You know that moment when someone judges you or your sister or your friend because they think they “know better” than you…oh wait, if you live in Ireland and have a uterus, you totally know what I mean….

That is why I will be proudly marching behind the Abortion Rights Campaign banner for the 5th Annual March for Choice.

I am marching because women and girls in Ireland exist in a society that stigmatizes their periods, vaginas, breasts, sexual desires and their choice to abort an unwanted pregnancy – be that because they weren’t ready or didn’t want a baby, were assaulted, a condom broke, birth control failed, or because they didn’t want to continue a pregnancy that wouldn’t reach term.  Whatever the reason, I am tired of women feeling like they have to explain their choices.

I am incensed that in Ireland, I am less entitled to make decisions that affect my life because my body has the capacity to sustain life.

I am fed up with people feeling like they have the right to comment, decide, influence, coerce, manipulate, or outright lie to me and others about pregnancy or abortion.

I am sick of women being put second to what they carry in their bodies, or dying because of failures to deliver timely, medically necessary services.

I am revolted women are being treated as incubators, that they have to travel or face jail sentences for taking a pill.

I am incredibly pissed-off that women are treated as if they not deserving, able, or capable of consciously choosing what is right for themselves and their future.

I am marching because I am angry at the failure of Ireland’s government to honour its international commitments to women’s rights and at those who feel themselves capable of prescribing “what’s best” for women they know nothing about.

I am marching because of the hypocrisy of individuals who dare claim authority over how I should choose to deal with the issues of my body or how my sister or friends should deal with theirs.  I am OVER having snivelly, snide people, whose own shit isn’t perfect, pointing a finger or directing a sermon or holding a picket sign in front of the faces of me, my sister and my friends – calling out “murder”, claiming an ethical high ground, or shaming ANY of us because we made a choice that was right for us.

I march because I want more – for my nieces, my friends, the girls and women I know and love.  I don’t want them to face shame about their bodies, their decisions or to have those decisions coerced.  I want them to feel safe, supported, and cared for – whatever their choice.

I will march because my heart is full of love – tremendous love – and respect for all the women in my life who have had their choices questioned by others who feel morally superior and entitled  to judge, comment, insinuate, prescribe, and actively limit their ability to determine the courses of THEIR lives and deal with an unwanted pregnancy as THEY choose.

I will be at there on September 24th because this lunacy needs to end and I am an intelligent, caring, thoughtful, and sentient being FULLY FUCKING capable of making a decision for my body and myself – just like every other woman!