I am sure you, the reader, can tell by the title of this article, that we are talking about a very controversial topic. I am a pro-choice female who has been in Catholic school her whole life. To me, being pro-choice means to have complete control over my body and not worrying about the government telling me that what I am doing with my body is wrong. I am sure most pro-choicers would agree with my definition of what we believe in. Unfortunately, our values get skewed and words get put in our mouth.
Pro-lifers are our opposing argument and they often automatically assume that being pro-choice means you are pro-abortion which is simply not true. Being pro-choice means more than that. Take Planned Parenthood, for example. Pro-lifers say to defund it because they believe the workers there are murderers for abortions. What they may or may not know is that Planned Parenthood also provides STD testing and treatment, birth control (whether it’s condoms or the pill), cancer screening, hormone therapy, vasectomies, even your annual check-up. Not to mention it’s affordable with or without insurance. Overall defunding Planned Parenthood would strip both men and women of basic healthcare.
Growing up Catholic, movements like March for Life were constantly thrown in my face. While I understand and respect the Catholic teachings, when it comes to abortion, I do not agree with it for two main reasons. The first is that Jesus was the original feminist. And when I say feminist I don’t just mean he advocated for women. Jesus advocated for everyone, but especially the poor, the unwanted, and women. I truly believe he would want women to have the freedom to choose. The second reason is that I think the pro-life Catholics often twists words and contradict themselves. If you’re pro-life and believe a 3-day old fetus deserves human rights, then you should also advocate for all children that deal with injustice. Help the children in the cages that were separated from their parents. Fight for gun reformation so that school shootings stop. Support the kids that are bullied because they came out. I believe if you’re pro-life in terms of an unborn fetus having the same rights as you, then you should be pro-life for the 4 and 5-year-old’s that don’t have the same rights as you just like Jesus would.
As for being pro-choice at a Catholic university, I haven’t really seen any pro-life propaganda. I don’t feel as though I would be judged for being pro-choice in college and I think that’s partly because of the student body. I find my generation to be more accepting than older generations. I’m pro-choice because if I was ever in a situation where I would need an abortion, I would like the freedom to choose. I want every woman to have the freedom to choose, whatever their decision may be. That is why it’s called pro-choice.