Public Opinions On A Most Personal Issue

Abortions and legal access to them have always been hot-button issues. Like all medical procedures, choosing to have or not have an abortion is an intensely personal choice. It can be made alone or with the input of others but no matter what, it needs to be respected. No matter how similar the circumstances, no one will ever understand exactly how another person feels and so someone should never be judged by others for choosing to have an abortion or not. It's not a decision that anyone makes lightly.

It is largely because of this that I become so incredibly angry when I read the arguments of those who wish to prevent the decriminalisation of abortion, the so-called 'pro-lifers'. Growing up in Australia, I was surprised as a teenager to learn that performing or receiving an abortion was still legally a criminal act in my home state. Having been familiar with the concept for many years, I was confused as to why something that seemed to me to be a reasonable and often important medical procedure should be made inaccessible to so many.

I try to be tolerant of all points of view. I really do. I absolutely believe in free speech. My problem with the term is not its meaning but its misinterpretation by a few. Some people seem to equate 'freedom of speech' and 'freedom of expression' with 'freedom from consequences'. Free speech and freedom of expression give every person in a democratic society the right to express their views on almost any given topic. What they don't give you is the right to harass, threaten, discredit or condemn another person for not sharing your views. Just as everyone has the right to be themselves, they also have the right to make their own choices about their own lives without being bullied or lied about by an unrelated person.

Just because you feel strongly about an issue does not give you the right to project your views onto another person. Disagreeing with someone does not equate to being victimised by them. If a person completely unrelated to you chooses to have a medical procedure performed on their body for reasons that are personal to them, that does not in fact affect you. You are the definition of a disinterested party: you can disagree with the decision as much as you want but it isn't your decision and it does not have any true bearing on your life. Not your body? Not your decision.

Just recently I was reading an interview with a so-called 'pro-life activist' from a state next to mine. I really shouldn't read these articles. My desire to be informed on both sides of an issue is often eclipsed by my belief in one argument over another and the right to choose is something I passionately support. As a woman who has grown up in this century, I'm well aware of how lucky I am compared to women of the past. I'm also aware of how far we still need to go.

But back to the pro-lifer. This woman was a mother of three, an educated and well-spoken medical professional. The perfect spokesperson for many causes, including this one. I disagreed with a number of her arguments, including her reliance on adoption as a failsafe (adoption in Australia is an incredibly difficult process, with many children never being adopted not because they are unwanted but because the process is painful and limiting) but the line I included below had it's intended effect of summing the entire argument up for me:

['Pro-life activist'] says for pro-life groups "the bottom line" was "protecting life at its earliest stage". She says pro-choice activists "see sex without consequences as a right and this is their bottom line".

This first comment is complete truth. But most 'pro-lifers' are incorrectly named because they aren't pro-life, they're pro-birth. These groups are focused only on 'protecting' a foetus by carrying it to term, often with little to no regard for the health of the mother or the foetus. Once the child has been born, these groups often sail away, confident in their choices and with no help offered to the woman they are leaving behind, a woman who may not have been prepared for a baby. And what if a termination had been considered because the foetus wasn't viable or would be in immense pain following birth? To some people, the quality of life of the foetus and the mother is of less importance than the simple acknowledgement of life.

The second line simply angered me with it's blatant untruth. STOP PERPETUATING THIS MYTH. Abortion is not about 'risk free sex' and it is certainly not considered by any sane person to be an alternative to traditional contraceptives. Acquiring a legal abortion is not an easy process. It's not like buying a packet of gum. You have to prove that you need the procedure for physical or mental wellbeing and licensed professionals have to discuss it with you.

Abortion is not the morning after pill, which you also have to jump through hoops to get. Nobody takes abortion lightly and to suggest that they do is beyond offensive. The bottom line for pro-choice activists is literally what it says on the label: supporting the right of a woman to make her own choice about what is best for her and her body once she has all the facts.

So many 'pro-lifers' claim that people who get abortions are either reckless or uninformed but this isn't the 1950s. We're not talking backyard abortions with a coat hanger. To legally receive an abortion in Australia you have to be counselled by a medical professional to ensure that you are well informed and in your right mind. Only when they feel assured that you completely understand the situation and that you are confident in your choice will they agree to perform the procedure, and even then it's not immediate.

This morning I had a rude awakening from my radio alarm. I always like to wake up to the news slowly but today I was catapulted out of bed to growl at a pro-birther soundbite. At first, the man sounded supportive of a right to choice. He said he understood that every case is different and people have their reasons. Then he said "I know that some women feel a bit of anxiety before an abortion. But if we're authorising abortions for anxiety, where does it end?"
'Where does it end?' It ends with women being able to avoid the pain and trauma of an unwanted or unviable pregnancy. It ends with foetuses being humanely put to sleep rather than being carried to term and born dead or in incredible pain. 'Some women' don't feel 'a bit of anxiety' when making the choice to have an abortion. Most women experience quite a bit of anxiety because it isn't a decision they're making lightly. This idea that abortion is easy and that legalising it will lead to unimaginable horrors is utterly ridiculous.

Decriminalising abortion will not open the floodgates to madness. The world will not end. When homosexuality was decriminalised there wasn't a wave of people demanding that bestiality be treated the same way. When same sex marriage was legalised there wasn't a nationwide call to support incest. Denying 50% of society the right to choose what to do with their own bodies because you think somebody will abuse that right down the track is not a fair and just argument. You cannot deny freedom for many out of fear of a few.

You don't have to be willing to have your own abortion to support abortion. You just have to acknowledge that the life of the mother is just as important if not more important than the life of the foetus and that her choice should be respected. I count myself extremely lucky that I have never had to make such a difficult decision. The women who have been in this situation should not have to fight their way to a clinic through hordes of strangers telling them that they are murderers. They should not be treated as reckless or irresponsible. And they do not have to justify their decision to anyone, certainly not people who they don't even know, who can never truly understand their personal situation.

During my teens, I discussed abortion with two of my closest friends. We talked about what we knew, traded information, cited sources. We agreed that if we were ever to find ourselves in the position of needing an abortion that we would be there for each other, in place of family if need be. We made a pact to offer help and support to one another, to travel to another state to help wth acquiring a legal abortion if we couldn't do it locally. To book those plane tickets or make it a roadtrip if need be. To ensure that our friend never felt as if she was alone, with no choices. Our opinions have not changed and our pact remains in place. We may never need to enact it. I hope we never do. But knowing that I have their help and support makes me feel comfortable making whatever choice is right for me. I know that the decision is mine and should be respected. Just like everyone else.