This isn’t necessarily an argument for or against, everyone is entitled to their own position on a subject that is entirely personal.
My thought is – when it comes down to it, do any of us really know what we would do in this situation, until we are truly in it? and if anyone ever has to face this decision, wouldn’t you want the ability to make the choice for yourself, rather than it being decided for you?
- Mariel Clayton
A post I read on tumblr. I def felt the need to re-post this here.
I wanted to touch briefly on this post, which Joe had an excellent response to. I just want to expand a little bit on the Abortion v. Adoption mentality that a lot of people have.
Adoption is not a direct alternative to abortion. It’s an alternative to parenthood. Abortion, at the most simple definition, is a form of birth control. By doing it, you prevent birth. Having an abortion in the first trimester (when 88% of them take place) is VERY different from continuing the pregnancy and giving the baby up for adoption.
People who argue, “Why don’t these women just stop being selfish and wait 9 months and give the baby up” are completely ignoring the physical, financial and mental tolls of pregnancy. It is NOT easy. If you work a minimum wage job, or don’t have sick days, you probably can’t afford to take time off because of morning sickness. If you don’t have healthcare, you can’t afford nine months of prenatal appointments. If your job doesn’t have paid maternity leave, you can’t afford to take time off to recover from the birth. (Even if you give the baby up for adoption, your body needs to physically recover, especially if you had a c-section or other complications.)
If you have complications and are required to go on bed rest… how would most young people afford that? How would you pay rent and bills and buy groceries if you had to stay off your feet for three months or longer? And if you already suffer from a chronic condition that requires medication, that medication may not be compatible with pregnancy, which means you’re asking a woman to sacrifice her own health for the better part of a year.
Demanding that women — primarily young, underprivileged women — go through pregnancy and birth so someone else can have a baby is kind of a lot to ask. Furthermore, the mental toll of giving up a child for adoption is immense. Not only do you have to go through the physical distress of labor, you don’t get to take home a baby afterward. And you have to explain your decision to family members and friends for the rest of your life. On the other hand, abortion is a private decision that has a relatively low chance of mental health complications.
Finally, there is no shortage of children waiting to be adopted. The most recent data I found suggests the number of children waiting to be adopted is close to 126,000. The truth is that most couples looking to adopt domestically (because don’t forget, there are countless thousands of children in orphanages around the world) want to adopt a white, healthy newborn. And it’s true: there is, in fact, a shortage of white newborns waiting to be adopted. But don’t pretend that people who get abortions are denying others the chance to be parents.
(source: http://www.stfuconservatives.net/post/7979844743)
A short video of some things that we did yesterday, Father’s day. The man in the video is my father, having fun in the pool 
And that’s one of our dogs, Wendy. Her first time swimming!
I remember that day clearly… It was around 8:00pm, year 2009, and I was at the cinema watching a movie with a friend of mine. At the exact moment that the movie ended, I got a phone call from my mother. She told me that my grandfather had a stroke.
I was never too close to him. But I enjoyed his presence. At his age, he had a stamina of a young man. Due to this, he was never at his home, instead, he was always out of the house doing errands or working. He was extremely loud – at the point that sometimes, just sometimes, it annoyed me. He was the life of the party, the center of attention, the one that would break the ice. He was a ‘trovador‘. He could talk to you for hours – no, I am not exaggerating at all. He talked and talked and talked… but be sure to look at him at the eyes or he would get a little upset! If you wanted a debate, he was the right guy for you. His stubbornness made him challenging, but it was always a pleasure to talk to him. He made jokes too. Now that I think about it, I never saw him sad or unhappy.
January 06, 2009, "Dia de Reyes", playing with fireworks. (CLICK THE IMAGE FOR LARGE VIEW)
We arrived at the emergency room and he was resting; me and my cousins started praying. Then, he opened his eyes, but was silent.
The area of brain affected was his left side, therefore, he lost all mobility in his right side. He couldn’t walk or talk. Something extremely frustrating for someone who all they did was talk.
First, we tried to understand what he was trying to say when he spoke. But it was all mumble. He became frustrated and ended in depression. I have never seen an old man cry like he did. It was like seeing a baby cry and I could do nothing to help him, so I became frustrated too. Then, this old man started to act like a spoiled child. We had to bring him everything he wanted as soon as we could or he would scream and, sometimes, he became violent. He was manipulating us. It was a hard time for us, specially for our grandma, who is older than he is and can barely walk. Due to these circumstances, we had to put him in a nursing home. He needed care at all time and my grandmother obviously couldn’t help.
He has changed a lot now, he’s livelier and less depressing… He even makes jokes and laughs hysterically!
On Father’s Day, we went to the nursing home to pay him a visit. He kissed my forehead and grabbed my hand. He tried to speak and said something like this: ” *mumble, mumble* year? ” I assumed that he asked in what year of college I’m currently in, so I told him that I am in my third year of college. He put his hand on his forehead and demonstrated surprise.
