Abortion, agree to disagree

 Abortion is one of those topics that people love to talk about loudly, confidently, and often without the humility to admit that the decision does not belong to them. Too many people feel entitled to make moral judgements about a situation they will never personally carry in their own body.

The truth is simple. Every person has the right to full bodily autonomy. What someone chooses to do with their own body is their decision and their responsibility. No one else should be standing outside that reality pretending they have authority over it.

It is incredibly ignorant for someone to believe they should decide the future of another person’s body or life. That kind of thinking assumes ownership over a human being who is not you. It assumes that your beliefs, your comfort, or your morality should control someone else's existence. That idea alone should make people pause.

Women who choose abortion are often spoken about with cruelty, as if the decision comes from selfishness or hatred. That assumption is not only lazy but deeply unfair. Many women who make that choice are doing it from a place of responsibility and care. Sometimes they understand that bringing a child into the world when they are not ready, emotionally, financially, mentally, or physically, would create more suffering than love. Recognising that reality requires strength.

A woman who makes that decision is not weak. She is not heartless. In many cases, she is doing the hardest thing imaginable while carrying the weight of a society that will judge her regardless of what she chooses.

As a man, there is also a level of honesty that has to be acknowledged. I do not carry pregnancies. I will never experience what it means to have my body change, my health at risk, or my life altered in that way. Because of that, I cannot claim authority over that decision. Seeing other men loudly dictate what women should do with their bodies is disappointing. It is strange to watch people speak with certainty about an experience they will never live through. In many ways it feels like arrogance disguised as moral concern.

Another layer of this conversation involves religion. Some people claim religious authority when judging others for abortion. Yet many of those same voices ignore a basic principle that exists across most faith traditions: judgment is not ours to give. Condemning someone while claiming moral superiority contradicts the very humility that religion often teaches.

The reality is that abortion is not a simple topic, but the decision ultimately belongs to the person whose body and life are directly involved. Compassion, understanding, and respect for autonomy should guide the conversation more than anger or control.

At the end of the day, a society that truly values human dignity must also respect the ability of individuals to make difficult decisions about their own bodies and their own futures.

By Daniel ndung'u maina