"It is hard to find a political debate in which the abortion issue does not get raised."
Are you complaining? Whose fault do you think that is? I am pretty sure that is exactly what your movement wants.
"It is easily the most heatedly argued issue in the United States and one in which most people are very passionate about and it has been heralded as the quintessential women's rights issue of the modern age;"
It doesn't have to be so heated. In fact, it doesn't have to be heated at all. It most certainly is an important and, dare I say ( sarcasm) THE most important cause for women.
"However, is abortion really a women's rights issue or is it in fact one of the most sexist, anti-woman ideas in histoyr? "
Now it gets interesting. Let's keep reading.
"Typically, the abortion issue centers around the baby in question "
Maybe in your circles but not in mine. ALL factors, born, unborn, yet to be born and societal impact are all considered. The fact that your focus is ALL about the embryo is the very problem.
"and while there are certainly some very valid and important arguments to be made there"
Sure there are. We never said their wasn't.
"I want to challenge you to step away from those arguments, regardless of which side of the fence you are on, and to look at the role between women's rights, societal views of women and abortion."
Wow, an anti choicer ACTUALLY saying for people to consider the woman for a moment. WOW. Let's keep reading.
"The first and foremost argument made in support of abortion is that it is a woman's decision- her body, her choice."
In many circles. The BIG argument though is that abortion is needed for women to have total control over their reproductive lives which IS essential to equality.
"But what is this really saying?"
It's saying exactly what it says it says. NEXT.
"Instead of putting equal responsibility on the men for the sexual behavior and for their offspring, the abortion debate itself is saying to women that you, and you alone are solely responsible for getting knocked up and because it is your fault, it is your problem to deal with."
And here is is folks. It doesn't take long for the misoginy to seep thru. Abortion IS taking responsibility!! What is irresponsible is to give birth when you are unready. And this is a decision that is OFTEN made by both parties. HECK, in some countries you even need spousal consent. Many men actually USE pregnancy as a way to "entrap" women into staying with them. And sorry, when it comes to blaming women for "getting knocked up" the people in your camp don't have a leg to stand on. I have lost count the number of times I have heard people call women who abort sluts or say that she should just have kept her legs shut.
"There is nothing liberating or empowering about this argument, in fact it is more condescending and sexist than even the whole “know your place” idea."
How many times have i had someone in your camp tell me that women should accept their place as mothers? Yeah, lots of times. What is condescending is your ignorant statement that women make these decisions on their own without any other guidance or thought put into it.
"And then of course, there is the issue of informed consent, if it is really about choice, why are so few women ever informed about the realities and risks of abortion?"
They ARE informed!! It is law!. Another strawman. And do you warn women of the risks of childbirth and the healing period after it?
"Further, it is used as a fail-safe to send the message that abortion is needed to clean up after the mess that irresponsible women create."
You are doing a poor job of hiding what you truly think of women who abort. It just goes back to the whole fallacy that women who abort are looking for an easy way out. And no, women don't think they are going in for an "abortion broom." That is such an assanine comment about cleaning up a mess.
"Instead of saying that women are empowered to make their own decisions regarding sexuality and reproduction prior to conception, we as a society seem to act as if women do not have a choice (since after all they are portrayed as being merely sexual objects) and therefore abortion is necessary to take care of the unwanted consequences afterward."
I agree women are portrayed as merely sex objects quite regularly in this society. Problem is, a large portion of that comes from YOUR camp. Yes, we need to fight to make sure women are not in positions to need an abortion. But that is NOT what your camp fights for. And we act as if women don't have a choice? Isn't "choice" what you are arguing against?
"This is an extremely negative and dangerous argument that undermines women's rights and silences our voices."
What is extremally dangerous and negative is the societal attitude towards women who abort that they are wrong and sinners for doing it.
"We should, instead, be empowering ourselves to take control of our own sexuality, to wait until we are ready to deal with it and to advocate more choice and accessibility in birth control options that truly put women in charge-- that would be the real choice, not taking it to an extreme after the fact, even if it risks our health and well being and future conception possibilities. But to do this, would be to threaten the current male driven society."
