Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Reproductive Rights and Women’s Rights
When I think of women’s rights, one of the most basic issues that comes to mind is reproductive rights. A woman’s right to choose when and if to have sex, the right to use contraceptives, and the right to terminate a pregnancy are all rights that I believe women deserve to have control over. Thinking back to the panel discussion held last week on what it means to be pro-choice, all of the panelists agreed that to be pro-choice means to trust women enough to give them the power to decide what is right for their own bodies, their own families, and their own lives within their particular and unique circumstances. I believe that this is a correct definition, and that the foundation of pro-choice thinking is not pro-abortion thinking, but is exactly as its name suggests, pro-giving women the choice to decide for themselves whatever it is they want to do with their bodies. Therefore, the opposite of this way of thinking could not be ‘pro-life’ ; rather it can only be defined as anti-choice, taking away women’s power in choosing the future of their own bodies. However, it is with this train of thought that I run into a conflict. First, is it fair for men to be anything but pro-choice? How can any man decide what is best for a woman’s body if she is in a position that he does not have the capacity to understand? And secondly, what does it mean that so many women are ‘pro-life’? Why would any woman work to take away this power of choice from other women?
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ReplyDeleteThe reason why people are prolife is because they believe the fetus is a living human being, and that no person should have the choice to kill a human. The question of whether or not a fetus is alive is debatable though, i am merely granting them their premise for their arguments.
ReplyDeleteThey would argue that i dont have the choice to kill other humans without punishment, why should women be allowed that choice with babies. While most people respond that it is a womans body, the pro-lifers think that the life of a child is worth more than the 9 months the woman carries the baby.
Men can very much be pro-life, just because men do not have to make the same choices does not mean that their view is not relevant. That would be like me saying you have no right to decide whether or not stealing is wrong because you have never experienced poverty
I really liked your post because I have always wondered how women can be pro-life. I think you are correct in saying that to be pro-choice is not to be pro-abortions. Pro-choice means that you trust a woman to make the decisions that are right for her. I understand the argument that a fetus is already a life so a woman should not have the right to end that life, but why is the life of my unborn child more important than my current life. It detracts from the autonomy of a woman to say that although we value you as a person, we value the unborn child inside you a little bit more. It demeans the rational decision making abilities of a woman when she is told that once she is pregnant, those reasoning skills are null and void. In my opinion it is more important for women to have full reproductive rights, including the option of abortion, than "right" a fetus has to life.
ReplyDeleteI saw a poster for a pro-life lecture on campus today, and it said "Pregnant by the man you love or a rapist? Women deserve better than abortion.". I found myself studying the rhetorics of the poster: what's the point of saying that?
ReplyDeleteOf course, everyone agrees with the fact that women deserve more than abortion. That's not even a real question. They're avoiding the debate.
Furthermore, abortion is never "the easy way out", whether you're pregnant by the man you love, or a rapist (and by the way: are those the only options??? I guess the pro-life movement forgot loveless one-night stands...)
To quote an example that happened this summer: the Pope excommunicated a 9 year-old girl from Brazil who had been raped and was pregnant with twins. Her mother, her doctors and herself have been shunned from the Catholic religion. It created a scandal even among very catholic groups in Italy, France, Brazil,...
I strongly believe that the pro-life movement is an anti-choice movement as Viece said. Women are capable enough to make that choice. And it shouldn't be said that they do it because it's easier.
Marjorie I read an artical about the same girl! I was completely shocked by the Pope's actions. I agree that being pro-choice doesn't necessarily mean pro-abortion. However I'm not sure I agree with you Jared. I don't think you can equate the decisions a woman can make with her body to stealing and poverty. While I do respect the opinions of men, I think what viece is getting at is that men cannot carry children. So, should men have any say in something that they can never experience themselves? Many things can happen in a lifetime and I may experience some form of poverty or stealing or something, but no male can ever have a child. I personally am pro-choice because I trust women to make the right decisions for their own bodies.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has been bothering me about pro-life arguments is that many people state that abortions are equal to killing and that we as humans don't have the right to kill anyone. The death penalty still exists in most states. Pro-life and death penalty support usually appear on the same political platform. This is a double standard, one that I think is telling of women's rights in our nation. What this suggests to me is that our country is telling women they don't have the right (or the good sense enough) to make the decision to take a life, but men (who constitute most of the legal system) do.
ReplyDeleteMajorie and Liz, I have not read that article or heard about the story of the 9 year old girl being excommunicated by the Pope because she was raped and became pregnant. That story shocks me! It is so disturbing, because they are blaming the little girl for something that was out of her control and physically and psychologically mortifying. I think it brings up a good point though for the pro-choice. There are circumstances and decisions that a woman has to make when pregnant that do not reflect how difficult the circumstance may be. Although having an abortion is often thought of as the easy way out, the psychological stress that can be put on a woman after can be just as troubling. I think these ideas are often over looked with pro-life advocators, not to say this isn't a difficult topic to approach on both sides.
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