June 19, 2011, Father's day, playing with a toy piano. (CLICK THE IMAGE FOR LARGE VIEW)
I would never imagine my grandpa like this… a man, who once was very active, has been condemned to live in a bed. I couldn’t imagine that before his stroke.
This is a short summary of “Soy feminista”.
Original: http://lifeofatokophobic.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/soy-feminista/
It has happened to me that many people have told me I’m a feminist, and I noticed that they say it in an almost aggressive tone.They look at me as if he had killed the president of the United States. My father calls me a feminist, my classmate told me I’m a feminist, and he laughed. Feminist is not an insult. Let’s see why.
It’s very likely that a negative thought went through your mind when reading the title of this paper. Surely when you think of the word feminism you imagine a group of women who hate men. Know that you are wrong, because the real feminism are not women who believe in a matriarchal world. The “feminist” of this type are responsible for taking the negative and wrong message to society. Almost no one understands the meaning of feminism today.
Let’s go to the past to understand its real meaning. The concept of feminism first appeared in 1895, approximately. At that time women had very limited rights, if a woman wanted a divorce because her husband abused her physically (or other reason) the court denied it, if a woman wanted to buy a property she couldn’t; if a woman wanted to make a large purchase (take the example of a refrigerator, which was invented much later) she could not do it alone, because she needed the signature of her husband; if a woman wanted to vote in elections, she was forbided of doing so. These and many other things happened in those times. It is in the women’s suffrage movement that this word takes all its heyday. The struggle of women to win the right to vote in the United States took nearly 100 years. Since then, women began to participate in politics.
From here comes the word feminism, from the struggle for equal rights of men and women. Feminism means:
I am a feminist and everyone should be so.
I am so thankful for this post. I’ve been raped too and I know a friend who was raped by a family relative. But somehow,some people think that rape is something extremely rare, most of them are men who have never been raped.
Today,during class, we had a little discussion about abortion. I want to tell you guys what a girl from class had to said, it was shocking for me. The girl in the class told this story about her cousin:
This girl’s cousin got pregnant a couple of years ago. At that time, her cousin was still very young, and she wanted to have an abortion; but all her family members and friends persuaded her not to. Still unsure but pleasing her family and friends, she gave birth. She had to carry her baby to everywhere she went, obviously. Whether she was in a family reunion, or with her friends, she had her baby with her, but they began to feel embarrassed. Over time, all those who had persuaded her not to abort, got more separated from her until they finally abandon her. She felt alone. This girl then suffocated her baby with a pillow and then killed herself.
When she finished telling this story, she began to cry.
”…But I don’t believe that I have a right to take what is an article of faith to me and legislate it to other people…”
The abortion procedure should be done on women who are 100% sure. If a woman who is having second-thoughts undergo an abortion, the chances she will regret it are high. Those are the woman who say that EVERY woman will regret it sooner or later. NO. The people who will regret it are those who did not reflected or thought deeply about the issue.
Abortion should be the rarest thing in the world. But sadly, we women have uterus. Sadly for those who do not wish to have a pregnancy of course. Now, I am pro-choice. No, I am not pro-abortion. You see, I think that a woman has a full right to make the final decision, whether she wants to continue with her pregnancy or not. The father’s opinion should be highly taken in consideration, but the final decision should be made by HER and no one should go beyond that final decision. A pro-abortionist (that if it really exists) just wants all women to terminate their pregnancy. A pro-choicer (me) wants the woman to make her decision. See the difference?
Here’s an example:
When Kyra, a girl whom I studied with since the 5th grade, found out she was pregnant, she went to the abortion clinic along with her boyfriend. She sat down in the chair waiting to be attended. But then, she changed her opinion and decided to continue with her pregnancy. She got up, told her boyfriend and left. Her boyfriend, however, did all he could do so she could terminate her pregnancy. He threatened to kill her father and to hit her if she didn’t. But SHE made her final decision. That is a true victory for pro-choicers and I’m happy for her. Do you know all the psychological problems, all the trauma she could have been trough if she didn’t made her decision? No, you don’t.
Same thing happens when a woman decides to terminate her pregnancy. But what if the father wants the baby after she gives birth? Well if she’s okay with being 9 months pregnant and then giving away the baby to her father, perfect. But she needs to be sure. Now, what if she simply doesn’t wish to have a pregnancy? Should she be forced? Yes? Then why don’t we force girls like Kyra to terminate her pregnancy against their will? Do you know all the psychological problems a woman can suffer if she is forced to continue with a pregnancy against her will? Probably not.
Now, I’ve been getting replies that says that “a life is a life no matter what happens ” and how we should protect it. Well I’m 99% sure they didn’t say that when they heard the US killed Osama. That’s how hypocrite we can be.
