• 5too
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    3 months ago

    Growing up is realizing that having kids is … optional

    Is it? Even when you have a neice or nephew without a parent, and the choice is between you taking them in, or the state?

    Or when you do everything right, but your protection fails?

    Or when your ex wouldn’t accept the word “no”?

    These aren’t abstract gotchas - I know people in each of these situations. You probably do too, if you spend some time talking to parents you know.

    Hell, it’s not even a remotely exhaustive list - there’s a lot of ways where raising a kid is the responsible choice, even when you didn’t want to

    • DudleyMason@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      Even when you have a neice or nephew without a parent, and the choice is between you taking them in, or the state?

      Yes. It’s still a choice, even if you think the alternative is unacceptable.

      Or when you do everything right, but your protection fails?

      Or when your ex wouldn’t accept the word “no”?

      Absolutely and especially then. Abortion is an option.

      Hell, it’s not even a remotely exhaustive list - there’s a lot of ways where raising a kid is the responsible choice, even when you didn’t want to

      It’s never the responsible choice to force a child to be raised by someone who didn’t want to raise kids. Not ever, not even a little bit.

      • 5too
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        3 months ago

        You have chosen to be careful and avoid situations in which you will be responsible for childrearing. This is absolutely a reasonable decision.

        When his sister was arrested for drug abuse, my coworker had to choose between letting his niece, whom he’d been enamored with, enter the broken US foster system, or whether to go e up bachelorhood and provide a home for her.

        When my wife’s best friend found she was pregnant at 18 months, she had to decide whether to carry this child to term or have an abortion. She was and remains very pro-choice, but that’s a very different choice when you can feel the baby kicking inside you.

        The choice you’ve made was yours to make, and is perfectly valid. But don’t assume everyone gets to make the same choices you do.

        • DudleyMason@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          The choice you’ve made was yours to make, and is perfectly valid. But don’t assume everyone gets to make the same choices you do.

          Pointing out that it’s a choice isn’t invalidating the choice. It’s invalidating the demand for approval, help, and extra work that people make bcs they act like the choice was a requirement.

          Your coworker made a noble sacrifice, but that doesn’t entitle them to you picking up the slack for their sacrifice.

          And your wife’s best friend is an idiot who let hormone driven sentiment trick her into ruining her life, and I hope she has the decency to live with that by herself instead of dragging everyone else into her stupid “village”.