Anti-choice people often suddenly stammer over their words once I tell them that I was conceived by rape. When my biological mother was a teenager, she was raped by a member of her family and became pregnant with me as a result. Her family was anti-choice, so she completed the pregnancy full term through to birth, I was born, and was adopted by my parents.
Anti-choice people will debate furiously with me – yelling, name calling, the whole bit – and then when I tell them I was born in spite of what many of them would consider a “justifiable abortion,” and I’m STILL pro-choice, mostly they suddenly change their tone and respond with something like “What a miracle you’re alive! Aren’t you glad you’re here?” …excuse me while my eyes roll allll the way around the room… NOW you care about me? Weren’t you just calling me a murderer and a satan worshiper and looking at me with judgement and hate in your eyes because I’ve told you about my abortion?
Fortunately, I DID have a choice, unlike my birth mother. I had a very privileged abortion. My partner and I unintentionally became pregnant. We found out right away at 5 weeks. I made an appointment a week later. I had the money, access, transportation, a supportive partner, paid time off from work – compared to so many others without my privilege, I basically had a luxury abortion.
I am so grateful that I was able to have an abortion when I wasn’t ready and was also able to give birth to our daughter when we became ready. My daughter is WANTED, not resented. My birth was EMPOWERING instead of traumatizing. Parenting brings me JOY and not a feeling of helplessness. Thank god for abortions.
