Reflective blog entry

Before beginning this project, I have to admit I entered with conflicting views. While I identified as pro-choice and have always firmly believed that women of all ages should have access to a safe and legal abortion, and although I never agreed with the actions many pro-life activists have taken to intimidate women, I was unsure of whether this would be something I would do myself if I was ever in that position. But after doing more research, I believe the debate itself is much more nuanced than many people present it to be. It’s often not a black and white decision for many women; you can be pro-life but still may need an abortion (whether its for medical or personal reasons), and you can be pro-choice but have pro-life views for yourself, if ever put in the position where you need to make that decision.

I was initially nervous to speak to my mum about her experience with abortion. She told me about her abortion when I was 13 after I had learned about it in school and was unsure how I felt about the process, and I had asked her why people have abortions. I remember her explaining to me, although not saying too much, that it was the right choice for her at the time and she doesn’t regret her decision at all, and she will always be pro-choice no matter the situation. After this we never really spoke about it again until I interviewed her for my podcast, which I am grateful for as it gave myself a better understanding of my mums choice, and I feel it brought us closer. Now that I am at a similar age to my mum when she had her abortion, I fully believe I would make the same choice her if I was in that situation myself.

Towards the end of my research, mass anti-abortion protests started taking place not only in Scotland but throughout the UK as well, subsequently prompting many new news articles about abortion and the protests, and response from the Scottish parliament. This gave me lots of new information and research material that was more current but also meant that I went back and changed/added to my project. If I had the chance to do this project again, I would try to not alter my information too much, but I did want to make sure all the information I presented was relevant and current. 

I also would change how I conducted my podcast interview. My mum wasn't physically present for the interview as we live quite far away from each other, but I did conduct the interview over the phone and I wrote down my questions and everything she told me so that I could correctly express her thoughts in the podcast despite her not being there. I feel as though I reflected my mum's words in a clear way.

I recorded both my podcast and video on my iPhone and edited them on iMovie as it was most accessible to me, and although I didn’t have access to the best resources I feel as though I created good work with what was available to me.

As I said, I went into this project with conflicting views but I believe that gave me an unbiased approach when researching information as I understood arguments from both sides of the debate. I definitely have learned a lot about abortions (which I feel is critical for all women to have an understanding of), not just to an academic understanding but to a personal extent as well.

By studying this module I feel I have learned a lot about Scottish media and how it works, and I think I have illustrated this well throughout the project. Although I have gone through my own personal issues this trimester it has always been imperative to me to meet my deadlines and effectively catch up on the information, which I feel as though I have. I found all the information on Moodle to be extremely helpful when completing my project and I thoroughly enjoyed this module and look forward to hearing my feedback for this project.