A terrifying wave of archaic sexism has washed ashore in a
handful of states in the US recently, flooding the streets with baseless claims
of human rights and drowning decades of feminist progress. The Heartbeat Bills
and several other similar legislation making the rounds in state senates have
set back the hands of time in placing the rights of a mass of cells in a woman’s
uterus before the rights of the living, breathing, fully developed organism
that carries that mass of cells. The absurdity of it all is unrealized to the
pro-lifers that shout and protest miles above reason, rationality, and compassion.
I was once one of those pro-lifers. As a young lass I was a
die hard Christian who wore Christian band shirts to school and joined the
Christians on Campus club. I doodled crosses on my notebooks and attended
church and youth group weekly, thirsty for the divine intervention that would
save my wretched, misguided soul. It was during these youth group gatherings
that we were introduced to pro-life propaganda. Small cases of tiny, fully
formed humans were passed around the room (at 13 I had no idea that embryos did
not look like this at 6 gestational weeks). Posters and photos of what appeared
to be charred remains of dismembered babies post-abortion were held up for our
God-fearing eyes to gaze upon. One youth leader shared a harrowing sinful tale
of her choice to abort a baby when she was a teen, bearing her scarlet letter
for us to gawk at in horror. I remember sharing this information with my peers
at school, recruiting pro-lifers with the same propaganda that swayed my young
and impressionable mind. I remember arguing with a friend that rape victims
could receive treatments of spermicide to prevent pregnancy and our focus
should be getting them help, not abortions. I even remember arguing that no
matter how a child was conceived, it was not the child’s fault and abortion
should not be an option.
I left the church about a year after this fateful lesson,
but it took years for the light bulb of enlightenment to go on over my head, and
I don’t quite recall exactly when it happened. I was a conservative. I voted
Republican. I was a pro-lifer. But contrary to these labels, I was also gay,
and I do remember how frustrated I felt as a gay woman to have people all over my
home state voting on my personal life and my right to marry because of their
personal beliefs. I remember realizing this was not much different from me
voting for abortion. Eventually education set in as well and I realized the definition
of life and the circumstances women face in pregnancy are not black and white, and
I became pro-choice.
Now a liberal, Democratic, Atheist, pro-choice, feminist
lesbian, I cannot handle the threats of the insanity knocking on all of our
doors with these senseless bills. Though there are more than 11 states with
such bills, most notably, Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia have
recently introduced variations of the heartbeat bill. These bills indicate that
once a heartbeat is detected, an abortion can no longer occur, neglecting the difficulty women have at even confirming pregnancy at this stage. Some have
placed harsh restrictions on the circumstances under which abortions can occur, at times forcing women
to carry non-viable babies to term even though they will not survive long past
birth, so long as the mother’s life is not in danger. Some have repealed protective
exceptions based on a baby having severe disabilities, and pregnancies
resulting from rape and incest, even if they’re children. Some have
criminalized doctors who perform abortions as well as women who seek abortions
within or outside of their home states, and even opened the doors for investigations
of miscarriages to ensure they occurred naturally. Some have even taken it a
step further in Ohio, where they are proposing that any “drugs or devices that prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum” equate to an abortion as well.
That’s right, using birth control pills, shots, patches, IUDs, or the morning
after pill is considered an abortion in their eyes.
The fight against pro-lifers has been waging for centuries.
Medically-induced abortions began legally in the early 1800s and were typically
allowed prior to a woman’s “quickening,” or the period where the woman first
felt the baby kick, typically between 20-24 weeks. These abortions were performed
by various practitioners, including midwives, apothecaries, and homeopaths, and
risks were high, as they were with any surgical procedures back in the day. Many
states made it illegal on moral grounds but it has been suggested that doctors
did not appreciate having these individuals who were not formally medically
trained traipsing on their professional stomping grounds. It was made illegal
in 1910 and many women were forced into back alley abortions, which at times
ended in their deaths. In 1973, abortion was re-legalized through the Supreme
Court decision of Roe vs. Wade, but this victory was short-lived as many states
worked through the loop-holes of the federal case to limit funding, access, and
time frames for women to receive abortions. In 1992, the Supreme Court decided
that restrictions can be placed on even first-trimester abortions, opening the
door for these heartbeat bills to come down the line years later.
