There is a war on women. There is a war on my peers and myself. We are being told that we ‘can’t,’ that our lives will be ‘ruined,’ that our dreams will be ‘crushed.’
There is a war on women in the form of abortion. Left-wing feminists love to tell women that they’re strong enough to do anything until it comes to pregnancy. Abortion advocates have been very successful in convincing women that their children are their enemies and that they are neither strong nor capable enough to choose life and fulfill their dreams.
Last week we tragically saw how one bright, incredibly capable woman has been completely duped by the lies of the abortion industry. The Valedictorian of Lake Highlands High School in Texas, Paxton Smith, surprised the audience at the school’s graduation ceremony when she went off-script to blast Texas’ new Heartbeat Bill. This protective law prohibits abortion once a preborn baby’s heartbeat has been detected.
Paxton took advantage of the large audience at the graduation ceremony and passionately urged young women to fight for their so-called “right” to abortion access. Paxton’s bravery and passion are admirable. It is tragic, though, that this passion was used to promote falsehoods.
Paxton told the stunned crowd, “Six weeks, that’s all women get… before they have the chance to decide if they are emotionally, physically, and mentally strong enough [to carry out a full-term pregnancy]).”
What if Paxton had told the audience what really happens to most women when they discover they’re facing an unplanned pregnancy: “Six weeks: During this time a woman can be misled and taught to believe she isn’t strong enough or capable enough to carry her child to term. She may face six weeks of pressure to abort from her family, her friends, her boyfriend, or others in her life. In six weeks the abortion industry can deceive her into a lifetime of regret.”
In my experience, the vast majority of women don’t want abortion. Women don’t jump at the opportunity to go to a Planned Parenthood and end their child’s life. Many times, women are bullied into it by those around them. Many times, despite the fact they want their baby, their fear makes them believe the lies of the abortion industry.
The author, Federica Mathewes-Green, once said, “No woman wants an abortion as she wants an ice cream cone or a Porsche. She wants an abortion as an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg.”
Women have abortions because they believe they have no other option.
Paxton expresses the fear of many women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy: the fear that, “[M]y hopes and aspirations and dreams for my future will be stripped away.” The fact that women think that children will barr them from their hopes and dreams is a great disservice society has done to them.
We need to re-invent the way unplanned pregnancies are viewed: instead of being a barrier, we must give women the resources they need to use this enormous shift in their life as a blessing. We need to instill in them the truth that they can pursue their dreams and be a mother. They are strong enough to embrace the new life and do not need to resort to brutally ending their child’s life in a procedure that will scar them for the rest of their lives.
According to the Gutmacher Institute, 73% of women have abortions due to financial need. So many women have abortion due to low self-confidence or not enough support. If women would stand up for their rights, if men would stand up for the rights of their girlfriends, wives, and children, if parents would stand up for the rights of their children and grandchildren, this wound in our generation could be greatly mended.
Instead of women advocating for abortion, we need women who will stand up for their rights and the rights of their children. Instead of women bowing down to societal norms, we need women who say they are stronger than this: they don’t need abortion to succeed. Planned Parenthood mainly targets women ages 18-25, and for that reason we, as members of that demographic, especially need to speak up for our rights and the rights of our children.