ROAR OF A MOTHER

They are the reason I fight. The reason I will never stop advocating. And while I advocate and fight for my own children, I'll do the same for yours. Not because I believe everyone should choose the same path and make the same decisions as us, but because I believe in freedom. Freedom for me and for you, my family and yours, your children and mine.

I believe every one deserves to know what they are putting into their bodies, to know the risks associated with what they are putting into their bodies and the bodies of their children, and I believe that everyone deserves the freedom of choice, to make informed decisions, the choice to say no if that's what is best for their family.

I believe the mothers who have cried out in desperation, trying to get their screams to be as loud as even a hint of a whisper in the ears of the sleeping. Why is it we believe women, but not mothers? The mothers whose children are gone, the mothers who's children are suffering. I believe them because my children have suffered too. I have been that mother, holding my children while they cry. I believe them because I too have suffered.

All because they said it was safe, they said it was effective, they said everyone does it, that it was recommended, they said that it was science and that it was settled, that there were no lasting side effects. Just asking questions has been frowned upon and made fun of. They have sold us a misinformed lie and we have been bought and sold by the highest bidders for far too long.

I advocate for all children, for all people, so that not one should have to suffer again, not one would have to suffer in silence anymore, afraid to be ridiculed and afraid of all of the people saying "it's normal". Suffering and sickness are not normal no matter how many times we have been told so and lied to. I advocate because nothing is truly one size fits all and where there is risk there must also be choice.

My fight may not always be a shout, it may at times be a word whispered in the wind and carried by the sea, a whisper dancing on the breeze through the forest, over the mountains and into the starry skies above. It may be a word spoken to a friend, a note silently left where a stranger, a mother might find it, but sometimes it may be loud.

A roar of a mother who will not be silenced, a roar of a mother who does not consent, a roar of a mother who calls the shots, a roar of a mother who stands her ground as she yells above the noise of a crowd to get someone, anyone to listen. I will fight until there is nothing left to fight. I will advocate until all the children are safe, until everyone is safe, because I do not consent.