I did a lot of writing on this in undergrad and I couldn't believe some of the misinformation there was out there. People just sit around going "OH ABORTION IS LEGAL, IT'S EASY TO GET!" There's a huge difference between legality and actual access to the service - both in the US AND Canada. I got depressed when I started doing the research because I realized that the way things were going (and are going now), even if it cotinued to be legal, it was going to get harder to get one in the future. A lot of it has to do with the medical profession actually.
For example, people complain about "late term" abortions in the US, questions like "why doesn't she just get it earlier! It's her own fault for being indecisive!" I think it was something like 87% of non-emergency late term abortions were performed on women living below the poverty line (in the states that allowed them). It costs money to get an abortion and to travel to an abortion clinic if you don't live close to one (and there aren't nearly as many as people tend to beleive). But no, it's just because they "can't make up their mind!"
People just don't know what the hell they are talking about, instead they just spout the mysoginstic ridiculousness that is often passed off as "fact". What really kills me are the pro-life women that have had abortions and argue that they somehow have some EXTRA legitimacy because they had one and regretted it horribly. That's like me saying, "hey, I ate a pickle. I regretted eating that pickle, therefore pickles should be outlawed because one of you might eat one and regret it too! I'm saving you from pickle regret - you should be thanking me!" Riiiight.
For me it just comes down to bodily integrity. I don't have any damn right to tell a woman or a man what they can and can't do with their bodies. I think people have the right to make their own damn medical decisions and everyone else can just fuck right off. Between this and the pharmacists that won't distribute birth control or the morning after pill... I just want to facesmash.
What is it about being a woman that makes people think that we can't make our own decisions? Owning ladybits doesn't make me stupid or mentally impaired, y'know?
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 12:55 am (UTC)For example, people complain about "late term" abortions in the US, questions like "why doesn't she just get it earlier! It's her own fault for being indecisive!" I think it was something like 87% of non-emergency late term abortions were performed on women living below the poverty line (in the states that allowed them). It costs money to get an abortion and to travel to an abortion clinic if you don't live close to one (and there aren't nearly as many as people tend to beleive). But no, it's just because they "can't make up their mind!"
People just don't know what the hell they are talking about, instead they just spout the mysoginstic ridiculousness that is often passed off as "fact". What really kills me are the pro-life women that have had abortions and argue that they somehow have some EXTRA legitimacy because they had one and regretted it horribly. That's like me saying, "hey, I ate a pickle. I regretted eating that pickle, therefore pickles should be outlawed because one of you might eat one and regret it too! I'm saving you from pickle regret - you should be thanking me!" Riiiight.
For me it just comes down to bodily integrity. I don't have any damn right to tell a woman or a man what they can and can't do with their bodies. I think people have the right to make their own damn medical decisions and everyone else can just fuck right off. Between this and the pharmacists that won't distribute birth control or the morning after pill... I just want to facesmash.
What is it about being a woman that makes people think that we can't make our own decisions? Owning ladybits doesn't make me stupid or mentally impaired, y'know?
Ok, sorry. I kinda ranted. Ok, embarrassed. :S