Why We March

*See updated stance below 🙂

Today, I went to my 5th March for Life. And I hate that I was so excited to be there. Of course I loved seeing all my friends and old teachers and I LOVED being back in the city, but I was there for such an unfortunate reason. So much happened today, and I\’m still trying to wrap my head around it, so I\’m sorry if all of this comes out a little messy. Every year the March is a little different. I\’m maybe for marching for another reason heavily related or I\’m so deep in thought that I\’m somewhere else.

First thing\’s first, college is absolutely liberating. After being in my private, catholic school bubble, it\’s almost a shock when you realize what the real world is like. There are so many more opinions and your mind is opened to so much more thought. It\’s crazy. It allows you to really think about what you stand for. And I stand for life. At all stages. I saw a sign today that said exactly that, and while yes, the point of this march is to take a stand against abortion, but we as real, responsible human beings cannot let it stop there. So, I march in hope that we can all lead better lives. I also donate clothing and toiletries to shelters because we can\’t stop once the babe has left their mother\’s womb.

So here\’s the deal, the pro-life generation, myself included, wants to change things, which is great (in some minds). But here\’s the issue, abolishing abortion won\’t fix everything, and in fact, it causes a lot of issues for others. A common phrase is \”Pro-Woman, Pro-Life.\” By abolishing abortion and leaving them with no other options, will put the woman in harm should she then resort to the dangerous ways women used prior to abortion being made legal. To get an abortion is not an easily made decision. In Louisiana, laws have been put in place that require counseling (where other options are provided) and a 24 hour waiting period before the abortion is required. The wording of these laws don\’t make it sound like a positive thing, but this is being pro-woman. I can\’t speak to any of the reasons that a woman would have an abortion. I\’ve never been in that place, but knowing that there are other options, being counseled, this is a step in the right direction. Because what if that woman is scared, what if she needs help, or reassurance. I have read horror stories about awful infections that women develop from abortions not being done properly. (These are the professionals that people are trusting.) But what if we had a better adoption systems, better foster homes? What if these children were being taken care of so well that the mothers wouldn\’t prefer an abortion to their child possibly living in a foster home. What if there were laws in the workplace regarding pregnancy? (some already exist, but tbh I feel like they could be better…) But, and this is where many pro-life people may even disagree with me, but what if there was better access to contraception? Maybe then the numbers for abortions wouldn\’t be so high. So while it may seem like I\’m marching against them, I promise I\’m marching for them, so they may not have to make this decision.

Hi, my brain is fried, and I don\’t remember what else I was going to say. At the end of the day though, the world is a mess. The United States government has been shut down for almost a month. Nothing be changed in a day, but things have got to change. Change for the better, and change with love in mind.

Much Love,

Jacquelyn 

An update made on September 29, 2020: 

This was the last pro-life march I ever went to. Once, I got back from the march, I decided I didn\’t want to go back. Because the reason I was marching was not the same reason others were marching. As I mentioned above, I was marching for a better society so that abortion would not be needed. I was marching for a society in which women were provided for and treated in such a way that they did not even have to consider abortion as an option. But the truth of the matter is that the pro-life march is an anti-abortion march, in an effort to \”abolish abortion\” immediately without any other changes being made to society. This realization was brought to light during a conversation I had with one of my classmates during the march my senior year. 

Though my opinion isn\’t evidence based by any means, it is of my opinion that society as we know it would further collapse if abortion was just made illegal, and no other changes are made. This puts many women at risk, especially since so many times have to been taken at the federal level as well to prevent access to important contraceptives including birth control. (Side not about this: birth control is not just used as a contraceptive and, as a result is healthcare.) At this point in time, abortion is an important structure within society. You can\’t just remove a large brick from a column and expect it to remain standing. 

I no longer am vocal about being pro-life because of the connotation associated with the term. Because while I do not support the idea of abortion, I understand it is necessary for many women. Additionally, my pro-life beliefs are not just limited to the pro-birth/anti-abortion aspect. I believe that everyone should be loved and supported throughout their lives. For me, this includes supporting racial equality, LGBTQ rights, as well as having better housing, healthcare, and education systems so that no one is oppressed by the government or the systems created by it. By supporting these groups, this is how I in turn and being pro-life. 

At the time I came back from that last march I decided to put my efforts within the pro-life* movement (*Pro-life in the case refers to the anti-abortion movement) to the back burner because that\’s not what was most important to me. Additionally, this blog post was one of the last times I ever publicly spoke about the pro-life movement on any platform. 

Excuse my repetitiveness, but while I would love to one day see world without abortion, I would like to see the removal of the abortion process from our society done in a way that supports women (again, this would likely be due to the fact that other changes have been made and abortion is no longer necessary in most cases), not oppresses them. Making abortion illegal at this point does not support women, and puts many in danger.