Island Notes from A Woofer by Melody S Wolfe – It’s Not Black and White

I keep seeing people talk about abortion like it’s some easy little yes-or-no question. It isn’t. It’s one of the hardest things a woman may ever have to face, and most people arguing about it online have no idea what she’s actually going through.
Women will continue to have abortions whether the law allows it or not. That has been happening for centuries, and it will keep happening. The question is whether women can get care safely and legally, or whether they’re left to figure it out alone and risk their lives.
If you personally don’t believe in abortion, then don’t have one. If you’re in a relationship, you can talk with your partner about what you both believe. But you cannot make that choice for every woman in the country.
I’ve seen women completely torn apart after having to make that decision, while making that decision. There are women who cannot safely carry a pregnancy to term. There are pregnancies that can put a woman’s life in danger, including pregnancies outside the womb. And there are women facing circumstances we may never know about. It is not our place to decide which reasons are good enough.
I’ve read men saying women should “woman up” because their mothers had nine children. I’m glad your mother made the choices she made. But her life and her choices don’t get to decide what another woman must do with her body.
And you can’t say abortion is acceptable only in cases of rape, then turn around and demand that every other woman explain herself to you. Women shouldn’t have to prove their pain is serious enough to deserve care.
This isn’t about forcing anyone to agree. It’s about recognizing that we don’t know every woman’s story, and we shouldn’t be making life-changing decisions for her from a comment section or a government office.
A woman should be able to make the choice that is right for her, with the people she trusts and the care she needs. That’s my take. And yes, this is Notes from a Woofer, not the newspaper. I’m allowed to say what I think.

Island Notes from a Woofer is a column by Melody Sanchez Wolfe, an artist, writer, wedding planner, entrepreneur, mother of three, and proud San Pedrana who notices a little too much and writes about it. Blending island life, culture, humor, nostalgia, community conversations, random observations, personal experiences, art, business, relationships, social commentary, and whatever else happens to wander through her beautifully chaotic neurodivergent brain that week, this column is part island diary, part storytelling, part open journal, and part love letter to San Pedro – the old, the new, the beautiful, the frustrating, and everything in between.