Choice

I am a soon to be adoptive mom and I was lucky to pick up little man from the hospital when he was just 2 days old. Prior to the last 3 1/2 years, I had spent 3 years trying to adopt through private adoption with three failed adoptions, 2 after birth, and one after I was in the hospital in Cleveland ready to pick up the little boy. I’ve spent 6 1/2 years on this path. Becoming a mom has been a very difficult process, very long, and very expensive. Yet, in less than 2 weeks all that will be our past and little man will officially and legally have my last name. I chose this path for myself.

Last week’s news of the SCOTUS overturning Roe vs. Wade has gutted me and I haven’t been able to process it completely. I am a foster mom who wouldn’t have a little boy if the bio mom had an abortion. Fortunately she chose not to and that was her decision.

I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic schools until I was 22 and then taught in a Catholic school for 2 years. I am a woman who loves children, yet I can’t understand how we can turn the clocks back and take away a woman’s rights to manage her own body. Sure, it’s up to the individual State to set their own laws but to even give the States the opportunity to suppress women’s rights, health, and mental well being is beyond me. To not let a woman choose what she wants to do with her body is beyond me. To force her to carry a child for 9 months that she doesn’t want, can’t take care of, is the result of rape or incest or that could cause serious harm or even death to her is irresponsible, dangerous, and could have long lasting negative impacts on society.

A woman can only have 1 pregnancy a year yet a man can get 365+ women pregnant a year. Yet the burden, the stigma, the responsibility falls solely to the woman. Instead of banning abortions, how about we have every man who has sex (consensual or through rape) with a female (no matter the age) that gets pregnant sign a legally binding contract that says that they will financially and emotionally support the woman and the child until the child is 18. And, if the mother wants to continue to pursue her career, the man will stay home and watch the children. If the woman dies due to the pregnancy or if he breaks the contract, he agrees to get a vasectomy and face jail time. Sex is between two people but why is only one being told what to do with their body? 

And Clarence Thomas, shame on you. Shame on you for using “substantive due process” to promote your own personal agenda with the possibility of overturning same sex relationships, same sex marriage, and contraception yet not Loving vs. Virginia. Why aren’t you so adamant about stopping the sale of Viagra and stopping inter-racial marriages? Oh wait, that’s right. You’re a man and you’re married to a white woman. You have benefited so I guess you’re allowed to pick and choose which court cases impact you and therefore which ones to try to overturn. Disgusting for any judge, let alone one of the 9 highest ranking judges in the country.

America is supposed to be land of the free and home of the brave. After last week, it’s clearly showing up to be land of the straight, non child bearing age, Conservative man, and home of the coward Supreme Court Justices.

Thank you baby mama for choosing to have little man. Thank you to the States that have opened up their doors to all women and support a woman’s right to choose what is best for them. And thank you Justice Breyer, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Roberts for supporting women and letting us choose what we will do with our bodies.