Since late last year, at least a dozen states have passed anti-abortion legislation, making it more difficult for women to have much choice on what to do with their bodies post-pregnancy, if any choice at all. This all came to a head this past week in Alabama, where abortion became illegal in just about every circumstance, with the lone exception of the mother's health being placed in jeopardy due to a pregnancy. Abortion is illegal in cases of rape, incest, and doctors whom perform the procedure could face up to 99 years in prison. The bill was passed by the final tally of 25-6. All 25 "aye" votes were made by white Republican men. This comes on the heels of such legislation being passed in: Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Tennessee, with Missouri passing a similar bill just after Alabama did. In these 12 states, there were a total of 350 "ayes," compared to just 109 "nays" (76.3% passing grade). Of the 350 "aye" votes, 316 were cast by men (90.3%).
Think about that for a moment. When it comes to women's bodies post-pregnancy, men ultimately decided what they can and can't do. Imagine if the tables were reversed. Imagine if women dominated the political landscape in this country and 90% of them voted to ban male masturbation. If caught, the masturbating hand could face up to 99 years in prison. Sure, this hypothetical law sounds ridiculous when I put it in such terms, but then again, so does the Alabama bill which was passed.
These anti-abortion bills have nothing to do with the health of babies and everything to do with controlling women's bodies. If the GOP cared about the health of babies, they'd try to work with Democrats to progress healthcare in this country and make it more affordable. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd invest more time, energy, and money into our education system. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd pass legislation to increase funding for mental health facilities and decrease gun violence. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd support comprehensive sex education and easy access to contraception. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd fight to protect the environment, reduce the debt, and favor peace and diplomacy over war. But, guess what? They don't believe in nor fight for any of these causes. Once the baby is born, they've shown time and time again they don't give one sh*t about them, let alone two. Their "pro-life" mantra is just a ruse to disguise their desire to control women as being about caring for babies. What if a woman is raped? It's not the baby's fault. What if it's by an uncle? It's not the baby's fault. What if she's single, has health issues, and is already dependent on government financially due to said issues, making it all the more likely her coming child will face a life of poverty and continue the sad, unfortunate cycle? Republicans don't tend to think that far ahead, at least not publicly. While teenagers often get stigmatized as the demographic with the most unwanted pregnancies and abortions, statistically speaking, that's actually not true. The leading demographic with regard to those categories is single mothers. They are working, already have a child, and don't have the time nor the funds to support another. How is it that all the responsibility falls in her lap, especially if she has no choice on what she can and can't do with her body after impregnated? Women don't make babies by themselves. As the saying goes, "It takes two to tango." So why, if a man rapes a woman, runs away, and doesn't get caught, the woman should be forced to have the child and solely take care of him or her? Again, these anti-abortion laws aren't about saving the lives of fetuses. They're about controlling the lives of women.
For the longest time, I remained fairly neutral on the issue of abortion. My thought was, "I may not see it as morally right, but I'll never get pregnant, so who am I to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her body?" So, perhaps I could have been previously labeled as "pro-life" morally, but pro-choice technically. Unfortunately, most people (especially "pro-lifers") have been programmed to see this as a black-and-white issue, void of any nuance. "You're either pro-life or pro-choice; pro-life or pro-death; pro-choice or anti-choice." The older I get, the more I've come to realize that no matter how black-and-white an issue may seem on the surface, there's a whole lot of grey when you dig a little deeper. That rings true for abortion. Every pregnancy is different. Every person is different. Given that, it'd be incredibly insensitive, irresponsible, and immoral for us to legislatively treat each and every pregnancy identically. Here's the truth: Abortions are going to take place whether they're legal or illegal. Women's lives are at much greater risk during such a procedure if abortions have been outlawed. If a baby's life will be that of permanent suffering, wouldn't abortion be the more humane option? While a fetus may not have had a choice in a woman becoming pregnant, that woman didn't have a choice if she became pregnant via rape.
Just over a year ago, I got to witness my first (and likely only) child being born. As I'm sure most parents can relate, it was a moment which can't be accurately summed in words. The experience was beyond surreal. Having now gone through that once-in-a-lifetime experience, I can understand some parents becoming more "pro-life," thinking, "My baby is so precious. How could anyone think about aborting someone like this?" I get it. While I can understand that mindset, however, my mind went the opposite direction. Granted, my son is a treasure and I wouldn't give him up for anything in the world, however, having now gone through the entire process of pregnancy with a woman, seeing what all she had to endure, and all the risks that were involved, I'm now even stronger in my position that every woman should be legally allowed to choose what to do with her body. If we want to decrease the odds of unwanted pregnancies and abortions as studies consistently suggest, we need to expand sex education, make contraception easier to access, provide more and better job opportunities across the board, stop stigmatizing family planning facilities like Planned Parenthood, and from a legislative standpoint, make it so men and women are truly treated as equals. When women have more power in government, men will have less power over their reproductive rights. When men share more responsibility, they'll be less inclined to want to control women's decisions about their bodies.
