...since it has come to my attention that there was a roadside protest staged by anti-abortion campaigners near where I live.
With pro-lifers/anti-abortionists, I just don't understand how they can't just keep this belief to themselves, and just exercise it by, well, not having abortions, if they are women.
Seriously.
If you're pro-life, fine; that's your opinion. Whatev.
But, I really don't agree with trying to restrict the rights of women to choose, and to have abortions. There's a myriad of reasons why women abort, and it is completely up to the individual woman whether she is to keep the baby or not. Babies have an astronomical affect upon a woman's life. Really, I don't think I can actually think of anything else with a bigger impact. And the impact is considerably larger on a woman's life than on a man's. Not just for the gestation period, or during the birth and any physical effects of the birth, but on areas of life such as career.
There was a picture in the local paper of one of the protesters with her placard, which read: "Abortion hurts women and kills children".
Firstly, if abortions were illegal, they wouldn't be stopped. And they would hurt more women even more so, possibly killing them. Secondly, killing children? Entirely subjective, and emotive use of language. Sure, some people do believe it is a child from conception, and if that's the way they see it, then yes, they would believe abortion is killing a child. In which case, they don't have to abort. However, medically, the bloody thing isn't even a foetus 'til around 20 weeks. So, I guess, when it comes to the so-called "killing children" issue, it all depends on whether you subscribe to a more Catholic-esque view, or a medical one.
I'm really pissed off that I'd found out about this protest after the event, because I wish I could've stood on the other side of the road holding up my own pro-choice placard.
P.S. To those who are pro-choice, you can show you are the pro-choice majority here.
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9 comments:
With anti-pornists, I just don't understand how they can't just keep this belief to themselves, and just exercise it by, well, not buying or starring in porn if they are women.
Was this protest in Nottingham by any chance, I saw something on the local news about it a week ago, and I think it was in Notts?
I agree, have pro-life convictions if that's for you, but for fuck's sake don't go trying to control all women's lives with those beliefs, when that is not in the interests of all women, and is a violation of women's rights.
Re. a similar pro-choice protest. If we did do something similar, would it make local news? I doubt it...
Actually, it wasn't...I live in Bedfordshire.
But, the local paper did say "it formed part of a country-wide 'chain of witness' and was echoed in Westminster and Manchester".
Anonymous - Um. That's a pretty flawed "argument" or point you've got there.
For one thing, if you're going to echo what I say, and changing it slightly in a way to get across a "point", how about actually using something reasonable and, uh, relevant?
Bringing porn into the equation, when the post was about abortion is not only irrelevant, but just plain stupid.
:|
Some people!
Amy:
I hate anony commenters, but...
there is a parallel, wrt to a woman's right of domain over her own body and her freedom of choice. Many people will say women in porn are "forced" into that choice, but the choice to have or not have an abortion is not made without outside influences as well...pressures, economic and otherwise, and they can, in fact, be dangerous to have.
Yet, even with all those considerations, abortion is often seen, without question, as a woman's right in certain circles, yet being in sex work? Humm....
I may have to blog about this again.
Ren.
Yes, there are often outside influences when it comes to a decision about abortion, true.
With the pro/anti porn debate, there are many reasons why individuals may choose to be pro or anti. And I think the anonymous person just completely disregarded that.
I think, because they were playing with my words, the point came across as childish to me. :|
I don't know how to articulate it properly, but I just think that the argument was flawed.
Amy, I posted over at Ren's place as well. And yes, anonymous comment was not one offering insight or discussion.
I meant to include in my comment over there that although I am pro-porn, I appreciate insightful critiques of it. The same with abortion, while I am apologetically pro-abortion there have been critiques of it(usually from a feminist/social platform... the religious right is almost always too dogmatic for me to consider) some have had great merit.
Aye, sassywho.
My friend is very, very, very pro-life, not so much from a religious angle per se, but from her own personal moral perspective, and she does have a pretty damn good argument for this, to be fair.
She is currently pregnant, at 16, and, naturally given her politics on abortion, refusing to abort the thing, so its quite a topical issue at the moment. I'm supporting her whatever, but it's going to have such a huuuuuge impact on her life.
amy, i'm all for respecting a woman's choice to have, or not to have a child.
i remember when i was a teen and the majority of my friends were pro-life as well, and myself quite amblivient about it as well. this was during the teen-baby-boom of the 90's. i find it quite interesting how many of us became quite pro-choice/abortion as we went through college and just life in general whether or not we had children.
part of me thinks that comes from the messages that young women receive about their sexuality and generally are not exposed to feminism until college and really begin to see the connection to being able to "choose" vs. "allowed to choose", if that makes any sense to you.
I would be curious what your thoughts on that are a young woman.
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