Greetings from sunny Toronto!
I've been reading lately about the recent passing of legislation in South Dakota which "makes it a felony for doctors to perform any abortion, except to save the life of a pregnant woman." So, if the mother's health is at risk, they still can't have an abortion, they have to wait until she's about to die. Even in the case of rape and incest, this legislation would make abortion a felony. The doctor would (theoretically) face jail time.
The purpose of this legislation is to challenge Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court of the US now that there are two new Justices sitting who were appointed by President Bush (and are theoretically pro-life).
This situation has sparked quite a debate and prompted me (among many others I'm sure) to start looking into the frightening possibilities. This is not the only state in the union that has taken a step down this path. Clearly, there is a large contingent of 'The Moral Majority' that would still like to control women and what we do with our bodies. If not South Dakota, then Ohio, Georgia, Indiana or Tennessee (similar bills are in the works there).
Whilst I was surfing the web looking into this, I found some articles about abortion bans in other countries... the ones in latin America. The ones that are almost entirely Catholic. They can't have abortions there either. In El Salvador, for example, doctors can't even perform an abortion if a woman has an ectopic pregnancy until the fetus is no longer viable (for anyone who doesn't know, an ectopic pregancy is what they call it when a fertilized egg attaches itself somewhere outside the womb, and the embryo / fetus is 'viable' until just before the mother starts hemorrhaging). In El Salvador, if a woman has a late-stage abortion, she can be charged with aggravated homicide and the minimum sentence for that is 30 years (the maximum is 50 years). If they catch the doctors, they would be charged also. (I wonder how long rapists get?)
It's possible that some of you may not have a position on the pro-life / pro-choice debate. It's possible that some of you may be pro-life. Either way, I'm about to sound a little bit feminist again... I think my position is probably pretty clear.
Has it ever occurred to you that several of the 'hot-button' feminist issues are directly related to women's bodies and our control over them?
I am not a 'conspiracy theorist feminist' and I do not think that men have deliberately conspired over the ages to keep us oppressed and 'all men are evil' and all that stuff, but think about it for a minute or two; abortion, prostitution, pornography. Three things that you should not bring up in polite conversation at the dinner table; they all have to do with women's bodies, and yet none of them are controlled (completely) by us. We've never been in charge when it comes to prostitution or pornography, but it wouldn't exist without our bodies. What would they do without us?
And even though we think we've won the abortion debate, they keep wanting to open it up again. I know that not all men want to control women. And I know that not all women are pro-choice. However, for those of us who are in Canada and are now being governed by Stephen Harper and his former Alliance cronies (sorry Owen), this is just a little reminder that this debate is not closed. There is a Minister in this Cabinet who has very publicly stated that he does not believe in evolution. Yes, there are former Progressive Conservative members governing us as well, but there is nothing stopping any of them from introducing a private members' bill.
This debate is not over. Unfortunately.
The one bright light is that pharmacology is getting better. Soon, we may be better able to provide women with the means to terminate unwanted pregancies that will not risk their lives in botched back alley-style abortions. Because the bottom line is: just because it's illegal doesn't mean it's going to stop.
I'm thinking that there will be more to this particular train of thought, but not at the moment. I gotta book.
Ciao for now,
Lesle
ps - Happy Birthday to my nephew John! He's 14 today!
5 comments:
hear hear....while we like to think that we have control of our reproductive functions here in Canada that is not always the case. My SIL had to have permission from a panel of doctors to get her tubes tied after giving birth 4 times. Apparently at 36 she was not competent to make that decision.
You should write full time Lesley. Women would rule the world if they could only learn to get along. The reason all women don't intrinsically get along is because of MEN. Mike A
It's never been about controlling women's bodies. It's always been about the unborn child, who is worthy of love and respect. I hope some day Canada will come to affirm the dignity of the unborn child and legally protect him.
You know, from a strategic standpoint it makes sense that men meddle in women's lives and with their bodies. If women had total control over human reproduction, men would eventually become obsolete. (Except for the obvious) We need to be poking our nose in where it doesn't belong just to convince women that we still have a vital role in this thing called life.
Or
Abortion is an entrenched right. Jackasses will poke around and it will be threatened at times but it isn't going anywhere.
Suzanne meet the 21rst century - 21rst century meet Suzanne (please)
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