No More Wire Hangers!
When abortions are made illegal, most people are smart enough to know that won’t stop abortions from happening. What does happen? Well, those seeking to control their body will find a way. You know they will. If someone tried to force you to do something to your body against your will wouldn’t you fight back? Like, say if someone wanted to force you to get a vaccine or wear a mask. Just spitballing here.
But now we are talking about someone carrying a potential life. Depending on your faith, you may believe that unborn life deserves more rights and protections than the living, breathing person carrying it. You may believe an unborn life is worth more than the life that carries a pregnancy.
Let’s put that aside, for just one moment, if we can. Let’s go back to the notion that if someone is going to be told that they do not have the right to make decisions concerning their own body, including a pregnancy literally, physically, and intrinsically a part of their body, they will find a way to get that control back.
From what we all know to be true, this results in people being divided into 1 of 2 groups. The first group is the wealthy and privileged. If abortion is not legal, they can and will pay to go to that private family doctor who will perform a generic “biopsy”. They can alternatively fly out of the country and go where they want. You better believe if a Congressman’s mistress gets pregnant, they’ll be venmo’ing the money for that biopsy right quick. If you don’t think that happens, you’re deluding yourself. If you don’t think it will still happen in a country where abortions are banned, you’re outright lying to yourself.
The second group is the group that gets screwed. These are the people who can’t afford and/or don’t have access to the private doctor. They resort to what is known as a back-alley abortion, which is where the wire hangers reference comes in. Abortions have been happening for centuries. People used to rely on herbal and medicinal remedies, which were oftentimes dangerous for the person attempting to abort a pregnancy. (Abortion and Contraception in the Middle Ages)
Banning abortions is really about controlling women’s bodies, just like Mommy Dearest wanted to control everything in her world, and her daughter, right down to the hangers she used. This is about control, and it flies in the face of our constitutional right to control our own bodies.
Fourth Amendment
United States Constitution
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The argument to ban abortions, as a means to save lives, is really just trading lives. It suggests that the life of the pregnancy is more deserving than the person carrying the pregnancy. When a person carries a pregnancy it is intrinsically part of their body, and their body must be theirs to control. Opening the door to allow the government to control a citizen’s body is the worst door that could ever be opened.
There is a reason vaccine mandates failed. People have the right to choose what is right for them, even if that choice is selfish. Even if it puts other people at risk. You don’t get to have it both ways, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work toward a future where there are fewer abortions. That’s just going to take a lot of work, and not the kind that involves shouting at people about your beliefs and calling people murderers. This is real work. I wrote about it a while ago, when Roe v Wade was being threatened for the umpteenth time, and I’ll post it here again because the points are still valid.
If you want less abortion there are a number of proven actions that can help:
- Make sure the data tells the truth — miscarriages, including ectopic pregnancies, are not abortions. Stop calling them that.
- Test rape kits and start prosecuting rape effectively, at all.
- Teach comprehensive sex education, with a strong focus on consent. I’m fine with including abstinence as an option, but let’s also make sure they know how to use a life preserver.
- Fully fund medical clinics, yes including ones that provide abortions. Giving people safe places to understand all their options will allow them more freedom to make a choice that is not under pressure and desperation.
- Invest our government resources in vastly improving our child welfare system so that adoption might be an option someone would want to choose for a child.
- Better fund prenatal and postnatal care for pregnant people, and fully fund universal child care.
No, none of this will stop abortions, but nothing is going to do that. So what will you do? Keep screaming and calling people murderers, if they seek to control their bodies? Not for nothing, but you’re murdering their right to fully live themselves when you do that. Are you willing to consider that maybe, just maybe, instead of banning abortions, we might be able to help people and lessen the demand?
There is a lie that people are told when it comes to saving lives. It’s a lie that helps to control people, convince them to donate money, and vote for the worst people, all in the name of saving lives. It’s not true, it won’t help, and we can do better.
