A young woman named Tonya Reaves, a 24 year old from Chicago, died over a week ago of a hemorrhage at Northwestern Memorial Hospital just hours after she had an abortion at Planned Parenthood. Although her death has been ruled an accident, there has been a lot of intense, underhanded leaps in logic being used by Pro-Lifers to suggest that her death is NOT a freak accident or an instance of malpractice -but just a simple, everyday reality of abortion. Not only is that way of thinking utter BS, but it’s sad that they think it’s OK to prey upon an innocent woman’s death to push their point of view down everyone’s throat.

R.I.P. Tonya Reaves

First, let me make it clear that I am pro-choice. One of the biggest misnomers about being pro-choice is that we are all “pro-abortion” and that is nothing more than a childish and un-classy pejorative. I do NOT do the Bankhead Bounce in celebration whenever I hear a woman has gotten an abortion, nor do I bust out in the stanky-leg whenever one of my female friends admits that she has had an abortion before. I do NOT like abortions, but what I REALLY hate is the idea that the state can make unilateral legislation over a woman’s womb – THAT is truly F*^KED up. All Pro-Choice advocates don’t deserve the label of being Pro-Abortion, the same way Pro-Life supporters don’t deserve to be called Anti-Freedom advocates.

But as tragic as Tonya Reaves death is, it should NOT be framed as a discussion on women’s freedom to dictate what happens in their own womb, as much as it should be a discussion about medical malpractice and accidents. Here’s the reality: Damn near any medical procedure can go wrong and result in death. Should the death of Donda West [Kanye's mother] result in the banning of Tummy Tuck’s and Breast Reductions? Should the death of Mia Amber Davis result in no more knee surgeries? Hell, should the deaths of the 28 women in Chicago who passed between 2000-2004 during CHILD BIRTH result in the banning of having and delivering babies?

Well if you are a level-headed person with common sense, who does NOT have any impetus to use FEAR-based rhetoric to drive home an anti-intellectual point of view, then you will answer NO to those questions above. Her death is extremely sad and unfortunate, and her family deserves answers and a full investigation behind what happened. But entering them into this debate in a vain attempt to gain moral superiority is simply CLASSLESS.

This Is Your Conscience