Moral vs Personal Issues

Whilst reading Inga Muscio's "Abortion, Vacuum Cleaners and the Power Within", I was shocked and a bit judgemental toward her view of abortion.

I've always been pro-choice. I grew up in a Catholic household where my father and mother would wak me and my brothers up every sunday for PSR (sunday school) with church to follow. However, my mother never had a problem voicing her opinion when she disagreed with the church. My mother is strong, independent, confident and a nurse. She grew up in New Jersey City and has experienced and seen things that she hoped my brothers and I would never have to see or go through ourselves. Her experiences have made her the person she is and to a large extent the woman I am today.

I grew up believing a women's body is her business, yet at the same time I also had a skewed opinion on what that meant given different circumstances. This is probably due to my father and the conservative area I grew up in. This is why I was shocked when Inga wrote she had not one, not two but three abortions. I judged her when she said this. Wouldn't she have learned from her first if not her first two mistakes?

After thinking about my initial reaction, I realized I had no right to judge her. It went against everything my mother taught me as well as my own ideology to believe in free choice.

However, I did and still have a problem with her home remedy abortion. I know because of my mother that these remedies can be deadly if not administered properly by a medical professional. So even though I agree with Muscio that there are other methods besides the "vacuum cleaner", I think she does not put enough weight on the fact that those methods need to be seriously researched and done by a medical professional. Otherwise a women could find herself having serious complications.

While writing this and rethinking the article, I still have a hard time agreeing with everything she says. I realize I have that right just as she does to express hers and her experiences.