Blogging For Choice
Some abortion myths and facts that you can read in their entirety at the NARAL New Jersey site:
Myth: Women who have abortions have an increased risk of breast cancer.
Fact: The National Cancer Institute has definitively stated that there is no link between breast cancer and abortion. Women who have had abortions are not at an increased risk of suffering from breast cancer.
Myth: Sexuality education leads to promiscuity.
Fact: A program sponsored by The World Health Organization in 1997, which evaluated major international studies, found that sexuality education neither increased nor decreased sexual activity. Many programs were found to delay the onset of sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, or reduce unplanned pregnancy and STD rates.
Myth: Most people think abortion should be illegal.
Fact: According to a 1998 poll taken by The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 52% of Americans believe that legal abortion should be available. Another 37% believe abortion should be available in cases of rape and incest.
Here's the bottom line - reversing Roe vs. Wade will only increase deaths of otherwise healthy women as they seek abortions illegally. Life is legally defined as the point at which a fetus could continue to exist outside the womb. We all have our own personal beliefs. In fact, I highly doubt, that had I ever been in the position to find myself pregnant prior to marriage that I could have actually had an abortion. Not because I believe it to be wrong or illegal but because I believe I would have wanted any child I had conceived (barring rape). Then again, my thoughts are probably schewed now because at age 29 I lost the opportunity to choose to get pregnant thanks to uterine cancer. I'll never have a child of my own.
I do know one thing - our government has no business in my body. They don't have the right to tell me that I must take medication prescribed to me. They don't have the right to tell me that I can't take my own life. They don't have the right to tell me that I have to live on life support. They don't have the right to tell me what I should weigh. And they definitely don't have the right to tell me whether I can choose to have an abortion or not.
I believe Roe vs. Wade reaches far beyond the abortion issue; it sets a precedent regarding our refusing to let the government into our bodies. Reverse it and we give the government the go ahead to dictate to us more about our bodies.
Religious beliefs belong in the church. If through your faith you believe that abortion is murder - fine - don't have one. But don't try to tell me that I can't choose one for myself. Ultimately, anyone with religious faith believes that one day we will all have to answer to our maker for our choices in life. If that is so, then leave it in her/his hands. Do not place the ability to judge in the hands of our government. History shows that every time the people allow the government to dictate what happens to their bodies they live to regret the decision.
Myth: Women who have abortions have an increased risk of breast cancer.
Fact: The National Cancer Institute has definitively stated that there is no link between breast cancer and abortion. Women who have had abortions are not at an increased risk of suffering from breast cancer.
Myth: Sexuality education leads to promiscuity.
Fact: A program sponsored by The World Health Organization in 1997, which evaluated major international studies, found that sexuality education neither increased nor decreased sexual activity. Many programs were found to delay the onset of sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, or reduce unplanned pregnancy and STD rates.
Myth: Most people think abortion should be illegal.
Fact: According to a 1998 poll taken by The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 52% of Americans believe that legal abortion should be available. Another 37% believe abortion should be available in cases of rape and incest.
Here's the bottom line - reversing Roe vs. Wade will only increase deaths of otherwise healthy women as they seek abortions illegally. Life is legally defined as the point at which a fetus could continue to exist outside the womb. We all have our own personal beliefs. In fact, I highly doubt, that had I ever been in the position to find myself pregnant prior to marriage that I could have actually had an abortion. Not because I believe it to be wrong or illegal but because I believe I would have wanted any child I had conceived (barring rape). Then again, my thoughts are probably schewed now because at age 29 I lost the opportunity to choose to get pregnant thanks to uterine cancer. I'll never have a child of my own.
I do know one thing - our government has no business in my body. They don't have the right to tell me that I must take medication prescribed to me. They don't have the right to tell me that I can't take my own life. They don't have the right to tell me that I have to live on life support. They don't have the right to tell me what I should weigh. And they definitely don't have the right to tell me whether I can choose to have an abortion or not.
I believe Roe vs. Wade reaches far beyond the abortion issue; it sets a precedent regarding our refusing to let the government into our bodies. Reverse it and we give the government the go ahead to dictate to us more about our bodies.
Religious beliefs belong in the church. If through your faith you believe that abortion is murder - fine - don't have one. But don't try to tell me that I can't choose one for myself. Ultimately, anyone with religious faith believes that one day we will all have to answer to our maker for our choices in life. If that is so, then leave it in her/his hands. Do not place the ability to judge in the hands of our government. History shows that every time the people allow the government to dictate what happens to their bodies they live to regret the decision.
posted by BarefootCajun @ 15:53
2 Comments:
At 7:22 PM,
Kim said…
Well said.
I did have to make the choice. I chose to have Lullah. It was the most terrifying time in my entire life. To think that I could have been in a position to have no control over my life and body would have made it even more so. Choice must be preserved.
At 11:39 PM,
Anonymous said…
Breast Cancer pink pink question
Common Breast Cancer Myths
The first myth pertaining to this disease is that it only affects women.
Second myth that is associated with this disease is that if one has found a lump during an examination, it is cancer.
Third is that it is solely hereditary
The next myth associated with breast cancer is downright ridiculous. Would you believe, that in this day and age, some individuals still think that breast cancer is contagious?
Conversely, some individuals foolishly believe that breast size determines whether or not one gets cancer.
Finally, another myth that is associated with this disease is that it only affects older people. This is not so. Although the chance of getting breast cancer increases with age, women as young as 18 have been diagnosed with the disease.
You can find a number of helpful informative articles on Breast Cancer pink question at breast-cancer1.com
Breast Cancer question
Post a Comment
<< Home