I had a similar experience with my best friend, she was staunchly pro-life until she ended up pregnant in college. She had an abortion and now she's staunchly pro-choice. When it first happened, among all my concern for her, I was annoyed that she wanted to deny reproductive freedom to everyone until SHE needed it, but I swallowed that annoyance and never, ever voiced it until this moment. Like you said, maybe it took a personal situation for her to get it, but in the end, she got it. I was just thankful that enough people got it before her that she was able to make the decision she decided was right for her.

That's seriously a huge deal! Sure, it is a sad situation indeed when it takes a scare like that for someone to feel empathy for reproductive rights, but so be it. Right on for being there when she needed you!

On the other hand, I know several hypocrites who have gotten hushhush abortions themselves, yet still feel comfortable voting republican and chanting "prolife prolife!" :( But I suppose that's part of the reason people vote that way in the first place -- they have the privilege of taking for granted the progressive freedoms they have benefited from.

But, like your story suggests, I'd like to think people are able to gain that sort of empathy. And let's hope more women out there have similar realizations.

Thanks, Sillyfeminist. This helps us all feel a little better about our teaspoon labor. Seriously -- having a little more understanding of how and why some people's minds can change, and seeing a story of someone understanding the importance of reproductive issues, is inspiring.

I think for some people, it takes a close encounter for them to realize that it's about women, not embryos, zygotes or whatever stage of formation.

It's really a shame that it takes a personal crisis for Republicans to "get" anything. I wish they had been taught empathy as children. It is my personal opinion that anyone who was taught empathy becomes liberal, and those who weren't, become conservative. We live in an age that is all about "me me me" and these types of situations are reflections of that. They just don't care unless it effects them directly. This girl just didn't realize that reproductive freedom does effect her until that moment. It's the same with civil rights and racism. I have met ignorant white people who couldn't care less since it doesn't effect them directly.

Thank you for getting through to that person. I am happy about that, but depressed knowing the only reason she did get it was she's female. I feel we might be doomed in getting male Republicans to "get it", since they will never have to experience it themselves, and lack the empathy to understand the issues of others.

My roommate used to be anti-choice, until she started having sex. Just the chance of getting pregnant while trying to reach her professional goals was enough to change her mind. She is now pro-choice.

"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ... It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

Robert F. Kennedy, University of Cape Town, South Africa, June 6, 1966

A portion of this is on a stone at his gravesite, over a ripple pool. Yes, he said "man" but this was 1966 and I prefer to think he was speaking more universally.

I really do think that sometimes the political positions that people take are simply based on ignorance or inexperience. After all, the default position that most people start at is their parent's political position. After some real-life experience this is bound to change at least somewhat.
I try to remember this when talking with the college students (especially in my Contemporary Moral Issues course) who can't even comprehend why anyone would think that having certain rights and freedoms is important. It is a serious challenge sometimes to be patient and not annoyed and condescending, but I figure that by raising these questions and examining the arguments on both sides of each issue I'm planting seeds that will probably grow later, given some life experience.

Now if only every Republican legislator could have a pregnancy scare...

Seriously, at least your friend is not hypocritical, as so many who take advantage of the rights they would deny to others. I once had a friend who was anti-abortion rights, even though she had had an abortion.

Not to rain on any parades, because goddess knows I want every teaspoon to make a difference, but it looks like your cousin would have "gotten it" without you giving your opinion...

However, I think a victory you can be proud of, rightfully, is that she turned to you and had the courage - and, especially, the trust in you - to admit she'd been wrong. Many wouldn't have. She recognized your integrity. This is where you "score". Kudos. You came out looking like justice.

No matter how much you lecture people on the right of choice over life people are going to stand behind what they believe in until it affects them. Every one is only worried about themselves and I have personally noticed that people who are not haveing sex and are waiting for marraige tend to not believe in abortions and think it is horrible to get them because they do not think that will ever happen to them.
What annoys me the most in this article is that your friend was against abortion but was still having unprotected sex and not on birth control. Like what the heck did she think might happen to her? It annoys me because people have the "it will never happen to me" attitude so they are careless and then when the chance arises that something went wrong all of a sudden they are in a panic to fix it. honestly if she was that worried about putting herself in a bad situation she would have practice safe sex instead of letting it get to the point where she had to rely on plan B.

I should clarify something...

The person I spoke of in this post has never (at least in my recent memory) touted herself as "pro-life," and she's not what I would consider "anti-choice." I would say, however, that she considered my zeal (for lack of a better word) for a woman's access to birthcontrol, abortion, etc. to be a bit delusional at worst, and unnecessary at best. So when I say she "gets it" I'm not claiming that I magically turned a staunch pro-lifer into a women's rights activist. What I do think is that a very personal situation (and yes, I agree that it's unfortunate that it takes a pregnancy scare for someone to come to this realization) may have opened up her eyes to, and to really hear, what I (and you) been saying for all this time.