The upcoming state primary elections and the newest controversy in insuring IVF women got me thinking about the Women’s Right to Choose platform. I know that politics are a no no topic for a lot of people but I don’t really care. I’m dying for some interaction.
I have always believed that a women should have the right to choose what she wants to do to her body. I don’t think that it is right to have an abortion to avoid dealing with an unwanted event. However, I do believe that if the mother and child’s life is in danger, then the possibility should be explored. I could never choose to end an embryo/fetus’s life. Probably because it has been something that I have been denied, but if the crisis arose that my life was in danger, and the child that I carried was in danger, I would have to weigh my decision carefully. Thankfully, I have an amazing supportive husband who I know would be with me through that crisis, so I feel better in that way.
I had a friend in high school who found out that she was pregnant and the father was an obsessive type person. She decided to have an abortion because she was still in school, her mother couldn’t support a baby, and she was terrified that the baby’s father would have a severely negative effect on both their lives. I didn’t support her decision; in fact, I volunteered to raise her baby for her until we graduated high school. Even though I didn’t agree with her decision she was still my friend and I anguished the day that she wasn’t at school because I knew what she was doing.
Last week, with the news that insurance companies in England may start denying obese, infertile women IVF treatments, I started thinking of the Women’s Right to Choose on the other end of the spectrum. If we believe that a women has the right to choose whether she seeks medical help to end a pregnancy, shouldn’t she also have the right to choose if she seeks medical care to achieve pregnancy? I’ll admit that I am ignorant in what most insurance companies will cover in the scheme of abortions or infertility treatments so I’m going on my own assumptions. Also for me this isn't really a weight issue. While I'm sure that my doctor isn't ecstatic about my weight, it goes deeper for me.
I have been on that end of the spectrum. I have had a doctor tell me that I had no business trying to have a baby. I’ve had two tell me that it wasn’t a good time because of an impending move. I’ve had another tell me that I had too much going on. And you know what? Now that I realize that the past 10 years they have been telling me what to do with my body? I’m really ticked!!! What gives them the right to tell me what my wishes are? Why should I be denied to choose to have a baby every year if that’s what I wanted? What makes them know what is best for me? What gives them the right to choose for me?
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About Me
- Liv
- Me- 31, military wife, student, SAHM, perfectionist, a little OCD and a little crazy. But that makes me fun. Married to E... he's awesome. Mom to Dani age 7- my angel and introducing the Squirt- my new son who arrived with much pomp and circumstance in August '08.
2 comments:
Unless there's a reason that a person can't healthfully carry a pregnancy or there's a reason to believe the baby won't be able to be healthy, I don't think a doctor has any right making a judgement call. Who are they to say it's not the right time in your life?
As far as insurance goes -- the whole insurance industry is messed up. Take gastric bypass, for example. Most insurance companies won't help cover the costs of preventative diet and exercise programs, but they will cover the cost of highly expensive gastric bypass surgery if the patient is obese and suffering from other diagnoses. It's crazy.
without touching the political part, I wanted to comment that I do think there's a big difference in a doctor making a suggestion from a medical standpoint and making one from a personal standpoint.
if you're seeing a doctor voluntarily, then it stands to reason that you're going to hear his medical opinion about your health status. obviously an impending move does not fall into that category.
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