15 May 2022

Abortion

Frankly, what is happening in America in relation to laws that concern abortion is simply terrible.

Pro-life Bible bashers and other right wingers are turning the clock back as they seek to prevent abortion in all circumstances. That position is both cruel and ill-considered. In my opinion, there is only one abortion slogan that is worth repetition - "A Woman's Right to Choose".

When my late grandmother Phyllis was thirty two years old, she was desperate for an abortion.  Her very survival was threatened by an unwanted pregnancy. She already had two children who she had previously  been forced to send to live with her parents. A third child would have been economically disastrous.

In her desperation, she chose the back street method that involved  knitting needles. I don't know all the gynaecological details but she nearly bled to death and afterwards she was incapable of having any more pregnancies. With legal access to  a quality abortion service, my grandmother would have probably been perfectly fine and her fertility would not have been compromised.

When I think of the pro-life brigade, my mind always drifts to Malawi, to rural India, to Bolivia and Eswatini. I think of malaria and infant mortality and of babies dying because of diarrhoea and dirty water supplies. What are the American pro-lifers doing to help babies and small children in such distant lands? They claim to care about unborn children but really they are only bothered about white American babies. When all is said and done it appears to be the birth they care about - not the life that follows.

Having an abortion is not something that anyone should seek lightly. Many potential mothers who opted for abortions live with self-recrimination till the end of their days. That's just how it is. But it is not up to me, to you nor to anyone else to hinder access to safe and legal abortions nor to stand on moral high ground passing judgement on women, often young women who have been caught. History should have taught us all that if you deny a woman  a safe, legal abortion she will be driven elsewhere.

26 comments:

  1. They are not "pro-life", merely pro-foetus, which is easy to be when the unborn are so silent and undemanding on anyone but the mother

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    1. An American cartoonist recently suggested that they were merely pro-birth. They are not really much bothered about the quality of the life that follows.

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  2. as always, very well said. The people who make decisions on these laws are not the people who would have abortions.

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    1. That is indeed the simple and ironic truth Red.

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  3. You are so right YP:
    I find it impossible to believe that in this day and age, in a so-called enlightened society, that women are not allowed the right to choose what happens to their own bodies..
    I always think, when I see the anti-abortionists waving their placards, that they are not the ones who will have to endure pregnancy, give birth, or look after an unwanted child. In an ideal world no woman should become pregnant unless she wants a child, but we know that it's not an ideal world. To condemn a woman to carry a child the result of rape, incest, or a foetus that is damaged, is morally wrong. The anti-abortionists seem to have no compassion for their fellow women.

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  4. You make a good point about the pro-lifers only caring about white American babies, while those in other countries are left in abject poverty. Which is exactly what will happen to the white American babies when there are so many of them because of no abortions. I can't see these pro-lifers forking out cash for food, clothes and education.

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    1. We should call them "pro-birth" because they appear to be unconcerned about the lives that follow.

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  5. I'm not sure I've ever heard the expression "Bible-bashers" but I like it!

    As for abortion, you are right on all counts.

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    1. I think I have known that term all my life.

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  6. Anonymous11:22 am

    Nicely and passionately put. We can't even guess what will happen in the US so far as law goes, but if the 70s court decision is overruled, we know exactly what will happen. The clock will be turned back to the time of Phyliss with exactly the same happening. It is quite unbelievable. Joe really needs to act, but I don't know how he can.

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    1. In some respects his hands are tied. Trump saw to that with his conservative appointments to the judiciary.

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  7. I find in ironic people so concerned about choosing what happens to their bodies were so upset with others these last few years who wanted to choose what vaccines went into their bodies. I find it ironic that people so obsessed with preserving life are so intent on killing criminals using a death penalty. I myself would never kill an unwanted fetus and call it a choice but I would also not cast the first stone at someone who does, especially for medical reasons. I wish others could find middle ground on this issue instead of regurgitating highly sanitized slogans towards others with different beliefs.

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    1. Well said! The "right to choice" applies to so much more than abortion.

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  8. BRAVO! Well said!

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    1. I am pleased that this post struck a chord with you Mary.

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  9. Well it is the old feminists calling out the old white men who sanctimoniously tell them what to do. It is terrible and backwards of course and you have summed it up perfectly. I hope fervently that a new generation of women will take up the fight and call for the right to choose.

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    1. Is it just me or does youthful rebellion seem like a mere pilot light these days - instead of the raging fire it once was?

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  10. Most folks who call themselves pro-lifers are just anti-abortion and don't really care what happens to the child after its birth.
    The hypocrisy is mindboggling.

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  11. You would be surprised how many women feel only relief after terminating a pregnancy. These new laws are barbaric and threaten us all. Every child has the right to be wanted.

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    1. What kind of path will an unwanted child travel?

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  12. You make good points, Neil. I trust women to follow their conscience and make their own decisions.

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  13. It's up to the individual woman to make the decision. Men are able to walk away when an accident happens, women can't. We have to deal with it. The fact that the republican party is anti abortion doesn't make them pro life. They do nothing to ensure babies are well fed, educated or well cared for throughout their lives. It is hypocritical bullshit.

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  14. It's never been about the Unborn or the Born, they pretend it's about 'Babies', but if that were True, once outside of the Womb these Fanatics would be Caring as much, if not more, for the Child, the Mother and the Family, which they never do, since, that would require Investment long term. So, many who claim to be Pro-Life don't support Programs and in fact complain about them having to pay for the needy who are already Birthed and vilify those who require assistance. Its really about Control and forcing one's Views, especially Religiously rigid ones, upon everyone. They are coming for Women now, but they won't stop there... if Rights are taken away from Human Beings, they can be dehumanized, controlled and oppressed by those who decide what Rights are preserved or reserved. Extremists have infiltrated too far into the Political scene and we're now seeing the results.

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