I went to my local library a couple of weeks ago and requested a copy of the book Abortion by Jessica Valenti. I got an interesting response from the librarian. She thought the patrons of the library might be upset or offended if she got that particular book in. That’s how conservative of an area I live in.
I had to control my face to stop it from blushing with embarrassment, and decided instead to smirk, which is more of a “rolling of the eyes” response. I was uncomfortable, but none-the-less thought it was ridiculous. I said I understood—because I did understand what she meant, even if I don’t exactly understand why my local area is so conservative. I grew up in a different culture, and even I was taught conservative ethics and that abortion was “sinful” in most circumstances, but eventually I learned about the myriad of reasons why people have abortions, and why hospitals in Australia used a legal loophole to perform “medical terminations” on most (or all?) pregnant people that requested them. As far as I knew, 10-20 years ago, it was easy to get an abortion in Australia. In fact, I would have thought it was legal, and, more recently, in most Australian states and most cases, it is legal.
Anyhow, the librarian said she would take it up with her manager and I bought a copy on kindle! It is a powerful read. Really shocking! One of the most shocking things I have learned so far is about the twisting of language that is being used in bills and the public sphere to try to ban abortion access AND CONTRACEPTION, and the right to travel to a neighboring state for abortion care, in the more conservative states. Language like “trafficking” applied to helping a teenager get access to the morning after pill, or, if they miss that one (because there’s only a twenty-four-hour window in which it should be effective), then abortion medication. Language about “parental rights” over their pregnant children (including cases of rape and incest). Language that makes medical exceptions (like ectopic pregnancy, non-viable babies, and people bleeding out during miscarriage), almost impossible for doctors to act on, so that they are having to debate legal jargon with lawyers before actually terminating a pregnancy, while the pregnant person’s life is at risk!
Here are four very important facts you should know about abortion in the USA:
- Abortion rates increase when there are more restrictive abortion laws and bans
- The infant death rate has increased since the overturning of Roe V Wade
- The maternal death rate has increased since the overturning of Roe V Wade
- USA has the highest maternal death rate of any Western nation
I like to say that I am pro-life and pro-choice. But, gun to my head, I am pro the life and choice of the mother / pregnant person.
I cannot recommend Jessica Valenti’s book highly enough. I think it is critical that Americans be armed with abortion education. I have read two other books about abortion that I would also recommend: “A Complicated Choice” by Katey Zeh compiling stories of real people who have had abortions, and “Ejaculate Responsibly” by Gabrielle Stanley Blair which is more of a pro-life argument about contraception that I wish was taught to all teenagers in schools worldwide. Because I think we can all agree that we want abortion rates to go down. We want abortion to be nearly unnecessary (it would be impossible for it to be completely unnecessary), and the only way we can aim for that is with access and education around contraception and abortion!
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