It's Up to Her

 

You probably know me by now.

I tend to avoid serious political discussions, especially here, for a variety of reasons. The biggest one being we lack the grace and ability to have civil discussions on the topic.

But this is one I can't stay quiet on.

I don't need pronouns to tell you about me. I'm me. I'm a guy. A man. A dude. A bruh. 

Those are facts. No pronouns are necessary on my social media pages.

I've always supported a women's right to choose. Hell, I've always supported women's rights. I don't need to wave a banner or participate in a march. I completely respect women. Doesn't make me a feminist or pacifist or anything else.

"Isms in my opinion are not good," Ferris Bueller once said.

And so, friends, respectfully, if you've read this far, then you know that I'm sadly burying the lead that I feel the Texas abortion "ban" is wrong. The short version, as I've gathered, is that it bans abortions after approximately six weeks of pregnancy, or, as this NPR story says, "It bans abortion as soon as cardiac activity is detectable."

As I understand it, many women don't even know they're pregnant by six weeks where others know around four weeks, leaving them just two weeks to make what is, frankly, a life-changing decision. More than that, there's no provision for special circumstances like rape or incest.

Look, the last thing I'm trying to do is get into the whole abortion debate though I'm probably there already. I've just always felt that I shouldn't have a say in what goes on with a woman's body. I don't have a say in anyone else's body for that matter. I have enough trouble with my own body.

In the case of this extremely difficult topic, it strikes me that this is between the couple who conceived the child in the first place. Then it's the woman carrying the child.

It's not up to a bunch of suits in Washington or Austin, TX.

I'm very fortunate in that I've never been in this position at all. I'm not casting any judgment and, as such, I don't think politicians and activist groups should either.

I realize this is an unusual stance for me to take here and, to be honest, it will likely have little to no effect on you. But, on occasion, there are things -- serious things -- that I believe I need to take a stand on. This is obviously far more important than black Mets jerseys (still stupid), the musical talent of Maroon 5 (please), or who has the best pizza (New York, of course). Even the Oxford comma argument (which Grammarly fixes in my posts) isn't as important as this.

This is real life, of course. 

One thing about taking things out of people's hands: it tends to bring on a rise in desperation to retrieve what they can not have. Be it as simple as going to New York from Connecticut because the bars are still open or sneaking off to have such a procedure done, the public has a tendency to get what they want and safety sometimes be damned.

The thing about this topic is there's a definitive difference between "pro-choice" and "pro-abortion." I'm trying -- emphatically -- to say I'm pro-woman. Just because I don't normally take such stands doesn't mean I don't feel a lot of things.

But this isn't about me. This is about saying -- with clarity -- that I think Texas is wrong here.

I grew up with a lot of wonderful women in my life, from my sister and mother to cousins and friends. For the most part, they didn't wave flags. I learned by watching. I continue to learn by watching. I listen to the women in my life, even now, and form my own judgments.

Spare me the religious arguments.

Overall, spare me the arguments.

You won't change my mind.

The Texas law is wrong.