motherhood is a choice

Pro says "Islam is a choice like any other religion." His own religion is Christianity, according to his profile. Could Pro choose Islam? Of course not. How could he? He believes in Christianity. It would be completely against his beliefs to be a Muslim. Such a choice is impossible for him. We can imagine Pro having a change of faith, though. He might have some revelation that totally transforms his belief system. But he hasn't. If we think of Pro with different beliefs, we are not thinking of Pro at all but of a fictional character that resembles Pro. But when we talk of choice, we are talking about choice by real people. And as Pro is, in real life, a Christian, he has no choice. He cannot choose Islam, or Buddhism or any other religion except the one he believes in.Sometimes people do change religion. For example, Emily Sutcliffe converted to Islam after reading the Quran in college (1). She describes Islam as her "spiritual home". Sutcliffe went through a transformation from vaguely Christian to Muslim. Probably, those who know her imagined she would continue in her vaguely Christian way forever. But they were imagining a made-up character that differed from Emily in a major way: she could read the Quran and remain unaffected by it. The real Emily could not. Once the real Emily had read it, her beliefs had changed to the extent that she had no choice but to convert to Islam.Emily Sutcliffe was like a pot of water in the freezer. It changed to ice, but in no way did the water choose ice. Motherhood is like this too. Of course, not all women become mothers. This happens with water in the freezer, too. Sometimes, you can put it in and surprise! it's still water the next day. Immediately we think of theories: the electricity is off, the freezer is malfunctioning, someone took it out overnight, and so on. But even if we can't find the cause, it's still doesn't make turning to ice a choice. The water is doing no more than responding to its circumstances.Humans like to make up stories, and we like to believe we're in control. A woman in her childbearing years can fantasize about the future - in one story she might have ten children, in another she's Secretary of State. Or, in a serious mood: she has two children in the suburbs, she devotes herself to her career in public relations. These may seem like potential choices, but they are really only fictions. All a woman can do is act in the confines of her current situation, according to her character and values.Pro's arguments about adoptionPro argues that adoption is a choice because of the standards women are obliged to adhere to during the adoption process. However, birds build elaborate nests and engage in complicated behaviors to defend them. They are merely following their instincts. Complicated behavior does not prove the existence of choice.Pro's arguments about sexIt's important to distinguish between rights, responsibility and choice.If we say that women have a right to motherhood, it means that nobody may forcibly prevent us from having children. If we say that women have a right to remain childless, it means that nobody may force us to have children. Often discussions of this nature will bring up the idea of choice ("it's our choice whether or not we have children"); in fact, the presence of rights does not imply choice one way or the other.A woman has an unplanned pregnancy. According to Pro, if she consented to sex, she somehow "chose" pregnancy. I suggest that he means she is responsible for her pregnancy.responsibility: the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something (2)Notice the implied passive in the definition. The pregnant woman is held accountable, is blamed by the society in which she lives. Pro is completely using the idea of choice in a political way. She chose to have sex, he says, so she chose (is responsible for/to blame for) her pregnancy. Compare this with the UN Declaration of Human Rights which explains: motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance."choice" is a political conceptWhen workers go on strike, nobody ever says "postal work is a choice". Nobody ever comments that the nurses knew the profession had long hours, low pay and tough working conditions and still chose it. The government would never take this line, of course, because it's where the unions' power lies. The last thing the government wants is for people to stop becoming nurses or teachers.However, the people saying "motherhood is a choice" - feminists and employers - would like women to spend less time on motherhood. The former because they are committed to sex equality in the workplace, and the latter because they are committed to a larger pool of available workers. By saying "motherhood is a choice", we are shifting responsibility away from society, away from employers, and onto the individuals. However, consider. Over eighty percent of women become mothers. Only women become mothers. There has been no population in the history of the human race where women have en masse decided not to be mothers. That's because, at the population level, it's impossible. When we consider society as a whole, we can see that motherhood is not a choice but a certainty.(1) http://muslimvillage.com...(2) http://oxforddictionaries.com...