Choice. That's what it is. It is, in fact, a choice. It is, in fact, my body. A termination is, in fact, a medical procedure. Neither an embryo nor a fetus are, in fact, a baby.
I don't need to waste time with attempts to counter the "pro-life" narrative because it is all insincere and irrelevant. As detailed in this blog, with the despicable actions of State Representative and proud Tea Partier, Justin Harris, the hypocrisy of their assertions affords their argument no merit. And furthermore, every discussion from their platform detracts from the only valid point: It's my body. It's my choice.
I could certainly empathize with a man if he wanted to have a child and the woman chose to terminate. There are many legal issues where both sides are understandable, however only one person can be victorious. It always has to be the woman in this instance even though it means pushing the fathers will aside. The alternative is unacceptable. The rights of the woman have to be what is guarded in this situation as a law can only protect and define one side exclusively.
Upon its founding, American women were deemed property. And, historically, their rights have been secondary, if considered at all. However, the idea of ownership of another persons body was outlawed with the 14th Amendment. This should, thus, negate any one persons claim to the rights of what another can do with their body. My uterus and anything inside of it are mine alone. A man may pass on some sperm or an HPV. Either could end up transforming and growing inside of me. I could end up with an embryo or I could end up with a tumor. Neither of those two things are a human being. Either growth is mine to contend with and its maintenance is solely my own.
Those of us who choose to filter fact from hype know the history of women's health in America. We know that as procedures become harder to obtain, the rates of death and infection increase profoundly because desperate women attempt to take care of them on their own. In 2015 there is no reason for a woman in America to receive substandard care because a bunch of politicians want to behave like spoiled children. How one politician can have a steadfast focus on sending a nation to war while, at the same time, demanding to define what rights I have to my own body is outrageous to me. Everyone should be outraged. It is time for all Americans to expect more from their "leaders." We can begin with a loud demand of those politicians who espouse a need for a smaller government and whose current party platform states "far greater emphasis has to be put upon personal responsibility for health maintenance."