Hi everybody,
I wanted to make this a very positive space for discussion and education. However, the world is not very positive right now and I can no longer ignore it. For those of you who are unaware, Alabama recently passed a bill banning almost all abortions including for rape and incest cases. When I heard this yesterday I was horrified. I am a firm believer in bodily autonomy and this takes it away from women. What do a group of mostly male politicians know about being pregnant? That would be like me trying to regulate the economy. What’s even scarier is that most of these politicians who support this bill don’t even know how a female body works. One politician believed that you knew that you were pregnant right away. This is of course not true. You would not know you’re pregnant until you miss a period and then go buy a test. Another politician believed that you can re-plant an ectopic pregnancy, you cannot. This type of situation can be very dangerous for the mother and has to be dealt with right away by removing the fertilized egg or whatever stage the group of cells happens to be in at the time.
I know this probably goes without saying but I’m going to let you know anyway. Forcing a victim of rape or incest to carry the rapist”s fertilized egg in her body is just plain wrong. You are forcing this survivor to remember her attack for at least nine months if not her entire life. Why are you punishing the woman for being attacked? She had no say in whether or not she took the risk of becoming pregnant. Let’s say she decides to keep the child for whatever reason, she will be forced to look into the eyes of someone who reminds her of her attacker every day. I don’t know about you but I would find it extremely difficult if not impossible to love that child which of course would lead to a very unhealthy childhood which no one deserves.
Many people who become pregnant may not be able to afford the cost of raising a child which is very expensive. As a result that child will be forced to live in poverty and not have opportunities available to more affluent individuals. Unless the government is going to pay entirely for that child’s welfare they should have no say in whether that embryo becomes a human. Furthermore, it’s not only the child who will suffer the consequences but the mother as well. If a girl becomes pregnant while still in high school for example, she may not be able to finish school which will of course make it harder for her to find a job to support herself and her child. As far as I’m concerned forcing a woman to give birth benefits no one. Before someone says “but what about the children!?”I ask you is a life of poverty and resentment what any child deserves? If you care about children at all your answer should be “of course not.”
Now I know this is not happening in Canada. To that my answer is “not yet”. With the wave of conservatism taking over our country’s government I fear the land of the glorious and free may not last. I urge every single Canadian to fight for our sisters to the south as well as ourselves. Complacency is no longer an option. When I say fight I do not mean acts of violence but to protest through acts of civil disobedience and by combating ideas with logic and reason.
Thousands of women and men fought for the rights we have today. I believe it is our duty as citizens to ensure that their hard work is not dismantled and to go forward not back.
Victoria Levack 