RK ARCHIVE - Roe vs. Wade - I couldn't have said it better myself

Roe vs. Wade - I couldn't have said it better myself

Due to craziness at work and the fact that I am really enjoying watching the Democratic Party kick the Republicans all over Congress on C-Span, I have been a bit slow on "the blogging" as of late. I dutifully apologize to my phans. ;)

But tonight, I bring you something very special, and very important.

Tonight, in honor of the very important anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, I bring you one of the most beautiful and poignant posts I have ever read. I cried when I read this, and I immediately called my mom for a heart to heart. I thanked her for raising me to be a strong woman; I thanked her for teaching me to think AND speak for myself instead of "my man" or for "society norms" and I thanked her for showing me the ~~right~~ CORRECT way (isn't it a damn shame that the word "right" now has to have a bad connotation? UGH...) or as I like to call it, the Real American Woman way. I hope you read it in its entirety, and I hope you take note of all of the links which point people towards FACTS; much different than the ANTI-CHOICE AND FREEDOM blogs, which are all emotion, no smarts. From Feministe, I bring you the words of Jill:

I am pro-choice because I believe women's lives matter.

I am pro-choice because I think women themselves are the best people to decide when and if they get pregnant, give birth, and raise children.

I am pro-choice because I believe that the right to control your own reproduction is a fundamental right, and is protected both under our Constitution and basic human rights ideals - and I believe that fundamental right includes the right to prevent pregnancy, the right to get pregnant, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, and the right to terminate a pregnancy.

I am pro-choice because I believe that if we outlaw a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy, there is no legal argument against forcing a woman to terminate a pregnancy, or disallowing certain people from reproducing.

I am pro-choice because I do not believe that anyone should be subject to totalitarian laws which impose unwanted occupations on certain classes of people.

I am pro-choice because I don't believe that women should be legally compelled to maintain another life at the expense of her own wishes, her body, her health, or even her life.

I am pro-choice because I don't believe that women's bodies should be used against our will.

I am pro-choice because I believe that compulsory pregnancy and childbirth is immoral, cruel, and flies in the face of basic notions of freedom, liberty, and human rights.

I am pro-choice because I believe that forcing women to carry pregnancies against their will is involuntary servitude.

I am pro-choice because I believe that children should be wanted, their entrances into the world joyous occasions - that they should never be considered punishment.

I am pro-choice because I want women to be physically and emotionally healthy.

I am pro-choice because I don't believe that pregnancy should be a punishment (or, as anti-choicers say, a "consequence") of sex.

I am pro-choice because I realize that my rights to birth control, to have children, to make my own decisions, to be a fully autonomous human being all hinge on my very basic ability to decide when and if I reproduce.

I am pro-choice because I trust women.

I am pro-choice because reproductive rights are far more than abortion, and because I want to see us live in a true culture of life - one where men, women and children are truly valued, and where pregnancy doesn't turn a woman into a second-class citizen.

I am pro-choice because those who attack abortion rights don't plan on stopping there - they're also going after contraception, science and even sex itself. And they've got a whole lot of political capital.
I am pro-choice because I see what places look like when "pro-life" policies are the rule of law. I see it again and again and again.

I am pro-choice because I see what places look like when abortion is safe, legal and available, contraception is accessible, and sex is considered natural, normal, and something we should take responsibility for, not be ashamed of.

I am pro-choice because "pro-life" policies kill and maim women. I am pro-choice because abortion rates are no higher in countries where abortion is legal than in countries where it is outlawed - but countries where abortion is legal see lower maternal mortality rates, lower infant mortality rates, greater economic prosperity, and greater gender equality.

I am pro-choice because women who live in the developing world account for 95 percent of the world's illegal abortions, and I believe that access to safe health care should not be contingent on where you happened to be born. I am pro-choice because the countries with the lowest abortion rates - Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland - have liberal abortion laws, good health care, comprehensive sex education, and accessible and affordable contraception.

I am pro-choice because many countries where abortion is illegal or highly restricted have significantly higher abortion rates than we have in the United States, and astronomically higher rates than we see in Western Europe. Some of those countries include Brazil, Chile, Bangladesh, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines.

I am pro-choice because of the number of women hospitalized after unsafe illegal abortions in these countries:
Bangladesh: 71,800
Brazil: 288,700
Chile: 31,900
Colombia: 57,700
Dominican Republic: 16,500
Egypt: 216,000
Mexico: 106,500
Nigeria: 142,200
Peru: 54,200
The Philippines: 80,100

I am pro-choice because 80,000 women die every year from complications from illegal abortion, and hundreds of thousands more are injured.

I am pro-choice because the risk of dying from abortion is far higher in countries where abortion is illegal than where it's legal.

I am pro-choice because illegal abortion is the cause of 25% of all maternal deaths in Latin America, 12% in Asia, and 13% in sub-Saharan Africa.

