I'm pro-choice because I know better by experience than to tell someone else what to do with their body. I am responsible for myself, I know myself better than anyone else, and I love myself more than anyone else ever will.

From the very beginning to the very end, I will always be there for myself.

I'm pro-choice because I know the meaning of fear. I know what it's like to have nowhere to call home, and to beg the teachers to lengthen your study time because you are so scared to head back to the mouth of hell that other people assume is a safe and loving place. I know what it is life to be told that you are making things up and that no man would ever do that.

Well guess what.

They do.

You can't hide behind your blind faith in religion forever, and telling someone "it wasn't your fault" and "God still loves you" is NOT going to fix the years of irrevocable damage that has occured.

These phrases are not sufficient enough to constitute an explanation for these women, nor a support program that they will require.

I'm pro-choice because I was told that heavenly father wanted to have a child if I was raped repeatedly by relatives and friends, because that life isn't mine to take. But I know that an all-loving diety would not ever condone such a thing and would not condemn a twelve year old girl to hell for making a healthier decision for herself.

I'm pro-choice because I have suffered a fate that most pity, even more exemplify, but very few are willing to speak up for without flinching or treating me like a victim.

Because I'm not a victim, I'm a survivor.

I'm pro-choice because I respect other women's rights to their bodies and to have children. I know for a fact that a high percentage of women who seek abortions had used a contraception method that failed. It is not just a lazy teenager or loose woman that isn't making the effort. These are people who truly knew they could not have children in their lives for one reason or another.

I'm pro-choice and for comprehensive education because the current system uses ignorance as a weapon to achieve unacceptably intolerant goals. My own high school teacher couldn't teach about Margaret Sanger because if he said "condom" aloud he would be fired. If I had known exactly what sexual activity was, I would have had a greater chance to speak up for myself and stop what happened to me.

"Evidence shows that comprehensive sexuality education programs that provide information about both abstinence and contraception can help delay the onset of sexual activity in teenagers, reduce their number of sexual partners and increase contraceptive use when they become sexually active. These findings were underscored in Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior, issued by former Surgeon General David Satcher in June 2001."

I'm pro-choice because I look forward to a future where there is enough education, awareness, and openess about sexuality that birth is adequatly controlled to those who can afford on all planes to care for a child, love a child, and provide for a child.

I don't want abortion.. I never have. I don't know a single human being alive that truly does.

I want openess, enlightenment, and education.

I am pro-choice.