have to stop her at the door of an abortion clinic and call her a murderer?

When did man decide he could take matters into his own hand taking away women's choices? Is it more right to go to such measures as putting a gun to an abortion doctors head and pulling the trigger than to terminate a pregnancy? Is it right for a handful of strangers to enter an abortion clinic and physically drag a patient from the building, while beating her with baby bottles tied to a rope, eventually causing her to miscarry?

To be able to choose how you live your life is ultimately your own decision. One has to accept the consequences of one's action without placing the blame or guilt on anyone. On the other hand, one must be made to realize that one cannot control or influence anyone to live according to what his or her own doctrine dictates.

To be able to choose whether or not a woman carries an unwanted baby to term should solely be the woman's choice. It is something she has to live with the rest of her life, but it should not be a hindrance or a regret. It is very important for someone who has gone through one of the hardest moments of a life to have the proper support of loved ones. That category includes family, friends, and well wishers. We can be fortunate that there are more of us supporters than (anti-choice) raptors to help to heal the process of choice.

I have been through the entire process of childbirth and nature's abortion. I've been the lifeline of my daughter, when she went through the process of choice. I know what it feels like to become a victim of negative taunts from within the family. Fortunately for us, it was not from our immediate family. We shielded ourselves with the knowledge that it was the choosing that made us free to go on our way and live out our lives accordingly. No regrets.

I can speak for my child and for myself. It was not time for a new life to be brought into this world whether it was planned or not. I wanted my daughter to have a full childhood (even at age seventeen), because we both knew that there was plenty of time in the years to come, after she had completed college and was married. She had her mind set that it was her right to choose and I supported her wholly. She never had a better ally. Even her grandmother who loves her dearly called her a monster, evil and a murderer (this coming from a Christian).

We must be careful who we condemn to hell. That is God's role. Man, on so many occasions, tries to assume that identity. To choose one's own destiny is his own choice. What does it matter whether or not a woman wants to terminate a pregnancy. Those who practice the antiabortion tactics are only contradicting their own beliefs.

Pro-Choice is a way of life.

Jessie originally wrote this for a final paper in Argumentation class. Jessie graduates winter quarter from Community College and is transferring to a local university for a degree in Journalism and Communication. In addition, she is the mother of six. (1996)

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