Me ha pasado que muchas personas me han dicho feminista, y he notado que me lo dicen en un tono casi agresivo o con el fin de insultarme. Me señalan y me miran como si hubiera matado al presidente de los Estados Unidos. Mi padre me dice feminista, y cada vez que me lo dice se puede notar su expresion de rechazo en su rostro. Mi compañero de clase me dijo feminista, y lo dijo entre risas. Pues sepan, que llamarme feminista no es un insulto. Veamos porque.
Es muy probable que algun pensamiento negativo paso por la mente de usted al leer el titulo de este escrito. Seguramente cuando piensa en la palabra feminismo se imagine un grupo de mujeres con carteles que odian a los hombres. Sepa que usted esta incorrecto, pues el real feminismo no son mujeres que piensan en un mundo matriarcal. Las “feministas” de esta clase son las responsables de llevar ese mensaje negativo e incorrecto a la sociedad. Ya casi nadie entiende el significado del feminismo hoy dia.
Ahora, vayamos al pasado para entender el real significado. Este concepto de feminismo aparecio por primera vez en 1895, aproximadamente. En esos tiempos la mujer tenia derechos muy limitados; si una mujer se queria divorciar porque su esposo la maltrataba fisicamente (o por otra razon) la corte se lo negaba; si una mujer queria comprar una propiedad, no podia, ya que tenia que hacerlo su esposo y ademas, él era el unico proveedor del hogar; si una mujer deseaba hacer una compra grande (tomemos el ejemplo de un refrigerador, invento que fue mucho mas tarde) no podia hacerlo sola, ya que necesitaba la firma de su esposo; si una mujer deseaba votar en las elecciones, se le era totalmente prohibido. Estas y muchas otras cosas mas ocurrian para esos tiempos. Es en el movimiento del sufragio femenino que esta palabra toma todo su auge. La lucha de las mujeres para lograr el derecho al voto en los Estados Unidos tomó casi 100 años. Desde ese entonces, las mujeres comenzaron a participar en la politica.
De ahi viene el feminismo, de la lucha por los derechos equitativos del hombre y la mujer. Feminismo significa:
Después de sentir que me encontraba en el siglo 19 y de que mi madre me insultara con sus argumentos absurdos e insensatos de que “la casa es de la mujer porque la mujer es la mejor que barre”, y después de decirle machista en la cara decidí descargar todo mi coraje escribiendo. Este fue el resultado:
Dedicado a mi madre:
¡Pues claro que la mejor que barre es la mujer! ¡Claro que la mujer es la “mejor” que hace la limpieza en la casa! Si al varón desde pequeño se le excluye de estas actividades a diferencia de la fémina. A la hembra se le enseña desde que es pequeña como barrer, como fregar, etc. Mi abuelo me dio una escoba por primera vez en ELEMENTAL para que aprendiera. ¡En elemental!
Okay….a lo que quiero llegar es a lo siguiente, y hago un ejemplo: A Pepe le regalaron una bola de baloncesto a los 7 años, con la cual juega y practica todos los días. María nunca ha jugado ningún deporte en su vida, al igual que sus amigos de vecindario. Dentro de 5 años,¿Quien es más probable que juegue mejor el baloncesto? Pepe, sin duda. No porque tiene pene, si no por que sus experiencias de vida han sido diferentes a las de Maria. Porque Pepe estuvo expuesto desde pequeño al baloncesto mientras que María no. Lo mismo
ocurre con el debatible argumento de mi madre. Se puede decir que en parte esta “correcto”. Pero no es porque las mujeres son unas cabronas limpiando como ella piensa, si no por el resultado de una sociedad machista. Los hombres no son morones mi gente, ellos pueden lograr tareas tan simples como las de limpieza. ¿Oh acaso ustedes hombres son unos inútiles y no pueden hacerlo? ¿Verdad que no?
La justificación de mi madre ante todo eso fue que cuando pequeña, ella era la que hacia TODO en la casa mientras que su hermano mayor no hacía nada. Claro, y porque tus padres (mis abuelos) eran machistas vas a hacer lo mismo con nosotros. Buena manera de seguirles los pasos a tus padres.
Es como si la vagina nos diera poderes mágicos innatos. Por tener una vagina.
El problema que quiero plantear es, para que entiendan, que nuestros padres nos ensenan a ser equitativos pero no lo son. El problema es que la sociedad piensa que por el mero hecho de nacer con vagina ya nacemos sabiendo cómo barrer. Pero, si naces con un pene eres inferior a las que tienen vagina, pues no tienes la capacidad para hacer ese trabajo “bien hecho”. El problema es que nosotras mismas minimizamos al hombre. Ellos también pueden y no tienen vagina.
Me dio risa cuando mi madre ese mismo día me dijo: “Voy a ver si le enseño a tu hermano a tender ropa”.
Como si fuera una ciencia. Que, by the way, nunca lo hizo.
/end of rant
