The Handmaid's Tale

One thing I've been learning as I move "gracefully" into my 40's is that I have not let my own opinions out too often, which means I have not let anger out too often, which means I'm not always sure when I have an opinion or when I'm angry.

But one thing is for sure - I'm OVER the right to lifers. I usually don't think much about abortion, mainly because at this point in my life I'm not in a position to have one. But even when I could have been in that position, I probably wouldn't have chosen to have one. Notice the key words there are "probably" and "chosen". It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind and I'd like to know that I have the choice available to me if I wanted/needed it to be there. Besides, no one gets to choose anything for me unless I let them. Guess I won't be moving to South Dakota any time soon since they've now entered a time machine, to go in reverse.

I was e-mailing with a former co-worker the other day about my angst and some great points got raised as we were preaching to each other's choirs. Why is it that every baby must be born? Are the right to lifers into quantity vs. quality? They must be as they don't seem concerned about quality of life whatsoever. It's almost as if you MUST be born so that then you can become one of the potentially oppressed and potentially discriminated against that keep the cogs in their wheels spinning. It doesn't matter if you will potentially be living in poverty so long as you'll be a another potential supporter of their cause. Perhaps if you are spared being aborted, you will be lucky enough to have medical insurance that will pay for your Viagra prescription but not your birth control pills.

The way I see it, choice includes everyone. If you don't want to have an abortion, that's your own personal choice. Feel free to consult with your family, your spouse, your minister, your doctor or whomever you want - but it's your choice. Each woman can decide for herself to have or not to have an abortion. It's not the choice of our government, it's not the choice of the crazy people blocking entrance to abortion clinics, and it's certainly not the choice of the even crazier people who kill doctors that perform abortions - how on earth does that make sense by the way? If anyone gets that, please let me know.

I think it's time to grab an old copy of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" and really get fired up? Or perhaps I'll be lazy, since it's my choice to be so if I wish, and add it to the Netflix queue....