The Value of Abortion
During my first week as a Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic employee, I was given a tour of one our comprehensive health centers, where we do surgical abortions (we provide medication abortions at all of our health centers). The then-director of the center said to me, “We change women’s lives every day here,” and he was smiling as he said it. It made me feel safe. I immediately understood that this was a place where every woman’s life was valued, and where her decisions would be honored.
The majority of health services we provide are preventive. But it seems to me that what is truly life-changing is having an abortion, precisely because, for so many women, having an abortion means your life does not change. You do not become a mother. Or, you already are a mother but you won’t lose your job when you begin to show. Or, you can finish school – high school or college or any kind of school – without worrying that child birth and parenting will interfere with midterms, or finals, or graduation. You simply continue your life without being pregnant, and without having to face the decision to parent or place your child for adoption.
Abortion has value. It is not just the lesser of two evils, but abortion can be a good, moral decision, in and of itself. And I am not talking about cases of rape or life endangerment. I’m talking about everyday women – you, maybe, or your mom, friend, sister, wife, girlfriend, roommate – who simply know that they do not want to be pregnant, and do not want to parent this child, at this time.
The one in three women in America who decide that abortion is right for them deserve to be recognized as people, as full moral agents, and not to be treated like children to need to be taught right from wrong. Women deserve easy access to high-quality, affordable abortion care, without waiting periods, and without biased counseling.
Until abortion is recognized as having value in and of itself, we’re going to continue to battle the Mike Pences, Chris Smiths, and Scott Roeders of the world.
Special thanks to Jennifer K. Brown, the founding director of the Reproductive Rights Unit of the NYS Attorney General’s office, for inspiring this post when she spoke at our Long Island Roe v. Wade anniversary event about the value of abortion in women’s lives.
This is such a crucial point to make. A woman shouldn’t need to experience violence in order to retain rights over her own body. It seems that in all of this anti-choice talk of fetal “personhood”, everyone is ignoring the fact that women have not yet been granted full personhood. Indeed, this attack on women’s rights has been decidedly immoral. It is time to take the language of morality back from the religious right and call them out for their hypocrisy.
Such a great read! As a woman who has had an abortion, I can firmly say that my decision was entirely rooted in my personal values of responsibility and intention about my future and family. In a time when the characterization of abortion as a valueless act is everywhere, your re-framing is inspiring and appreciated. Thank you!