Abortion isn't a moral issue one way or the other as many suggest. It isn't something which will just go away if laws are passed to do just that. No matter how a woman becomes pregnant, she's the one carrying that "baby." She's the one essentially putting her life on the line. She's the one who gets to make the call. The moral issue comes when we prevent her from being able to make that decision. If we're going to choose a dichotomy on which to surround this issue, it shouldn't be pro-life vs. pro-choice. It should be pro-woman vs. anti-woman, and for all of those who are pro-woman like me, I highly recommend getting out there, protesting against these sexist, unconstitutional bills, write your legislators, and vote Democrat in the coming elections! Republicans want to punish doctors with decades of imprisonment for performing abortions. Let's punish Republicans with decades of failure at the voting booths for stripping women of their rights!
Think about that for a moment. When it comes to women's bodies post-pregnancy, men ultimately decided what they can and can't do. Imagine if the tables were reversed. Imagine if women dominated the political landscape in this country and 90% of them voted to ban male masturbation. If caught, the masturbating hand could face up to 99 years in prison. Sure, this hypothetical law sounds ridiculous when I put it in such terms, but then again, so does the Alabama bill which was passed.
These anti-abortion bills have nothing to do with the health of babies and everything to do with controlling women's bodies. If the GOP cared about the health of babies, they'd try to work with Democrats to progress healthcare in this country and make it more affordable. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd invest more time, energy, and money into our education system. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd pass legislation to increase funding for mental health facilities and decrease gun violence. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd support comprehensive sex education and easy access to contraception. If the GOP cared about babies, they'd fight to protect the environment, reduce the debt, and favor peace and diplomacy over war. But, guess what? They don't believe in nor fight for any of these causes. Once the baby is born, they've shown time and time again they don't give one sh*t about them, let alone two. Their "pro-life" mantra is just a ruse to disguise their desire to control women as being about caring for babies. What if a woman is raped? It's not the baby's fault. What if it's by an uncle? It's not the baby's fault. What if she's single, has health issues, and is already dependent on government financially due to said issues, making it all the more likely her coming child will face a life of poverty and continue the sad, unfortunate cycle? Republicans don't tend to think that far ahead, at least not publicly. While teenagers often get stigmatized as the demographic with the most unwanted pregnancies and abortions, statistically speaking, that's actually not true. The leading demographic with regard to those categories is single mothers. They are working, already have a child, and don't have the time nor the funds to support another. How is it that all the responsibility falls in her lap, especially if she has no choice on what she can and can't do with her body after impregnated? Women don't make babies by themselves. As the saying goes, "It takes two to tango." So why, if a man rapes a woman, runs away, and doesn't get caught, the woman should be forced to have the child and solely take care of him or her? Again, these anti-abortion laws aren't about saving the lives of fetuses. They're about controlling the lives of women.
For the longest time, I remained fairly neutral on the issue of abortion. My thought was, "I may not see it as morally right, but I'll never get pregnant, so who am I to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her body?" So, perhaps I could have been previously labeled as "pro-life" morally, but pro-choice technically. Unfortunately, most people (especially "pro-lifers") have been programmed to see this as a black-and-white issue, void of any nuance. "You're either pro-life or pro-choice; pro-life or pro-death; pro-choice or anti-choice." The older I get, the more I've come to realize that no matter how black-and-white an issue may seem on the surface, there's a whole lot of grey when you dig a little deeper. That rings true for abortion. Every pregnancy is different. Every person is different. Given that, it'd be incredibly insensitive, irresponsible, and immoral for us to legislatively treat each and every pregnancy identically. Here's the truth: Abortions are going to take place whether they're legal or illegal. Women's lives are at much greater risk during such a procedure if abortions have been outlawed. If a baby's life will be that of permanent suffering, wouldn't abortion be the more humane option? While a fetus may not have had a choice in a woman becoming pregnant, that woman didn't have a choice if she became pregnant via rape.
Just over a year ago, I got to witness my first (and likely only) child being born. As I'm sure most parents can relate, it was a moment which can't be accurately summed in words. The experience was beyond surreal. Having now gone through that once-in-a-lifetime experience, I can understand some parents becoming more "pro-life," thinking, "My baby is so precious. How could anyone think about aborting someone like this?" I get it. While I can understand that mindset, however, my mind went the opposite direction. Granted, my son is a treasure and I wouldn't give him up for anything in the world, however, having now gone through the entire process of pregnancy with a woman, seeing what all she had to endure, and all the risks that were involved, I'm now even stronger in my position that every woman should be legally allowed to choose what to do with her body. If we want to decrease the odds of unwanted pregnancies and abortions as studies consistently suggest, we need to expand sex education, make contraception easier to access, provide more and better job opportunities across the board, stop stigmatizing family planning facilities like Planned Parenthood, and from a legislative standpoint, make it so men and women are truly treated as equals. When women have more power in government, men will have less power over their reproductive rights. When men share more responsibility, they'll be less inclined to want to control women's decisions about their bodies.
Abortion isn't a moral issue one way or the other as many suggest. It isn't something which will just go away if laws are passed to do just that. No matter how a woman becomes pregnant, she's the one carrying that "baby." She's the one essentially putting her life on the line. She's the one who gets to make the call. The moral issue comes when we prevent her from being able to make that decision. If we're going to choose a dichotomy on which to surround this issue, it shouldn't be pro-life vs. pro-choice. It should be pro-woman vs. anti-woman, and for all of those who are pro-woman like me, I highly recommend getting out there, protesting against these sexist, unconstitutional bills, write your legislators, and vote Democrat in the coming elections! Republicans want to punish doctors with decades of imprisonment for performing abortions. Let's punish Republicans with decades of failure at the voting booths for stripping women of their rights!
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