Blog for Choice Day, Fit the First: I think, I feel, therefore I am pro-choice
Published by Kyso Kisaen January 22nd, 2007 in Blog for Choice Day, Bodily Autonomy, Contraception, Feminism, Reproductive Rights
I’m pro-choice because I have more empathy for the living than I do for zygotes, and access to safe and legal abortion, contraception, and sex education makes life better for everyone: women, children and men alike.
Plus, I wanna be a scientist when I grow up, and while there is no “family planning for scientists” course at any university, it is a topic that is nearly constantly under discussion amongst the womenfolk in the labs. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that it would be nearly impossible for a woman to succeed in science without the ability to control her fertility.
True story: a post doc at my university actually asked her boss if it was OK to get pregnant. He was a little suprised by the application (”ummm, sure?”) since he rightfully considered it her own damn business if she wanted to have children. It’s a little extreme, but the anecdote reflects the amount of tension that women in science feel when they are in the few points of their career that will be both a) a good, prudent time to have children and b) occur before they hit menopause and it becomes a moot point.
But hey, not a majority of women want demanding careers like research scientist (hell, not even a majority of men want to work that hard - that’s why we’re always so short on scientists and engineers in this country). What about the average Joe? The people out there who want a nice quiet life, a decent job, and a couple of kids. A house in the ‘burbs and a nice moderate church or synagouge on the weekend.
Well, as long as you’re not some kind of crazy fundamentalist, a pro-choice agenda is just the thing for you! Even if you hate the idea of abortions and would never have one yourself! Here’s why!
Lesson 1: Choice isn’t just about abortion.
I believe Pandagon will be covering this more, but choice includes contraceptives, sex education, and even your right to control your body once you’ve got a fetus to go in it. Everyone knows that if they are against criminalizing abortion, they’re pro-choice. But did you know that you alse need to be pro-choice if you:
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Use contraceptives of any sort for any reason
Enjoy a sex toy
Would prefer to make your own decisions about your pregnancy and delivery
As various Blogging for Choice entries will show, everyone, married and single, male and female, enjoys a slice of pro-choice pie and the right to abortion is the key ingredient. Take that away just because you don’t need it yourself and rest assured, the loud crazy people with the chopped up fetus signs will be coming after you next.
Lesson 2: Congratuations! Being pro-choice means you’re actually more in favor of life than people who call themselves pro-life!
Contraceptives, family planning and sex education are strongly correlatedwith reduced abortion rates - and in fact, it’s not unusual to find abortion rates are lower in countries where abortion is legal than in more restrictive countries.
Unfortunately, criminalizing something doesn’t make it go away. Women have always terminated unwanted pregnancies and always will. Legal abortion means fewer women dying.
Lesson 3: Lay down with dogs, wake up with fleas
You don’t have to dig deep into the hard-core anti-abortion movement to find misogyny and racism. Those who favor criminalizing abortion for personal or religous reasons would do well to examine the sources of the arguments that they find useful and reflect on what the unintended conseqences of anti-choice legislation are likely to be. A good example in Ohio was the anti-gay amendment to our state constitution: sure, we managed to put them gays in their place alright, but at the expense of a seemingly unrelated and far more accepted minority, women who live with abusive boyfriends. The lesson is that before you vote your morality on your neighbors, think real hard about how someone without your beliefs can use them for evil.
A wonderful class as always, professor.
Just a quick brainstorm that occurred to me while chewing over Lesson 2 a few minutes ago. It may just be me, but would this not be beautiful and effective? To see a nationwide advertising campaign, TV, print, billboard, whatever, all running variations with this same simple slogan:
“Pro-choice is pro-life.”
It’s positive and uplifting in tone, and does to conservatives what they have done far too often to liberals: co-opt the enemy’s language for their own ends. Even if it was just became a stock platitude that inarticulate pro-choicers could fall back on when at a loss for what to say when arguing with an aggressive anti-choicer.
Any millionaires out there want to fund my propaganda?
By the way, Kyso, I would just like to convey my deepest apologies for apparently killing this thread. Sorry.
Quin, I’m the one who often kills threads on PunkAssBlog. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one…
MikeEss, I am aware of your reputation as official thread-killer in these here parts, and I’d just like to say… there’s a new kid in town. Sorry, but I can’t let you have the last word here, or else you’ll still be the official thread-killer. Time for fresh blood.
Just so it doesn’t seem like I am replying simply to regain the last word, may I respond to the actual article here, and offer this thought:
While Kyso’s point re: waking up with fleas is absolutely on-target, I’d wager that most who lie down with dogs don’t consider the outcome to even be a negative. The kinds of folks who vote against gay rights also really don’t give a puck about women who live with abusive boyfriends. I don’t know, perhaps abused girlfriends are “far more accepted” than gays, as Kyso suggests– but if folks who don’t believe gays shouldn’t have the same rights as a normil persun probably don’t care too much about domestic abuse. I expect they’d probably say something about how if the girl was dumb enough to stay with such a bad boyfriend, then she had it coming. At least as much as any whining homos.
Not that these sorts won’t wake up with fleas. They’ll just choose to believe interpret the fleas as a holy blessing. Believe that your way is THE ONLY way, and even swollen itches can be spun in one’s mind as a God-given gift. One of the advantages of following a faith-based worldview.
There.
I defy someone to write something else.
Double dog dare ya.
Since it doesn’t involve licking an icy flag pole, I accept your double dog dare to share the story of a friend’s mom, a chemist who had several children all while maintaining her career. With one of her children’s arrival imminent, she was still in the lab. One day, in the middle of a delicate titration, a superior came in and asked questioningly “WHAT is THAT on the floor?!” pointing to the puddle of (presumably) spilled solution. Without looking up from her work she replied “Amniotic fluid.”
Damn.
Of course, binky’s story reminds me of the scene in “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life” when the woman is doing laundry, the unborn child she is carrying plops out onto the floor and she tells one of her other kids “can you get that dear?” while continuing to work. I guess ya gotta be tough…
