I am not pro-abortion, but here's why I support a woman's right to choose | Opinion
Barbara R Casper
Fri, December 10, 2021
I listened to the arguments before the Supreme Court regarding Mississippi’s law on abortion and felt compelled to discuss my own evolution in thinking regarding this issue.
In high school, I was adamantly against abortion and actually spoke in church and in other venues about the scourge on society. My naïve teenage self had no understanding of the nuances of the situation, and it was not until I went to medical school that I think I fully grasped the impact of unintended pregnancies on women, especially women of color and those of fewer means.
I am not pro-abortion. In fact, I dare say no one is actually pro-abortion.
I view abortion as a very sad failure – a failure of adequate reproductive education, a failure of access to contraception, a failure to protect women and girls from rape, a failure of society to support families with children.
All of these factors and more play into a woman’s choice to have an abortion and for those women I know who have taken advantage of their right to an abortion, it has been a difficult, heartrending decision. I absolutely support a woman’s right to make the decision whether she is prepared emotionally and financially to take on the responsibility of raising a child.
It appears that the Supreme Court is prepared to uphold the Mississippi law which seems to portend the end of Roe v. Wade. I am inordinately sad for the women in our country who no longer will be able to make a choice about their own reproductive health.
Opinion: Here's what's at risk if Kentucky loses safe access to abortion | Opinion
If we are going to do this, we need to make sure we are prepared as a society to provide the necessary support for these children and their mothers.
First of all, appropriate reproductive education needs to be provided in schools. This should include a scientific approach to contraception in addition to abstinence.
Contraception should be made readily available to women and girls at any point of contact with health professionals. In addition, adequate mental health support should be available not only for women who feel unprepared to be a mother, but to women and girls who have been victims of rape or are forced to carry a child with a lethal congenital defect.
Once the child is born, we need to ensure that the child will have a safe home, safe water supply and enough to eat. Childcare will be really important so that mothers can work to support their children. In addition, it is imperative that children receive an education to prepare them for a successful life and career in the future.
It is interesting that many of these things are in the Build Back Better bill that is now before the Senate and which some of the very people who are adamantly anti-abortion oppose. Catholic nun, Sister Joan Chittister once said that the movement is really pro-birth and not pro-life. I might have to agree with that assessment and also wonder if those who have been fighting to oppose abortion may find themselves in the position of the dog who catches the car – now what?
You may like: Kentucky among states with instant abortion ban if Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
Barbara Casper
As I look back over my own life, I can’t help but wonder how an unintended pregnancy would have affected the trajectory of my career. I am certain that my younger self would not have chosen abortion and would likely not have opted to put a child up for adoption.
I doubt seriously that I would have been able to complete college, medical school and residency either as a single or partnered parent. I would not have had the privilege of caring for patients for 35 years and helping to prepare hundreds of students and residents for successful medical careers. Luckily, I did not have to make that choice, but I can’t help but wonder how many women did not have a choice and what impact they may have had. I guess we will never know.
Barbara R Casper MD, FACP is a retired professor of medicine at the University of Louisville who spent thirty-five years practicing internal medicine and teaching residents and students. She is dedicated to health equity.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: From pro-life to pro-choice, here's what changed for me | Opinion
All of these factors and more play into a woman’s choice to have an abortion and for those women I know who have taken advantage of their right to an abortion, it has been a difficult, heartrending decision. I absolutely support a woman’s right to make the decision whether she is prepared emotionally and financially to take on the responsibility of raising a child.
It appears that the Supreme Court is prepared to uphold the Mississippi law which seems to portend the end of Roe v. Wade. I am inordinately sad for the women in our country who no longer will be able to make a choice about their own reproductive health.
Opinion: Here's what's at risk if Kentucky loses safe access to abortion | Opinion
If we are going to do this, we need to make sure we are prepared as a society to provide the necessary support for these children and their mothers.
First of all, appropriate reproductive education needs to be provided in schools. This should include a scientific approach to contraception in addition to abstinence.
Contraception should be made readily available to women and girls at any point of contact with health professionals. In addition, adequate mental health support should be available not only for women who feel unprepared to be a mother, but to women and girls who have been victims of rape or are forced to carry a child with a lethal congenital defect.
Once the child is born, we need to ensure that the child will have a safe home, safe water supply and enough to eat. Childcare will be really important so that mothers can work to support their children. In addition, it is imperative that children receive an education to prepare them for a successful life and career in the future.
It is interesting that many of these things are in the Build Back Better bill that is now before the Senate and which some of the very people who are adamantly anti-abortion oppose. Catholic nun, Sister Joan Chittister once said that the movement is really pro-birth and not pro-life. I might have to agree with that assessment and also wonder if those who have been fighting to oppose abortion may find themselves in the position of the dog who catches the car – now what?
You may like: Kentucky among states with instant abortion ban if Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
Barbara Casper
As I look back over my own life, I can’t help but wonder how an unintended pregnancy would have affected the trajectory of my career. I am certain that my younger self would not have chosen abortion and would likely not have opted to put a child up for adoption.
I doubt seriously that I would have been able to complete college, medical school and residency either as a single or partnered parent. I would not have had the privilege of caring for patients for 35 years and helping to prepare hundreds of students and residents for successful medical careers. Luckily, I did not have to make that choice, but I can’t help but wonder how many women did not have a choice and what impact they may have had. I guess we will never know.
Barbara R Casper MD, FACP is a retired professor of medicine at the University of Louisville who spent thirty-five years practicing internal medicine and teaching residents and students. She is dedicated to health equity.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: From pro-life to pro-choice, here's what changed for me | Opinion
No comments:
Post a Comment