Arden+T's+Final+AmEx+Speech+2016

Pro-Life, Pro-Birth or Pro-Choice

If I were going to get up here and give a speech on how I want to grow old in a world that has illegalized abortion, I would probably start with some heartfelt story of how a kid who might have been aborted grew up to live this wonderful, amazing life. But I am not pro-life. I am pro-choice, and I’m going to tell you why.

First, I am going to explain the basic differences between pro choice and pro life. I think a common misconception is that if you are not pro-life, you support abortion wholeheartedly. This is not the case. There is no doubt in my mind that abortion is a very sad and traumatizing experience. However, people who are pro-choice believe that women should be at least provided with the right to choose. On the other hand, pro-life believes that under no circumstances should a baby be aborted, because nothing is more valuable than human life. Now, I doubt these two sides will ever come to an agreement, but I hope that I can at least help those of you who aren’t pro-choice understand why I am.

While I was on a 2-hour watching spree of final speech videos, I came across one speech in particular that really stood out, Zach Stevens’ on Abortion. Zach was pro-life, and overall had a very convincing argument, and I respect that. However, there was one point in particular that really rubbed me the wrong way. Zach talked about a girl named Pam. Pam was put up for adoption because her mother had been raped. Pam’s mother was told by her family and friends to get an abortion but ultimately decided to have the baby. Pam went to a loving home and led a successful life. Zach’s point was that every form of life deserves the chance to live and thrive. However, women should not be forced to act as strongly as Pam’s mother. Rape victims can go through a lot of emotional distress. Completing a pregnancy on top of that is a lot to ask. If abortion was illegal, women would be forced to have the baby. I don’t think anyone should have the right to force that upon anyone.

Zach wanted every child to be given an opportunity. What he failed to realize is that there are kids already born, already here that need help. By making abortion illegal, many women would bring “unwanted” children into the world. Lucky for Pam, she was probably a beautiful, white, baby girl. White babies get adopted like that *snaps fingers*. I’m not trying to sound racist, but it’s the truth. Most American families want their child to “look like them”. But, color shouldn’t matter. What about all the millions of kids who are already here and in need of a home? What happens to them as birth rates go up? If you’re so “pro-life”, you should also be saving the lives that are already here. There is a difference between pro life and pro birth. If you claim to be pro-life, I can understand as long you value human life in general, not just while it is in the womb. I believe that if you are pro-life you should also be out there adopting children who need homes, or supporting social services for single and/or poor women raising children. In Texas, they recently cut off access to abortion, however while doing this, they also cut off availability to birth control. You can not absolutely cannot, have it both ways. If you don't want a woman to get an abortion, you must at least provide her with birth control so she isn't put into a situation where she has to choose. In 2011, half of the pregnancies in Texas were unplanned, and 1 out of 3 of those women described that they did not have access to birth control in the months before they got pregnant. I find this unacceptable. It’s counterintuitive. You may be wondering why in the world would they cut off access to birth control? Well, let me tell you. Some people are so misinformed about the way birth control works that they believe birth control causes abortions. After performing simple research, they would realize that it does no such thing. Birth control does a numerous of things, including preventing ovulation, changing cervical mucus to make it harder for the sperm to find the egg, and changing the lining of the womb so the egg will not implant and stay in the uterus, but none of these are considered an abortion. People who claim birth control kills babies, might as well tell women to stop having periods and men to stop masturbating so we can save every potential life form. Texas is an example of how pro-life can take a disastrously wrong turn. Women are entitled to certain rights, and I believe birth control is one of them.

Then there are cases where a woman may want to start a family, but something goes wrong. According to the CDC, Center for Disease Control, 600 women still die in childbirth every year in the US, and according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) preeclampsia occurs in about 6 to 8 percent of pregnancies in the US. Preeclampsia causes extremely high blood pressure and can also lead to strokes and seizures. This can ultimately end in the death of the pregnant mother. There are also many other dangerous conditions for pregnant women including ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy is when the embryo implants in the fallopian tubes instead of the uterus. As the embryo grows it will rupture the fallopian tubes causing severe internal bleeding. Both preeclampsia and ectopic pregnancy are two common conditions for pregnant women, and both have no treatment available that can guarantee the life of the baby and the mother. If only one life can live, would you still be pro-birth? If the baby is chosen over the mother, you will be leaving a child without a mother, maybe even a whole family without a mother.

There are also instances where a child may be pre-diagnosed with a severe mental or physical illness. Although people with disabilities can still live wonderful, fulfilling lives, they can be very reliant on their families. The truth is that not all families are properly equipped to care for a child with disabilities. For example, about 90% of the deaf population has two hearing parents and 88% of those parents do not know sign language. Children with mental and/or physical disorders are less likely to be adopted, and are a huge responsibility for a family, both financially and emotionally. My aunt was faced with this situation. Her baby was diagnosed with Dandy Walker Syndrome. This is a condition that causes severe brain damage which leads to intellectual and physical disabilities. My aunt’s son is now two and cannot speak, walk, or see. He has to go to physical therapy three times a week, and her two other sons already talk about how they are going to pay for their brother’s medical bills, and living expenses when their parents no longer can. Having a child with disabilities doesn’t only affect the parents, but the entire family. At the ages of 5 and 8, my cousins are already feeling the pressure of being responsible for their brother until they die. Not only this, now the parents have to devote a lot more time and money to their son with disabilities instead of giving equal attention and opportunities to all their children. Now, if still want a child with mental and/or physical disorder to be born, fine, but you better be supporting them as humans, not as fetuses. As I mentioned before there is a difference between pro-birth and pro-life. Being pro-life would mean supporting special education classes in schools, or supporting government welfare programs for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, people who have a strong pro-life stance, do not support these programs. I’m just gonna say it, they’re all a bunch of hypocrites.

Another crucial reason I am pro-choice is because I believe human beings are entitled to certain rights over their own bodies. The best example of this is donors. We have the right to decide whether or not we want to donate our organs, blood, etc to those in need. It doesn’t matter how in need someone may be, nobody can be forced to donate anything they don’t want to. Humans have a right to their own body. I think women share this right and should have the right to choose whatever they think is best for their situation.

I think what you should take out of this is that people shouldn’t restrict a woman’s rights to her own body and her own family. Abortion is a huge decision and is not one often made on a whim. Even if you don’t agree with certain aspects of abortion, I don’t think that means that all women should be forced to have a baby they don’t want to. This is why I am pro-choice.