By Katie Brown
Every time I listen to the news, I hear people speaking for me. I hear debates over abortion or reproductive rights where people loudly proclaim that women like me need unlimited access to abortion. I fit right into their demographic; I’m a twenty-something single woman who finds healthcare to be a little expensive. But these women and men who speak so loudly on my behalf have never asked for my opinion.
The thing is, if they did happen to ask for my opinion, not only would I be dismissed, I would be labeled horrible things. Even though I may seem to fit into their agenda, I could not be farther from it. I believe that abortion at any stage is murder, and I believe that the last thing any woman needs is unlimited access to “healthcare” that will destroy the life of her child and forever alter hers. I believe that women are at their very best when we empower and encourage one another, not tear each other down.
I believe that women are wildly underestimated. I’m so sick of hearing that women can’t have a baby and a career at the same time, or that having a baby inhibits you from being able to finish your degree or fulfill your dreams. I know mothers who have done all of it, and guess what? Their lives weren’t ruined. They were enriched by the love and purpose that a child gives to a woman.
Every person on this earth is here because a woman fought for them, not because some angry woman yelled about unlimited abortion access, but because a mother made the brave and selfless decision to have a baby. Whether yours was a scared single mother or a busy mother of eight, your mother fought for you.
The next time you hear someone proclaim that all women, especially young women, need abortion access, know they aren’t speaking for me. I know I am not alone, even though the media will try to make it seem like I am. They may yell at me and call me horrible names, but I don’t care. They are fighting for an agenda, but I am fighting for women.
Katie Brown is the director of media relations for American Life League.