And now, some words on the death of Dr. George Tiller:
Dr. Tiller was one of the last remaining doctors to perform late-term abortions. Not partial-birth abortions, but late-term abortions. I make the distinction because partial-birth abortion is not a medical term; rather, it was a term coined by the anti-choice movement to shore up opposition to a rarely used medical procedure. You may also notice that I have chosen to call this the anti-choice movement, not the pro-life movement. I do this because those who are against abortion are not pro-life; rather, they are pro-birth and anti-choice.
Dr. Tiller was gunned down and shot Sunday, May 31st. As I said, he was one of the few doctors who performed late-term abortions. Some people see him as a murderer and his death as just a hazard of the job. I see someone as brave and courageous. He trusted women to make the best choices for their lives and for their bodies. Now, some people have this image of women who choose abortion as careless, reckless, and someone who doesn't take the decision seriously. This might be true in a few cases, but it's not the norm. And some people have this view that women who seek out late-term abortions are aborting perfectly healthy, viable babies. This definitely is not the case. Dr. Tiller stood as many women's last hope, and they sought him out when their health was in danger, when the fetus was deformed, or when their baby was certain to be stillborn. This is when women seek out late-term abortions; they don't do it just because they've suddenly changed their mind late in their pregnancy.
Another doctor who performs late-term abortions in Colorado was interviewed following Tiller's death. Dr. Hern discusses the harassment and the dangers of his job, and he also talks about the thinning ranks of abortion providers. Those who are oppposed to choice may see this as a good thing; after all, without abortion doctors, babies live, right?
The thing is, even if abortion is illegal and even if there are no abortion providers, women will continue to have abortions. See, in the past, abortion was hardly the contentious political issue that it is today. Instead, abortion was just part of the reproductive spectrum of women's lives. It was quite common, and lots of women did it because it was really the only way that they could control their fertility. Banning the procedure won't really stop abortions. It just means that wealthy women will be able to fly to whichever state or country still performs abortions, and poor women will resort to the back alleys and dangerous, self-induced methods. And perhaps some people think that this is just the price that women have to pay for having sex, but why do we let men off the hook? After all, women don't just impregnate themselves, yet we hold only women accountable for their sexual behavior.
I have done research on abortion rates in the United States, and I wonder if anti-choice activist efforts are displaced. After all, those who are vehemently opposed to abortion share a political party platform with those who are vehemently opposed to any sort of public assistance and social support. Commonly, those who are opposed to abortion are also opposed to public assistance. See why I call it anti-choice and pro-birth instead of pro-life? Consider this: Sweden, a country that provides extensive public assistance in the form of paid maternity and paternity leave as well as government funded day care, has one of the lowest abortion rates in industrialized nations.
A few weeks ago, I came across an article reporting that in this time of financial distress, business at women's clinics are on the rise. Seems that in this poor economy, women are struggling to make difficult reproductive decisions and do not have the means to raise a child. While in the past they might choose to have a baby, this time they choose to terminate a pregnancy. Some may think that if women don't want a baby, they just shouldn't have sex. Yet, we don't hold men accountable for their sexual behavior. Instead, men are socialized to want to have sex and lots of it. It sure complicates things considering that we also socialize women and men to be heterosexual. You can see the dilemma, right?
And so, here's what I say: Trust Women. In the words of Dr. Tiller, trust women to make the appropriate choices for their bodies and for their lives. We hold women responsible for abortion, pregnancy, childbirth, child care, and they are overwhelmingly the primary caregivers. It's a lot of responsiblity. We need to trust women to do what it right for them.
Dr. Tiller was one of the last remaining doctors to perform late-term abortions. Not partial-birth abortions, but late-term abortions. I make the distinction because partial-birth abortion is not a medical term; rather, it was a term coined by the anti-choice movement to shore up opposition to a rarely used medical procedure. You may also notice that I have chosen to call this the anti-choice movement, not the pro-life movement. I do this because those who are against abortion are not pro-life; rather, they are pro-birth and anti-choice.
Dr. Tiller was gunned down and shot Sunday, May 31st. As I said, he was one of the few doctors who performed late-term abortions. Some people see him as a murderer and his death as just a hazard of the job. I see someone as brave and courageous. He trusted women to make the best choices for their lives and for their bodies. Now, some people have this image of women who choose abortion as careless, reckless, and someone who doesn't take the decision seriously. This might be true in a few cases, but it's not the norm. And some people have this view that women who seek out late-term abortions are aborting perfectly healthy, viable babies. This definitely is not the case. Dr. Tiller stood as many women's last hope, and they sought him out when their health was in danger, when the fetus was deformed, or when their baby was certain to be stillborn. This is when women seek out late-term abortions; they don't do it just because they've suddenly changed their mind late in their pregnancy.
Another doctor who performs late-term abortions in Colorado was interviewed following Tiller's death. Dr. Hern discusses the harassment and the dangers of his job, and he also talks about the thinning ranks of abortion providers. Those who are oppposed to choice may see this as a good thing; after all, without abortion doctors, babies live, right?
The thing is, even if abortion is illegal and even if there are no abortion providers, women will continue to have abortions. See, in the past, abortion was hardly the contentious political issue that it is today. Instead, abortion was just part of the reproductive spectrum of women's lives. It was quite common, and lots of women did it because it was really the only way that they could control their fertility. Banning the procedure won't really stop abortions. It just means that wealthy women will be able to fly to whichever state or country still performs abortions, and poor women will resort to the back alleys and dangerous, self-induced methods. And perhaps some people think that this is just the price that women have to pay for having sex, but why do we let men off the hook? After all, women don't just impregnate themselves, yet we hold only women accountable for their sexual behavior.
I have done research on abortion rates in the United States, and I wonder if anti-choice activist efforts are displaced. After all, those who are vehemently opposed to abortion share a political party platform with those who are vehemently opposed to any sort of public assistance and social support. Commonly, those who are opposed to abortion are also opposed to public assistance. See why I call it anti-choice and pro-birth instead of pro-life? Consider this: Sweden, a country that provides extensive public assistance in the form of paid maternity and paternity leave as well as government funded day care, has one of the lowest abortion rates in industrialized nations.
A few weeks ago, I came across an article reporting that in this time of financial distress, business at women's clinics are on the rise. Seems that in this poor economy, women are struggling to make difficult reproductive decisions and do not have the means to raise a child. While in the past they might choose to have a baby, this time they choose to terminate a pregnancy. Some may think that if women don't want a baby, they just shouldn't have sex. Yet, we don't hold men accountable for their sexual behavior. Instead, men are socialized to want to have sex and lots of it. It sure complicates things considering that we also socialize women and men to be heterosexual. You can see the dilemma, right?
And so, here's what I say: Trust Women. In the words of Dr. Tiller, trust women to make the appropriate choices for their bodies and for their lives. We hold women responsible for abortion, pregnancy, childbirth, child care, and they are overwhelmingly the primary caregivers. It's a lot of responsiblity. We need to trust women to do what it right for them.
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