Letter to the Editor: A pro-choice response

Letter to the Editor.  Written by Mary Jacobs

Every now and then, I pick up The Loquitur and amuse myself with the perspectives articles. I should find it more amusing that an article published in the 7th issue this year was written on “Pro-life,” and opposing the crazy idea that a woman should be given the right to choose what she does with her body. Most amusing though, this article is written by a male, who if I may point out, will never be pregnant.

Of course we are all entitled to an opinion, but the broad assumptions made by this perspective piece are a bit embarrassing; “no one seriously denies that abortion is killing something,” and “no one can deny that this something is human.”  Who is this “no one” you speak of? I can give you hundreds of thousands of American women who will look you in the eyes and say that no, in fact, this collection of tissue inside of my body, that could not continue to grow without my body, is not a human and to get an abortion is the not the killing of anything.

We must remember that we are all here in college, speaking from privilege. With each of us developing opinions it is easy to forget that most of us come from backgrounds of working homes, strong neighborhoods and values. I am making these assumptions based on our college’s demographic.  Also, this is the correct way to make generalizations in writing, by recognizing that you are about to generalize and make an assumption. I know that if personally, I got pregnant, I could very well keep a child. I have a family that would support me and house me; I would even probably be able to finish school. The reality is most families are not like mine, or ours, if you will.  Many teenagers in America were not given the proper education on sexual responsibility with schools in America teaching abstinence only; our youth is completely unprepared and uneducated. They often do not have the financial support or the emotional support that we from privilege are often given.

We must, instead of outlawing a much needed service that would in turn cause extreme negative side effects (back alley abortions, higher suicide rates, higher crime rates, etc.) We must start from the ground up teaching safe sex, and holding our schools accountable for better or worse.

Abortions in America need to stay legalized, war needs to end, we must stop the mass slaughter of innocent animals and we must abolish the death penalty. Honestly, I think I am more “pro-life” than most who declare the title.