Blog for Choice Day

Every year I dread and hate this day, the anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision. This is the one day that I allow myself reflection on my decisions to abort. Although they were many years ago and I have given myself much grief for them, I cannot support any other legislation than one distinctively for a woman's fundamental right to choose what is best for her own well-being and yes, I am Catholic.

When I chose to convert to Catholicism I knew this would be a struggle for me within the church's teachings, but within that conversion I also found forgiveness and understanding and a self-understanding reconciliation that I had not formerly embraced.

I won't tell you how many I had because, frankly, I have blocked almost that entire period from my memory, but I can tell you this...I was very young and I felt totally alone to make the decision. There was approximately a fifteen year period of decent in my life when my Lord carried me because I felt I had no guidance, I had no support and I made the only choice I could make. It was my body, it was the quality of life of my unborn child and it was my choice and I own that. I thank God every day for carrying me through that time and for giving me the gift of free will and I thank Roe v Wade for that freedom to choose. I know for certain if I had not had those available to me at the time I would not be here today writing this.

Today I was searching through the writings of John Paul II in search of a quote to help me on this day. I found it in his

"APOSTOLIC LETTER
MULIERIS DIGNITATEM
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
JOHN PAUL II
ON THE
DIGNITY AND VOCATION
OF WOMEN
ON THE OCCASION
OF THE MARIAN YEAR"
Section 18

"The eternal mystery of generation, which is in God himself, the one and Triune God (cf. Eph 3:14-15), is reflected in the woman's motherhood and in the man's fatherhood. Human parenthood is something shared by both the man and the woman. Even if the woman, out of love for her husband, says: "I have given you a child", her words also mean: "This is our child". Although both of them together are parents of their child, the woman's motherhood constitutes a special "part" in this shared parenthood, and the most demanding part. Parenthood - even though it belongs to both - is realized much more fully in the woman, especially in the prenatal period. It is the woman who "pays" directly for this shared generation, which literally absorbs the energies of her body and soul. It is therefore necessary that the man be fully aware that in their shared parenthood he owes a special debt to the woman. No programme of "equal rights" between women and men is valid unless it takes this fact fully into account."


*edit*

I've said it over and over again on this blog but I will repeat it now. If men were held as accountable for children as women are then there would be virtually no need for abortion.