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With Ireland recently fighting for the right for women to have an abortion, it had got me thinking about my views and the right to my own body.
I am pro-choice, I have not had an abortion, I know that it’s not for me but I also know that I have no right to make this choice for others. It is their body, their life, their choice.
My daughter is currently learning at nursery about how she is in control of her body and she has the right to decided yes or no with anything as simple as a hug. I can’t imagine removing her rights, to all of
SelfishMother.com
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a sudden tell her that she may not necessarily have her life the way she wants it.
Abortion is not for everyone but for some they will really feel like they don’t have a choice. It can be as simple as they were too young for the responsibility of a baby, maybe the lady in question would have to do it alone or sadly the baby was a result of rape. If abortion was not available imagine what life could be like for the child and the adult, it may be great but then again it could be full of spite, regret and sadness.
I would say an unmarried
SelfishMother.com
3
woman falling pregnant has only become the normal in the last 20 -30 years.
In 1967 abortion was legalised in the UK even then it was only under certain conditions
To save the woman’s life
To prevent grave permanent injury to the woman’s physical or mental health
Under 24 weeks to avoid injury to the physical or mental health of the woman
Under 24 weeks to avoid injury to the physical or mental health of the existing
child(ren)
If the child was likely to be severely physically or mentally handicapped
It was not until 1990
SelfishMother.com
4
that we were given the right to end a pregnancy without one of these reasons though some doctors were happy to “bend the rules”.
In 2012, Savita Halappanavar died after getting sepsis after complications in a miscarriage at 17 weeks, in Ireland they refused to perform a D and C due to the foetus still having a heartbeat. In the end both lives were lost. After this event, Ireland and women of the world were in uproar. A lady had lost her life, her future due to a very outdated law.
An argument that is brought up a lot is that with the advances
SelfishMother.com
5
in medical techniques and equipment, it means that babies born before the abortion cut off of 24 weeks have a higher survival rate than ever before. This makes the idea of abortion harder to swallow but the truth is sometimes the baby is not wanted for whatever reason.
A baby changes things, big time! The cost of a child is something we never imagined until we have one. They can be (not always) a responsibility that some just can’t take on at that moment in time but it rarely is something that is not thought about. The majority of abortions happen
SelfishMother.com
6
before 12 weeks, even more before 8 weeks with many stating that the continuation with the pregnancy will result in a break down in mental health. This is exactly it, forcing a women to have a child that they don’t want/can’t have, will affect their mental health preventing them from becoming the parent they want to be thus affecting the child’s mental health.
I have friends who have had them and it just wasn’t the “right” time and they think about that child all the time. Abortion is not the easy option; in fact it’s a hard
SelfishMother.com
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choice.
A brave choice.
You are taking control of your life, something not everyone has the courage to do.
Abortion may not be for you but it’s a choice we deserve to have as women. We have the right to make the choices that affect our life and a child changes everything.
This vote in Ireland is a step closer to women’s rights.
Our Body
Our life
Our Choice
Our Uterus
First posted on MUMFORCE
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Mumforce - 28 Jul 18
With Ireland recently fighting for the right for women to have an abortion, it had got me thinking about my views and the right to my own body.
I am pro-choice, I have not had an abortion, I know that it’s not for me but I also know that I have no right to make this choice for others. It is their body, their life, their choice.
My daughter is currently learning at nursery about how she is in control of her body and she has the right to decided yes or no with anything as simple as a hug. I can’t imagine removing her rights, to all of a sudden tell her that she may not necessarily have her life the way she wants it.
Abortion is not for everyone but for some they will really feel like they don’t have a choice. It can be as simple as they were too young for the responsibility of a baby, maybe the lady in question would have to do it alone or sadly the baby was a result of rape. If abortion was not available imagine what life could be like for the child and the adult, it may be great but then again it could be full of spite, regret and sadness.
I would say an unmarried woman falling pregnant has only become the normal in the last 20 -30 years.
- In 1967 abortion was legalised in the UK even then it was only under certain conditions
To save the woman’s life
-
To prevent grave permanent injury to the woman’s physical or mental health
-
Under 24 weeks to avoid injury to the physical or mental health of the woman
-
Under 24 weeks to avoid injury to the physical or mental health of the existing
- child(ren)
If the child was likely to be severely physically or mentally handicapped
-
It was not until 1990 that we were given the right to end a pregnancy without one of these reasons though some doctors were happy to “bend the rules”.
In 2012, Savita Halappanavar died after getting sepsis after complications in a miscarriage at 17 weeks, in Ireland they refused to perform a D and C due to the foetus still having a heartbeat. In the end both lives were lost. After this event, Ireland and women of the world were in uproar. A lady had lost her life, her future due to a very outdated law.
An argument that is brought up a lot is that with the advances in medical techniques and equipment, it means that babies born before the abortion cut off of 24 weeks have a higher survival rate than ever before. This makes the idea of abortion harder to swallow but the truth is sometimes the baby is not wanted for whatever reason.
A baby changes things, big time! The cost of a child is something we never imagined until we have one. They can be (not always) a responsibility that some just can’t take on at that moment in time but it rarely is something that is not thought about. The majority of abortions happen before 12 weeks, even more before 8 weeks with many stating that the continuation with the pregnancy will result in a break down in mental health. This is exactly it, forcing a women to have a child that they don’t want/can’t have, will affect their mental health preventing them from becoming the parent they want to be thus affecting the child’s mental health.
I have friends who have had them and it just wasn’t the “right” time and they think about that child all the time. Abortion is not the easy option; in fact it’s a hard choice.
A brave choice.
You are taking control of your life, something not everyone has the courage to do.
Abortion may not be for you but it’s a choice we deserve to have as women. We have the right to make the choices that affect our life and a child changes everything.
This vote in Ireland is a step closer to women’s rights.
Our Body
Our life
Our Choice
Our Uterus
First posted on MUMFORCE
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Gail aka Mumforce, is a Scottish lifestyle / parenting blogger and a mum of two, based in Edinburgh.
After giving birth to 2 little darlings Gail focussed some attention towards rediscovering/discovering herself. Being a daughter, sister, friend, wife and mother can take a lot out of the best of us. Whilst in amongst/ dealing with all the unpredictability’s in life it’s an easy thing to go into pilot mode/ forget to catch your breath and although bringing up another human being is arguably one of the most difficult challenges a human can be blessed with – “it can often be the case the we want more in respect to purpose, something that is just me”.
Gail is open about her mental health and hopes that through writing, honestly about her experiences she can allow others to open up and no longer feel alone. As well as talking/writing about her struggles with mental health, Gail blogs about daily life, women’s rights and issues that some are afraid to address. Throw in a few family outing reviews, product reviews and mum fashion and we have a very mixed bag which truly represents the addictive randomness that is Mumforce.
To begin with Gail found writing as a form of therapy and a hobby however through her literacy journey Gail’s lifelong pursuit of seeking acceptance has been redefined – “ I finally understood that it was self acceptance that was being sought and have since embraced every ounce of human emotion and solidified its presence through my words”. A unique character who we can all relate to who gives a fantastic reflection of the main battle we have in life, “the person staring back at me in the mirror”.
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