Unexpected Outcomes (unexpected to some…)

A testimony by a Republican senator circulated recently where he shared his concern with the vote he made in favor of anti-abortion legislation. By the time I post this blog, I promise I will have watched it, but at this time, if I’m honest, I still haven’t had the heart to listen.

I understand everybody is on their own journey. I understand that many of us, myself included, have a lot to come to terms with in regards to perspectives that we have, or had, or grew up accepting without question. I’ve spent a lot of time unlearning assumptions I had surrounding race, gender, religion, the law … the list goes on.  

It’s been going through all of this that I started to realize the importance of holding my tongue. I’ve practiced listening to understand rather than to respond. I’ve practiced taking the time to identify whether I am someone who experiences [topic at hand] or simply someone who has an opinion. And I make sure to center those who have that first hand experience. I don’t have to agree with them, or even understand, but allowing them to share, listening with an open mind, has been vital in my growth.

So when I saw a man admit he was wrong about abortion, there was a piece that felt good. Change was happening. People are starting to realize their need to share the floor. And there was a piece that was so frustrating.

People who have had abortions know how abortions work

Abortion advocates have been saying exactly what this Republican representative finally came to terms with. We know that abortion can be life saving for people giving birth. We know that abortion is not “killing babies,” or “evading responsibility.” Abortion advocates have had abortions, and walked with people through abortions, and understand how nuanced it is.  

Abortion bans put people in danger

Now, a nation wide 15 week abortion ban has been proposed. I truly believe that abortion bans do nothing but put people in danger. Doctors are restricted. People with unwanted pregnancies go to extremes. If you want to decrease abortion, there is more effective action to take. 

Abortion is not a method of birth control

I even saw this in a devotional on the Bible app: “girls are just using abortion as birth control without thinking twice.” The physical toll abortion has on your body compared to the pill, a condom, an IUD or the implant … nothing somebody chooses over an intense medical procedure.

People who choose abortion are not baby-haters

Most people who choose abortion have already given birth and have children in the home. Look at more numbers that might surprise you here (Pew research, 2019).

There is not a heartbeat at 18 days

The “heartbeat” that many use to declare “life” is not a heartbeat but an electric current that ultrasounds pick up on in a rhythmic manner. The heart as an organ has not developed, nor has any other organ, and there is no biological basis for this claim at 18 days. “It’s not until around 17 to 20 weeks, when the four chambers of the heart have developed and can be detected on an ultrasound, that the term heartbeat is accurate, according to ACOG.”

Even though 99% abortions happen before the 3rd trimester, bans on how long into the pregnancy should not be allowed

These are the bans that force people to carry unviable fetuses to term even when it causes harm to the parent carrying them. The medical relief to an ectopic pregnancy and other medical complications are abortions. By limiting when they are legal, you limit how long doctors can perform the procedures they need to save people who can give birth. A story about a mother who chose abortion late in the pregnancy. 

**Also note that “late-term abortion” is not a medically accurate concept but rather one to pull at emotion. It perpetuates anti-abortion rhetoric that shames and scares pregnant people and demonizes pro-choice ideology. A pregnancy isn’t “full term” until 39/40 weeks and “late term” pregnancy is 41 weeks (but politicians are calling abortion “late term” at 15 weeks? I don’t think so).

People can’t just put their child up for adoption

Adoption is a complex and complicated decision. Many adoptees have spoken out in favor of abortion, and studies are being done on the harms of adoption without intentional care. On top of this, the foster system is currently overcrowded and underfunded, and little is being done to correct it. So many see having a kid and adding it to the system as immoral. 

Abortion impacts everybody

Abortion impacts everybody except the “unborn” because they don’t exist. How are you showing up for the people who are here on this planet now? How are you ensuring everybody has access to basic human rights such as food, housing, healthcare? Until this disparities are fixed, abortions will continue.

Abortion bans do not do what proponents of anti-choice ideology believe they do. Keep listening and learning and always be open to receiving new information. Then take that new information to the polls, to decision makers, and hold your representatives accountable.