Choice is Freedom

NOTE: This was part of a new segment in the paper, "War of Words." I was challenged to defend the first hot topic, abortion, against a very conservative (Republican-supporting) guy. The situation is fictional and the name was one of a few common names I use in my writing and has nothing to do with anyone I know. But although it was a fictional situation in this case, it mirrors the lives of millions of women around the world. I'm not going feminist on everyone, just presenting an article. For more information, visit the following:

http://www.wavaw.ca/informed_stats.php

http://www.rapereliefshelter.bc.ca/statistics/index.html

Jennifer was 13 years old when she was raped and beaten—by her uncle. She was so ashamed of what had happened she couldn’t tell anyone. She hid from the world, crying and screaming into her pillow to hide her despair.
It was six weeks later when Jennifer found out, in the seclusion of her bathroom, that she was pregnant with her uncle’s baby; not only that, but Jennifer was only a baby herself: How could she raise a new life?
Sex is the simultaneous bane and blessing of human existence; it brings pleasure, and ultimate pain. Although children aren’t always planned and many people are conceived by lust alone, fear and harm should never be a part of reproduction.
Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) reports one in four Canadian women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, which is a lot of possibility for forced conception.
There are limits in Canada as to how far-along a fetus can be before an abortion can no longer be performed; abortions after 12 weeks are generally frowned upon, although some states in the U.S. allow them later in pregnancy. Abortions for medical reasons are a unclear: How old and what illness are the subject of harsh debate between pro-life and pro-choice advocates, and medical professionals. When does life really begin: Conception or birth? All heavy issues, but not the real concern.
If a woman aborts because of rape, health, or accidental pregnancy, it shouldn’t matter. Society risk their basic freedoms when people allow governments to have a say over their own bodies—that’s something even a conservative could agree with.
Conservative values are based on freedom. The 2004 U.S. Republican Party Platform even states the following:
“We choose strength.
We choose results.
We choose optimism.
We choose opportunity.
We choose freedom.”
Isn’t an individual’s body his or her ultimate personal sanctuary, therefore granting the freedom to make the choices necessary to ensure its best interests? If a child is born into a world with restricted rights then it is not really living.
Letting heads of state decide whether or not 13-year-old Jennifer has to keep her incest baby—causing a lifetime of torment for her as a mother and a questionable future for her child—is unimaginable. Asking government for the consent to prevent a child a woman cannot look after from spending his or her life in foster care, or to stop the birth of a child with severe physical or mental defect should be just as inconceivable.
An abortion is not a form of body modification, and should never be taken lightly; it should be used as a last resort method to avoid bringing a life into the world that will not be properly cared for—abortion is not a form of common birth control. Great care should always be taken to avoid unwanted conception, and the proper methods and barriers be used.
But throughout history, people have sacrificed their lives for freedom. Freedom comes at a price, and unborn babies, along with soldiers, are part of that cost. If people allow government to make such a personal decision for them, they take away the freedom that government themselves claim they fight for.
If the War on Terror is for personal freedoms, then the War on Terror is also for abortion, because if women don’t have a choice, then the terrorists win.