Furthermore (Trigger Warning)

On a side note, I feel I should include not only what I Mean When I say Choice, but also how I feel Choice pertains to me specifically.

The prochoice community has long heard the argument from the antis of the Holy Trinity of Abortion Exceptions: rape, incest, medical necessity. What nice, neat little boxes they are. Too bad life is never nice or neat, nor do the lives of women fit into neat little boxes. Today I’m going to elaborate on pregnancy by rape and how I feel differently about it now than I did as an antichoicer.

There is no denying that sexual assault is quite probably the single worst thing anyone could ever experience. To have one’s right to their own body and their own safety stripped from them is the single worst act I can think of. Until we review the aftermath. Not only is this person (specific to this post, this woman) violated and robbed of her bodily autonomy, but then she faces the chances of a pregnancy that was the result of violence. This is where the Holy Trinity of Abortion Exceptions comes in to play. Even most antis will say “Well if she was raped, then it’s not her fault! She should have an abortion if that happens.”

Really? She “should”? How is telling a rape survivor that she should have an abortion any different than telling her she shouldn’t? Both indicate pressure against the survivor to “choose” one thing specifically. It’s not much of a choice if someone is making it for you, is it? “Shouldn’t” she have the authority to choose what’s best for her in that situation?

Conversely, we have the argument from the other side of the antis crying out “But it’s not the BAYBEEZ fault! She should have it! Don’t kill the BAYBEE!!” We’re pretty well used to these types. But for the sake of argument: NO!!! No she shouldn’t! She shouldn’t do anything that isn’t her decision completely!

This barking at rape survivors about what they should/shouldn’t do in the event of pregnancy is ALL antichoice. Those of you in the Holy Trinity group, maybe the best thing for this woman wouldn’t be an abortion. Those of you in the No Exceptions group, maybe having this child would be the worst thing for her. And for both of you, the only right choice IS. HER. CHOICE. End of discussion, guys! It is HER mental stability at stake. It is HER physical health at stake. Not yours. You have no clue what she should or shouldn’t do because it isn’t your mind, your body, or your life.

It’s something I’ve thought of over and over again, not only as a prochoice woman, but also as a rape survivor. Had someone asked me years ago, when my mind was still riddled with antichoice propaganda, I would have said that in the situation of sexual assault I would probably seek an abortion. Interestingly, had one asked me even years before that (and under even heavier layers of propaganda) I would have felt it was my obligation to carry that pregnancy. But now… that has changed for me. Prochoice has taught me that IT. IS. MY. CHOICE. If the circumstances are mine, even if they were beyond my control, the choice is mine. Even the choice to continue a pregnancy that most would consider damaging, the choice is still mine! No one can take that from me!

Once that thought occurred to me, I realized that, were I suffer an assault again, I really firmly believe that were I to become pregnant I’d continue the pregnancy and be able to raise that child. Of course, this is me thinking hypothetically and in hindsight. Were this to happen to me again (God willing, or what other Powers That Be, I hope it never does) I could very well feel differently. But that is still prochoice. The fact that I have the right to choose for myself, to choose for my life under any circumstances, is prochoice. And for an anti to tell a woman like me that I “should” choose abortion because it would be due to rape only further proves how antichoice they truly are. They don’t just want to oppose abortion. They want to oppose every choice a woman wants to make for herself.

Now please don’t mistake what I’ve said about myself as an indication that I would oppose abortion after a sexual assault for any woman. That is not at all the case. I would never impose what is good for me as an obligation for someone else. Hell, I wouldn’t oppose it for any woman under any circumstance. This simply me stating how being prochoice has put my life and my rights back in my hands, and in no one else’s. I have the right to choose what’s best for me, even if that’s choosing to keep a pregnancy that resulted from rape. Prochoice gave me back my mind, my body, and my right to decide in the best interest of me.