Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
You've said that several times. How likely do you think it is that a woman considering abortion due to lack of finances, lack of a stable home environment, lack of ability to care for the child when born, etc. would have the financial, physical, environmental and psychological resources to do all of that while it's developing in utero, and why should anyone other than that woman be responsible for making a decision that will have such an immense impact on her life? Please, seriously, try to put yourself in that hypothetical woman's shoes and think about whether or not you'd want someone making that kind of decision on your behalf without any thought to your wishes or circumstances.
Full disclosure: My biological mother was 13 when she gave birth to me and decided to put me up for adoption. She was lucky enough to have the support of her parents and grandparents, received proper prenatal care, and did her best to carry me full term. Even so, I was born almost 3 months premature and almost died. I don't know the details of the pregnancy or delivery, but it's not lost on me that she could very well have jeopardized her own life by trying to carry me full term, and that's not necessarily something that is known in advance.
Even given my personal situation, I'm pro choice because I believe a woman's right to body autonomy trumps that of any developing zygote or embryo. To put it another way, I'm pro life - pro the life of the existing pregnant woman, because as a woman, I know the last thing I ever want is someone deciding that they know what's best for me and making major, life altering decisions on my behalf.
Yes, I think you do. My biological mother made what has to be one of the most difficult decisions a woman could ever have to make. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind about the difficulty of giving a child up for adoption, one you've carried inside of you and cared for and nurtured and worried about and even loved despite the pregnancy being unwanted. The body is really good at triggering all sorts of biochemical reactions to ensure that there's a bond between mother and child. How can breaking that bond be anything other than traumatic?
I'm not speaking from personal experience. I've never given birth, put a child up for adoption, or had an abortion. Even so, I don't find it hard to believe that giving a child up postpartum can be far more traumatic and psychologically damaging than aborting it when it's a clump of cells.
(Apologies to all if this is off topic and/or if the conversation has moved on, and for the wall of text in general.)
Good post.

