Wanting a child born is pro-birth.

These words do well to encapsulate my opinions as they have developed around the topic of abortion in my adult years and even more so as a result of my studies and current career choice working in human services and seeing the various types of struggles families may have when raising children in this country in general.

The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade by SCOTUS has weighed heavily on me since it was announced and I have not yet had the words to voice the myriad of emotions relating to it until now.

We need to start changing the narrative around this issue and calling out the 'pro-life' movement for what it really is: PRO-BIRTH.

For years now I have been of the belief that one could argue I am about A THOUSAND TIMES MORE 'pro-life' than the average, self-proclaimd 'pro-lifer' you see out there, though my ideology would typically be categorized in the 'pro-choice' column as a means to say that I don't believe in supporting 'life' if I am okay with the 'ending of a life.'

This is because I am someone who believes in the importance and necessity for the equitable right and access to a safe and legal abortion, wherever an individual may live, if that person who finds themselves pregnant believes it is in their INDIVIDUAL and BEST self-interest for THEIR OWN LIFE, to receive an abortion. I am 'pro' the life of the parent carrying the fetus, 'pro' the quality of life life of the fetus were it to be carried to term, and 'pro' the quality of life of those whom the successful carrying to term of each fetus to birth would be affected as a result.

Forcing uterus-owning individuals to carry a pregnancy to term when it is against their better interest in ANY way SIGNIFICANTLY affects that person and their loved ones'/community's lives in countless NEGATIVE ways (both immediately predictable and later on, unforeseen). This is up to and/or INCLUDING both maternal AND fetal death!!!

Before we go any further, I know I keep using the word fetus. That is because without a human body to support, feed, house, and protect the cluster of cells/then embryo/then fetal tissue, there is no way that a fetus in earlier stages of pregnancy would be able to survive on its own if it is before the time of viability. Yes. There are miracle situations where babies are born prior to what is considered medically viable and I am so happy for those individuals who wanted those children, fought for those children after birth, and continue to love and raise and support those children today! However, just because one fetus was born prior to viability and capable of surviving the odds does not mean all are or should be. Additionally, certain dangerous health related circumstances for parent, fetus (or infant, due to the fetus now being viable), or both can arise AFTER the time that the fetus is viable and result in the need for access to abortion to terminate as is deemed necessary by a cooperative, informed decision between a uterus-owning individual (and likely their family) and that individual's medical team to determine the safest route going forward to preserve 'life' whether that be the parent, fetus/infant (likely in cases of multiples), or both depending on the circumstance of the individual pregnancy.

The decision to have an abortion or not is one that typically considers MULTIPLE interrelated, yet diverse, reasons and as such is deeply personal and unique to each individual facing that reality. Let us not make a complicated, and often very emotional situation, any more difficult than it already is and keep our individual opinions out of other people's personal lives.

There is NO fathomable reason that I can think of that I should have the ability to directly impact someone's entire future by making a life-changing decision for them to become a parent, so why should others' (typically religious backed) beliefs be able to have such a significant impact on mine and all other uterus-owning individuals' futures???

For more context...

I am a long-educated, double-major and certificate holding graduate of the prestigious UW Madison and also a graduate of the UW Madison Master of Social Work program. I then went on to be certified as an Advanced Practice Social Worker in the state of Wisconsin, and maintain this yet today.

I am also someone who has experienced sexual assault, but in my case did not have my experience result in an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy.

I am someone who has dealt with, continues to deal with, and is being treated for anxiety, depression, and ADHD (and the resulting symptoms and mental health difficulties of these things) every single day.

I am also someone who wants to one day have children of my own and even the decision to pursue motherhood has become significantly scarier and more dangerous as a result of this ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.

And I am someone with a good-paying, full-time job with great benefits. I have spacious, comfortable housing and I am in a long-term relationship with a supportive, caring, invested partner who is also working a great-paying, full-time job with good benefits who has the same types of longterm life goals that I do.

These are only a few things about me and each has an impact on my ability, desire, and choices around having children.

However, with the way things are going right now, the likelihood of me being able to access an abortion were something to go wrong in a future WANTED and PLANNED pregnancy is also very uncertain.

According to Mirriam-Webster's dictionary, the definition of abortion is:

1: the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus: such as

a: spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation (i.e. miscarriage)

b: induced expulsion of a human fetus

c: expulsion of a fetus by a domestic animal often due to infection at any time before completion of pregnancy

If you didn't catch that, it's important to NOTE: The human body spontaneously miscarrying a child is also considered an abortion, even if that fetus was planned for, wanted, and/or loved from the day it was conceived. The terminology and procedures have been and continue to remain the same.

All of this is to say that safe and legal abortion is a uterus-owning person's health issue, a very personal experience if pursued, and something that NO individual who does not own a uterus should have the ability to outlaw or dictate and that NO other individual who is not experiencing that same pregnancy and the resulting impacts of that pregnancy should be able to have a say in!

Uterus-owning individuals deserve better. We are more than our ability to birth a child. We are people who are capable of making informed, calculated, decisions about our personal health, well-being and lives and as such should be supported in the basic human right to determine what is pro-life for OUR individual lives rather than having our choices and lives be dictated by any other person who will NOT be affected first-hand by the impact of such decisions.

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