My Autonomy is Better than Yours

Just because I am PRO CHOICE does not mean I am PRO ABORTION,

It means I understand that your choice is none of my damn business, and I will always fight for your right to choose.

I faced a crisis pregnancy once. I remember the fear. I also remember the people who helped me overcome it.

I was also in the womb of a woman facing a crisis pregnancy once.

Which is why this little gem of a meme going around on social media yet again makes me nuts. The argument in favor of abortion rights based on the "autonomy" principle alone is illogical. If my personal freedom of choice matters now, it mattered when I was an embryo. The only difference between "me" now and "me" then was that I was completely dependent upon someone else to live. Actually, not much has changed. It would be a lie to say I'm completely independent now. If we're honest, each of us in some way depends on other people to live.

It's disingenuous to make a case for being pro-choice on the basis of autonomy alone. Doing so reveals an ignorance of the potentiality of human life; and it’s hypocritical at best, for what pro-choice feminist in his/her militant struggle for autonomy, did not start out his/her life as a fetus?

What's really lurking underneath the "Your body, your choice," rhetoric is the deep-seated despair that "abortion is a necessary evil." You know. Especially among the poor. And here's where I cry "foul!" The truth is, it's easier for governments to say, "hey, do what you want, we just won't call her a baby," than it is to actually fix the underlying social ills that put women in desperate situations to begin with. Yes, the isolationist approach is oh so very convenient for officials (and "good, caring members of society") who have too many other big bad problems piling up on their desks.

But, as Pope Francis has reminded the world, "It is not 'progressive' to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life." (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 214)

So, what are you going to do about it?

As for me, I'll keep on being my pro-life feminist self. I'll keep on sharing my story about how I faced a crisis pregnancy. I'll keep on accompanying women in difficult situations where abortion seems to be a quick solution to anguish. I'll keep on fighting to make things better for the poor, advocating for education and opportunity for all children, and donating to food pantries and shelters whenever I can. I will keep on pointing men and women in the direction of unconditional, non-judgmental healing when their past decisions have left them mired in a grief so profound, it affects nearly every area of their life.

And if you're in crisis, I will put you in touch with a crisis pregnancy network, shelter, or other support systems to empower you so you're not trapped by your fear. But what I won't ever do is say that the autonomy of that tiny "other" is irrelevant. You and I were there in that dependent place once. What if we had been rather conveniently left out of the conversation?