My body, my rights, my responsibilities

[susandennis]

The right to chose whether or not to have a child is the exclusive right of women.  When men get the option of carrying children in their bodies, they can have the right, too.  I've been hearing so much lately from men about this woman's right to chose.  I have yet to understand what business it is of theirs.  But it is also no other woman's right to remove my choice. 

A recent high profile suicide has led to similar pronouncements that suicide is wrong.  I know that in many places suicide is against the law and I know that in many religions suicide is a sin but again, it is my body and my choice and if I look at all the options and I understand and respect the affect my taking my own life will have on my relationships and responsibilities, and then, I decide to kill myself, it is no one's business but mine.  And no one has the right to prevent the execution of my choice. 

I am not pregnant (in so many ways) and I have no plans (nor even any good info on how) to take my own life.  But, I have a platform for voicing my opinion and so I do.

Comments

[machupicchu.livejournal.com]

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The frustrating thing about the choice-vs.-life argument is knowing that the pro-lifers can never be convinced by the "it's my body" argument. In their mind (as it was in mine as I grew up a fundamentalist Baptist), whether the fetus is inside your body or not, that is not your body, but somebody else's. So how do you tell someone not to tell you what to do with your own body, when they don't agree that the body is yours?

Of course, what they lose sight of is the affect the whole process does have on your body, and they place higher importance on the (unwanted, a very salient point in my view) body inside you. This is why I think people like Sarah Palin are truly frightening, as they refuse even to make exceptions when the mother is put in physical and/or emotional danger by the situation.

The suicide argument, on the other hand, obviously can't be argued in the same way -- since there's only one person (and no fetus, presumably) involved in that scenario.
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[susandennis]

It is very frustrating. And, as you point out, frightening. When people complain about one issue voters, I keep thinking that freedom to make decisions about my own body is kind of a fundamental (pun intended) freedom worth fighting for. But, of course, when you throw in support for legitimizing same sex marriage, I up my showstopping issues to two!

[machupicchu.livejournal.com]

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Unfortunately, no one who ever gets to the level of the presidency ever has anything but condescending platitudes to say about same-sex marriage -- their supposed support for gay rights but their opposition to marriage. And that just makes me think they suck maggot filled donkey turds!

Sorry, maybe that was slightly too vivid.
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[howeird]

The right to chose whether or not to have a child is the exclusive right of women
When men cannot be made legally responsible for the support of an unwanted child, I'll agree with this. If a woman chooses not to have a child, that's 1000% her right. But if she chooses to have the child, and wants paternal child support, then he needs a say in that decision, IMNSHO.

I'm with you on suicide, if the cleanup is paid for in advance.

[susandennis]

Extorting money out of someone is entirely outside of the scope of my biological rights. Once the kid it born, the kid is a person with its own rights. The father of said kid also has his own rights. I'm not concerned with either of them.

My only interest is me. It is all about me.

I promise, if/when I kill myself, I will have cleaned up ahead of time but said clean up is mine to chose. See graph above.

[susandennis]

And really, honestly, while it is all about me... that last comment to your comment did need a :)

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

That fact that the membership of "Right To Life" is 70 percent men, and a vast portion of the remaining 30 percent is nuns, tells me all I need to know on the topic. If women say "choice" (and obviously they do), then "choice" it should be.

[currawong.livejournal.com]

Totally agree Susan, but i think it is the responsibility of the potential suicidee to ensure that no-one else is traumatised, or is traumatised as little as possible, by the act.