THE GREEN(wald) HOUSE … (growing rosemary & raising a little wolf)

I usually don’t post anything of substance on this blog. It is mostly for updating family and friends on my life and showing off my super cute kids. But today, I thought I would take the plunge and take a stand on national “Blog for Choice Day” - copying my friend Mandie at Quintessential Quentin.

I have always been pro-choice, for as long as I can remember being aware of what abortion is. I have several friends who have opted to take advantage of this right and end a pregnancy (I even accompanied one friend to the clinic). Some are thankful, some are regretful, and I believe all of them still have some deep feelings associated with the procedure to this day.

The whole idea of abortion took on a new meaning, though, once I became pregnant and could feel the little baby growing inside me. Obviously, I wanted the baby and planned it, but it still made the whole idea of abortion take on a much more serious and deeper meaning. I think that abortion is, in some cases, an easy decision to make because the idea of growing another human inside you is so abstract, until you really feel the baby move, or hear the heartbeat, and you think - “holy shit - there is a little person inside me!”.

I definitely believe abortion should still be an option for women - but I really wish it would be taken more seriously too. I don’t think abortion should be used as birth control “oh shoot, honey - we’re pregnant again, better call the clinic”. But sometimes, despite someone’s best efforts, birth control does fail. And if that happens, then what?

I think my views can be best expressed by (fictional) Presidential candidate Matthew Santos, in the final season of The West Wing (best show ever!) When speaking of abortion, he said “I think abortion is a tragedy. I think it should be safe, it should be legal, and it should be a whole lot rarer than it is now”.

I am so glad that my friends were able to take advantage of this right, and I am glad it was there, had I gotten pregnant in high school, I would probably have gone that same route (hard to say). I want it to be an option, should Rosie ever (god forbid) find herself in a situation where she was pregnant before she was ready (unlikely as Joe has already decided she will not be allowed out of the house with boys until she is 30).

I think that growing a baby inside you is a HUGE, life-changing experience. Raising a child if you are unable or unwilling to do so isn’t the best choice for the mom or baby, giving a baby up for adoption would also be unbelievably hard to do (despite what Juno would have you believe) - and I am sure having an abortion is not an ideal situation either - but sometimes it is the right, responsible, only choice to make.

It is a choice, it is not the right choice for everybody, but it should continue to be a choice for all women. And it is especially important we remember this as we gear up to elect a new president - we need to make sure it is one who will protect a woman’s right to make that choice.

________________
This post was brought to you by NARAL’s Blog for Choice day. To participate, you can go here to get a button and add your name to the list. Then post today about the importance of a woman’s right to choose.