Relationships, Family, Marriage and Reproductive Rights

Relationships, Family, and Marriage



            Women are expected to get married and have children.  Most people still adhere to the idea that this is a woman’s purpose in life. What makes it worst is the fact that women are pressured into getting married and starting a family. On top of that pressure is the pressure to have a thriving career. If a woman is a stay at home mom people wonder why aren’t they making something of themselves (The Price of Motherhood by Ann Crittenden pg. 188)?

            The job of making a home for a child and developing their capabilities is often equated with doing nothing (pg. 188.) I think it is awful that society believes a woman has to drop everything to take are of a child and the house work then are put down for doing what everyone agrees is essential (pg. 189.) I cannot believe that some people still think that women choose to have children, and in doing so, choose to accept the trade-offs that come with it (pg. 191.)

            However, people do not take in account that it takes two to make a baby (Family and Women’s Lives by Susan Lehrer pg. 250.)  If both parents are present why is it expected of a woman to take care of the child and house work even though both made the child? Taking care of a child and doing house work should be divided equally. I do think that society is changing and it is not unheard of that a man is a stay at home dad while the woman is the main bread winner.

Reproductive Rights

            Reproductive rights have and probably always be a touchy subject. I believe a woman has the right to decide if and/or when she will have children.  Legal rights give a woman the decision to control her decision to have children. In the case of Roe v. Wade in 1973 the women’s right to an abortion was legalized (pg. 317.)

            I admit I most likely would never get an abortion. However, I am also aware that there are circumstances where a woman’s choice of an abortion is made. Health, sexual assault, money, or age issues are among those circumstances. Even without the circumstances it is still a woman’s choice to have an abortion and no one else has the right to decide for her.

            People who object to abortion believe women should stick to traditional views (pg. 318.) They still have their mind set that a woman’s most important role is motherhood (pg. 318.) They do not take in amount that there are circumstances that lead to an abortion. It makes me sick to think about the violence used against a women’s right to an abortion. They believe in pro-life but take a life of someone for allowing a woman to exercise her right to an abortion.  

            Ayn Rand said, “One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living.” Anti-abortionists are choosing to ignore the legal right of a woman’s choice to an abortion. Below is a link of other pro-choice quotes.
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/abortion/tp/choice_quotes.htm