WOW, an anti advocating birth control. Glad to see it. I hope the people in your camp start to listen up. But do NOT start with the whole abortion is dangerous speil. It is one of the safest medical procedures we have today. YES, there is risk. But there is risk in every operation.
"Our current society, particularly in the West, is driven by the idea that women are sexual objects to satisfy men on demand."
Fully agree with that statement except for the point about it being particularly horrid in the west. I implore you to do some research into the treatment of middle eastern women.
"It has long been held that men control all aspects of sexuality in this society and with the rate of pornography, so called "gentleman's clubs", and high rates of sexual assaults and other crimes against women, we can see that clearly—it is all geared to cater to the image of men being in control."
WOW, an anti speaking out against sexual assault. That is commendable. You are the first one I have EVER seen do that. Not surprisingly though, countries with strict anti abortion laws are the most patriarchal.
"To empower women to take charge, and to actually be the ones to control their own sexuality would threaten this and thus, it plays better into the hands of sexism to push abortion as a “clean up” alternative instead of giving us the power to control conception in the first place."
Yes, that is why we in the pro choice movement are dedicated to increasing access to birth control and other such services. But speaking of controlling fertility, that is EXACTLY what abortion allows us to do.
"What about the so called “hard cases” of rape?"
What's with the so-called? You don't think rape is a hard case? And I can think of hard cases that don't involve rape.
"This is often used at the forefront of the debate as the reason why abortion must be legal, but in reality it is merely trying to play upon the fears and concerns of the “weaker sex” and to almost make an excuse for rape by saying “well you can always have an abortion” as if the trauma of such a horrific violation is just going to go away and you are expected to just go on and forget about it because at least you can have an abortion if you get pregnant; how could you be more insulting? And they push this sexist attempt to placate women while hiding the fact that only 1-2% of all abortions are due to rape or incest, a little fact that they tend to leave out."
WOW, soooo much to pown here. There are many reasons why abortion MUST be legal. Rape is ONE of many. Play upon fears? NO, like you said sexual assault is a common crime that every woman is susceptible to. This is a real issue that affects thousands of women every year in this country alone. Speaking of "weaker sex" how physically strong do you think a woman would be against an attacker if she is made to stay pregnant? And you are SOOOO dishonest with your insinuation that these women think abortion is going to take it all away!! They know it won't. But it can put them on the path to getting past it. And that statistic you cited adds up to around 13 to 16,000 women A YEAR!
"Perhaps the most diabolical part of it all is that those behind the great abortion scam use women to further their own sexist agenda and convince women that they need these misogynistic ideas, that they are even for their own good and they point to anyone in the pro-life camp as being a threat against women."
Yep, because you ARE a threat to women. And we use women? Like we are just making women join forces with us? Come off it.
"While I certainly will agree that a good portion of the right is made up of those on the sexist bandwagon, that is not true of all those who are Pro-Life."
I have yet to meet any that were not sexist in some fashion. That is not to say it isn't possible. I just highly suspect it to be unlikely. And since by your own admission there are people in your camp who hold that view, what are YOU doing to change it?
"Even the democrats and the liberal left are full of pro-life supporters as are many avid and vocal feminists."
I am aware of that. And unfortunately they are spitting out the same dribble you are.
"But apart of the arguments from a feminist or anti-feminist stance as the case may be, what about the actual physical issues involved? Is abortion a safe, even important medical option for women as the pro-abortion activists claim or is it more harmful to women than they are willing to admit? "
I already addressed this. There are risks with any surgery.
"When we sift through all of the information and separate the facts from the propaganda and look at the real underlying issues and hidden agendas, we are left with one inescapable conclusion- Abortion is an all out assault on women. "
And from reading your article here I have escaped with one conclusion. Anti choicers are soo desperate to hide their agenda that they will go to any lengths necessary to make it appear as if they give a crap about women. Sorry, better luck next time?
"This may be why we are seeing many Pro-Life Feminist groups springing up around the world to take a stand against this war that has been raged against women, and to reclaim our own pride and control over our lives by saying no to abortion and realizing that Pro-Choice is really just Anti-Woman."
And I am happy to report that more and more countries themselves are starting to realize how important abortion rights are for women and are reforming their backwards laws to reflect this reality. Even the UN and World Health Organization are starting to do as such.
You FAIL!
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