The trouble with heartbeat bills is that it attempts to
define when a life begins. While some go so far as to say a fertilized ovum is
the beginning of life, others have argued implantation, detectable heartbeat,
or viability mark life’s commencement, and some have said at birth. The reality
is even scientists are at odds in defining this, as Dr. Jennifer Kerns notes
that heartbeats at 6 weeks are nothing more than electrical impulses of cells,
not a pulsating organ that is supporting a cardiovascular or neurological
system, as neither the cardiovascular nor the neurological system have developed
enough to sustain life in the organism. Simply because technology has advanced
enough to detect electric activity in cells does not mean that embryotic
development has advanced enough to warrant human rights at the same time. But
while science and reasoning sits on the table being blatantly ignored,
pro-lifers have continued to gain traction on the battle for women’s rights.
What has become dangerous with this sudden surge of
anti-abortion laws is that these lawmakers fully anticipate a fight. One state
senator expressed his hope that someone would come forward to challenge the
bills as it would eventually lead to a Supreme Court case. With the Supreme
Court leaning toward a conservative majority, it is entirely possible that a SC
case could overturn Roe v Wade, making the already complicated business of
abortions impossible.
The obstacles women have faced in seeking abortions even
after the landmark Roe v. Wade have placed such burdens on women that it would
seem pro-lifers have had the upper hand for quite some time. Many states have shut
down the majority of abortion clinics that once stood; some only have one
clinic operating state-wide. Many of these clinics have completely lost federal
funding, placing the responsibility of costs on the patients, and many
insurance companies do not cover abortion as it is considered an elective
procedure. Abortions cost anywhere from $350 to $1000 in the first trimester,
and even more in the second. Many states require waiting periods, forcing women
to meet with a physician and receive education on their potential baby, then
wait another 24-48 hours before they can proceed with the abortion, hoping to
guilt the mother into keeping the pregnancy. Some clinics have even forced
these women to listen to their baby’s heartbeat prior to the abortion, waging
psychological warfare on a decision that already bears so much emotion for the
patient. Women even struggle to trust their general practitioners with their
decision, as one Reddit user posted some time ago. She wrote that when she
informed her doctor of her decision to abort, the doctor promised to provide
information for an abortion clinic, but (illegally) provided her information to
a pro-life clinic where she was contacted and misled into scheduling an
appointment. Upon her arrival, she found herself being presented with
anti-abortion information and was told she would not be receiving an abortion
there. Delays in scheduling the appointment with the clinic almost resulted in
her exceeding the legally permitted time limit for abortion.
Finding legitimate clinics to receive an abortion has grown
even more challenging in recent years. With the Trump administration, it was
widely known that funding for Planned Parenthood was completely cut due to the
fact that its clinics performed abortions. It did not matter to him or any pro-life
supporters that only 3% of their services were abortions, and the remaining 97%
were services such as cancer screenings, pelvic exams, STI testing, sex
education and birth control provisions, infertility treatments, and even
adoption service referrals. They turned a blind eye to scientific evidence that
showed when birth control and contraceptives are unavailable or difficult to obtain,
unwanted pregnancies and thus abortion rates increase significantly. In
addition to cutting funding to prevent pregnancy, funding has been cut to
assist families who struggle to survive, including welfare programs WIC, and
food stamps. Likewise, in a private insurance world where medical insurance is
nothing more than big business, providing care for children with severe disabilities
places families in significant debt trying to keep up with their medical bills.
So essentially what the GOP is saying is we will not help you to avoid
pregnancy, we will not help you end your pregnancy even if you can’t afford
another child or your fetus is severely disabled, and we will not help you care
for the child we forced you to have. It’s almost as if they expect women to commit
themselves to a life of celibacy, which of course is entirely unrealistic,
especially if it means these manly lawmakers will not be getting laid. And let’s
not forget that when they do need to get laid and they accidentally get their mistress pregnant, they will briefly become pro-choice and suddenly abortions
are okay.
It’s not easy to challenge a lifetime of indoctrinated
beliefs. It’s not easy to overcome the strongest of confirmation biases and
open yourself up to another viewpoint and logical reasoning. In one post on
Reddit regarding these bills, a poster commented that people cannot and will
not change their stance on abortion no matter the circumstance. I’m proof that people can. But even if in
your heart you cannot bring yourself to agree with abortion, try to come to
terms with this: whatever decisions we make for ourselves, we do not have the
right to make those decisions for others, no matter what our personal beliefs may be.
Pro-choice doesn’t mean being pro-abortion, it means being 100% minding your
own fucking business.
