Claire Beck on abortion

"As far as I’m concerned, my mother raised me right. I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, trans, religious, Atheist, political, black, white, green, or any colour of the rainbow. I actually, really couldn’t care less. Unless, you’re hurting others in the name of what you think is correct, or trying to take people’s freedom and choices away from them.

I am bristling with rage about the ‘Pro Life’ rally that happened in Dublin earlier this week. Yes, we should all have the right to protest and stand up for our beliefs, of course. But shoving your misguided morality in the face of other people that have nothing to do with you is unacceptable to me.

I wrote ‘Pro Life’ in quotation marks, because I don’t agree that that’s what the majority of the people gathered outside the Dáil actually stand for. They are in fact, Pro Birth At Any Cost. The Youth Defense Facebook page’s cover image arrogantly boasts ‘100,000 Babies Saved! Help Keep Ireland Abortion Free!’ But they don’t care about the likkle babies once they become unwanted children. If they did, there wouldn’t be so many kids in foster care.

If they were asking expectant mothers to give birth, hand the child over to them and then personally overseeing the nurturing and raising of the babies through childhood and into adulthood, fine. But they’re not. On the Youth Defense website, the following is listed under 'Aims & Objectives': ‘It's simple really, our aim is to keep Ireland abortion-free. Educating people, helping mothers, lobbying, campaigning; all our objectives are undertaken with that aim.’

Foetus Defense would be a more accurate title.

I personally have never had an abortion, but I wouldn’t rule it out if I found myself pregnant and unable or unwilling to look after the child. Yes, I said it. Unwilling. If I’m too bloody selfish to ditch my happily single, travel bug bitten, late-night loving lifestyle, I would make a horrible parent. That kid is better off not being born. And trust me, I’m pigheaded. No amount of campaigning, praying or legal red tape would stop me from leaving the country to have an abortion if that was the case.

And what about the women that fall into the ‘unable’ category? Women who are mentally unstable, struggling to cope with the aftermath of rape or incest, or addicted to drugs or alcohol? Bullying an already traumatised stranger into a decision that will personally affect her life, and the life of another as yet unborn human being until they die, while you get to move on to your next victim, is grossly unfair. I’m all for informed decision-making, but propaganda disgusts me. Women decide to abort for all sorts of reasons. My point is that it’s their body, their life, their CHOICE and this choice should be theirs and theirs alone.

One could also argue that a woman facing an unwanted pregnancy, who decides to abort because she believes it is the right choice for her, also impacts on society (positively). The 2001 Donohue-Levitt hypothesis, which discussed data supporting the theory that the crime decline in the '90s in the USA coincides with the legalisation of abortion in the '70s, makes for a very interesting read. That’s not why I’m writing this however. I’m writing it because I’m pissed off.

I’m a self-centred, Atheist, pro-choice single woman who believes that what I decide to put my body through (or not) is nobody’s bloody business but my own.

Incidentally, I deliberately define myself as self-centred as I’m currently at a stage in my life where I am focused on my career, my education and gaining lots of life experience. I passionately believe that this will make me a far better parent in the future if I CHOOSE to become one. Indeed if I do choose this path in the future, perhaps I’ll open my home and my heart to some of the kids currently languishing in the Irish foster care system and treat and love them as my own instead of giving birth myself.

For the record, I’m not a total bitch. I consider myself a compassionate person. I’ve volunteered with several charities, am kind to animals and habitually help mammies down the stairs with their buggies. But you know what? It does strike me that if the people at the anti-choice rally really care about our society, maybe the latter might be a good avenue for them to explore.

Incidentally, many staunch ‘pro foetus’ campaigners are also anti LGBT. Clearly, all the gay and trans people in the world must have been spawned by evil, godless, unmarried liberals. Good church-going Catholics only have straight kids, right?

Maybe they should pray for me, in case I end up burning in the hell I don’t believe in, partying with all my fabulous gay and single parent friends.