AboutDeborah Expertise I can answer almost any question regarding abortion, such as health aspects, emotional
aspects, and especially answering debate questions.
Experience I have written almost 10,000 posts over the last few years on this topic. I have a forum as well as a blog which also discuss abortion.
forum
http://alldrama.bigforumpro.com/index.htm
blog
http://wingnutwatch.typepad.com/wingnutwatch/
Publications futureshock3 over 6000 posts
http://www.prochoicetalk.com/message-board-forum/search.php?search_author=futureshock3
alldrama
http://alldrama.bigforumpro.com/index.htm
blog
http://wingnutwatch.typepad.com/wingnutwatch/
Education/Credentials I have a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Biology, and am halfway through a Master's Degree, also in Biology. I have access to and read many of the top medical journals, from which I also get the best, most thorough and accurate to answers to pressing medical and health related questions. This equips me with factual, biological information to dispel many myths related to abortion.
Past/Present Clients futureshock3 over 6000 posts
http://www.prochoicetalk.com/message-board-forum/search.php?search_author=futureshock3
Question Hi. I am a feminist and VERY pro-choice. I have been involved in abortion rights activism since my late teens, and it is an issue I feel very passionate about. I feel strongly that if women do not have the right to choose, we will never be truly free or truly equal. I actually have two seperate questions. The first one deals with how to explain my position that equality and reproductive freedom are connected, because a lot of people don't understand this. They will argue that a woman can still be independent and sucessful, and have children. Which IS true, so I'm not quite sure how to refute that. I don't want to sound as though I am against women having children. Of course women can have both, but it's about a woman having the ability to choose her own life path. Does that make sense?
The second question is unrelated. Hope you don't mind! An old friend from high school recently got in touch with me on Facebook. Our friendship ended in the first place because we were very different and didn't have anything in common. Basically our outlook on life, values etc were different. She is very anti feminist and anti choice. I accepted her friend request because I didn't want to be rude, but when I saw that she belonged to anti abortion groups I deleted her! I feel terrible now, because I know it's going to hurt her feelings. Maybe I am intolerant, but I just don't want to be friends with a woman who is actively trying to take my rights away! But I still feel guilty. Was it wrong of me to do that? Would you feel comfortable being friends with someone who was anti choice and didn't have feminist values? Thank you.
Janice
Answer Dear Janice,
"They will argue that a woman can still be independent and sucessful, and have children. Which IS true, so I'm not quite sure how to refute that."
I can see what might be happening with you here. It has happened to me, also. What I mean is, you get so involved with the debate that you start, unconsciously maybe, believing the propaganda of the other side. If you could just step away from this for a minute, and look on this question with fresh eyes, you'll see what I mean.
"They will argue that a woman can still be independent and sucessful, and have children. Which IS true, so I'm not quite sure how to refute that."
There is nothing there to refute. Nobody on the pro-choice side is saying that women cannot be independent and successful and have children. Most women (61%) who have abortions already have children. Also, most of the women who do not have children at the time of their abortion go on to have children at a later date. So, the abortion debate has nothing to do with whether or not women will have children.
However, the ability to CHOOSE when and if a woman will have children is a necessity if women are to be equal to men. A woman cannot compete in the workplace with men if she can be sidelined with an unwanted pregnancy at any moment. Some women cannot even remain employed when pregnant because they become so debilitated, let alone compete with anyone!
Now she has been forced through an unwanted pregnancy and now she has a child to take care of. She has to be able to afford daycare, she has to be able to find a job where she can have flexible hours and can miss work when her child is sick and cannot go to daycare. How can she honestly compete with a man who has none of these issues in the workplace? It is IMPOSSIBLE.
"Would you feel comfortable being friends with someone who was anti choice and didn't have feminist values? Thank you."
No, I could not. If your fiend questions you, just tell her this. She has to learn that her anti-choice behavior has ramifications in the REAL WORLD.