I am pro-choice because I will not go back.

I am pro-choice because if Roe is overturned, abortion will be illegal in many states. Even with Roe in place, states like Georgia are considering legislation which would impose life in prison or the death penalty as punishment for women who have abortions and doctors who perform the procedures.

I am pro-choice because I don't believe we should criminalize women and doctors for exercising reproductive freedom.

I am pro-choice because seeing the impact of abortion rights on a country's prosperity, gender equality and overall well-being is apparent simply by looking at a map.

I am pro-choice because it's the pro-choice movement that has advocated for policies which actually decrease the need for abortion, and which make it easier for women to have children: comprehensive sexual health education, affordable and accessible contraception (including emergency contraception), pre-natal and well-baby care, social support for pregnant women and women with children, affordable child care, fair pay for working women, supporting pregnant girls, and gender equality. Comparatively, the "pro-life" movement* has no interest in actually lowering the abortion rate; their ultimate goal is sexual control of women, evidenced by their opposition to contraception and their belief that there is only one singular way to live: abstain from sex until heterosexual marriage, and then have as many children as God gives you.

I am pro-choice because I see the positive impact that the pro-choice movement has had in the United States. Women go to college at the same rates as men. We can define ourselves as something other than mothers, or as mothers and something else. Poverty has been cut in half since Roe gave women the right to control their own reproduction. Men can be nurturing too, and are expected to take part in raising their children. Families can be planned. Men have greater choices in their occupations since they aren't required to be the sole bread-winner. More people have access to education. Women have more power to escape abusive relationships or bad jobs. Parents of both sexes spend more time with their kids than ever before.

I am pro-choice because I care about children - and according to the Children's Defense Fund, 100% of the worst legislators for children in this country are pro-life.

I am pro-choice because I believe that my body is mine. I want women, girls, men, and children to be healthy, valued, and cared for. I want families to be healthy.
I want to live in a country that values the lives and well-being of all of its citizens.

I am pro-choice because it is life-affirming. I am pro-choice because it is fundamentally just. I am pro-choice because to be anything else is to devalue and harm women, children, families, and my country.

I am pro-choice because my life is worth something.

Happy Roe day.

*By which I mean the fanatical leaders of anti-choice organizations, not the individual people who identify as "pro-life" to mean that they dislike abortion and want to see the abortion rate decreased, but also support common-sense policies like sex education and contraception.

Fan-fucking-tastic. Awesome job, Jill, and I must say; I am quite proud to be a woman tonight. :)

Comments

That's awesome (Chris Guy - 1/23/2007 12:31:36 AM)

Now I'm gonna have to look into myself.

I can't look someone in the eye and say I care if I don't get up off my ass and do something about it.

jaime (Kathy Gerber - 1/22/2007 11:54:44 PM)

Here's a good song for you and Jill.

And thank God for Amy Ray because these days this is where I'm at.

That is when I'm not here.

Thanks :)

Thanks to you, and HERE'S to you... (phriendlyjaime - 1/23/2007 12:06:51 AM)

You are awesome, and hey, lets face it; if we lived next door to you, you would get tired of board games, card games, chats, and dinner parties.

Now is that a GOOD thing, or a BAD thing? ;)

umm... (Kathy Gerber - 1/23/2007 12:18:55 AM)

you *can't* live next door to us because the only thing there is a falling down chestnut house not fit for human habitation.

ahhh... tents...

ProChoice is good for babies (Andrea Chamblee - 1/23/2007 12:15:30 AM)

The story of Angela Carder is right out of forcible abortions in China. Angela was a neighbor of mine who got pregnant at 26+ years old. She had been told since she was 13 that her cancer gave her 6 months to live. She and her husband were determined to keep the baby and she stopped taking her medicine. Her remission ended and when her cancer returned she was hospitalized during the 2d trimester for her high-risk pregnancy. George Washington Hospital in DC appointed a guardian for her fetus - not for her - and he sued the mother to end the pregancy. He said it was for good of the child, since Mom was as good as dead, he said, to give the fetus a "better chance" in Neonatal ICU rather than in her declining body. The wacked-out judge weighed the value of her life and the unborn baby's and agreed. The fetus was removed over the objections of her, her husband, and her doctor. The anesthesia killed Mom, AND the baby. ACLU continued the case to settle the law, even though the outcome couldn't help Angie. The won because the lower court should have honored her freedom of choice and right to privacy.

More stories that need to be told (Andrea Chamblee - 1/23/2007 9:10:28 PM)

I hadn't read that before - thanks for the link.

I won't post the photo here, so as not to offend anyone's sensibilities, but there is a "poster woman" for safe abortions. Here is the story of Gerri Twerdy Santoro. "She was just 28 years old. She was a sister, a daughter, and she was the mother of two daughters when she died a very painful and frightening death."