This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/15/abortion-should-be-womans-choice-equals

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
The anti-choice backlash is cruelty couched as care The anti-choice backlash is cruelty couched as care
(2 months later)
A great deal of evil is done in the name of protecting people from themselves. In Europe and America, religious conservatives fighting to stop women having abortions have realised they can't rely on the language of sin and shame any more. Instead, anti-choice arguments are being couched in terms of care. Abortion, the rhetoric runs, hurts women – and women aren't capable of making adult decisions about their own bodies. That's best left to the church, or the state.A great deal of evil is done in the name of protecting people from themselves. In Europe and America, religious conservatives fighting to stop women having abortions have realised they can't rely on the language of sin and shame any more. Instead, anti-choice arguments are being couched in terms of care. Abortion, the rhetoric runs, hurts women – and women aren't capable of making adult decisions about their own bodies. That's best left to the church, or the state.
Last week, battles for the future of abortion provision gripped the news media on both sides of the Atlantic. Texas and North Carolina have become the latest US states to push for laws effectively banning abortion, and in the Republic of Ireland, a 20-year fight to grant women the right to terminate a pregnancy if they are literally dying on the table has been won to muted celebration. Ireland still has a constitutional ban on abortion in almost all circumstances, and the new bill brings in extra criminal sanctions for the thousands of women every year forced to obtain one without proper medical supervision.Last week, battles for the future of abortion provision gripped the news media on both sides of the Atlantic. Texas and North Carolina have become the latest US states to push for laws effectively banning abortion, and in the Republic of Ireland, a 20-year fight to grant women the right to terminate a pregnancy if they are literally dying on the table has been won to muted celebration. Ireland still has a constitutional ban on abortion in almost all circumstances, and the new bill brings in extra criminal sanctions for the thousands of women every year forced to obtain one without proper medical supervision.
Ireland's murky anti-choice zealots, Youth Defence, favour the "protecting women" line of argument in public, with slogans like "Love them both"' and "Abortion – kills one, hurts another". On private message boards, though, the same old language of misogyny still rules: "witchcraft", "baby killers", "repent for ever", and, as one charmer put it, "if u open your legs u better take care of that baby".Ireland's murky anti-choice zealots, Youth Defence, favour the "protecting women" line of argument in public, with slogans like "Love them both"' and "Abortion – kills one, hurts another". On private message boards, though, the same old language of misogyny still rules: "witchcraft", "baby killers", "repent for ever", and, as one charmer put it, "if u open your legs u better take care of that baby".
The United States has not officially banned abortion – not yet. Instead, it has simply made it next to impossible for women to access safe, legal pregnancy termination. This year alone, 17 states have passed a total of 43 individual restrictions on abortion; since 2011, there have been 178. The latest, set to become law in Texas this week, imposes strict new conditions that will close most abortion clinics in the state – all in the name of protecting women.The United States has not officially banned abortion – not yet. Instead, it has simply made it next to impossible for women to access safe, legal pregnancy termination. This year alone, 17 states have passed a total of 43 individual restrictions on abortion; since 2011, there have been 178. The latest, set to become law in Texas this week, imposes strict new conditions that will close most abortion clinics in the state – all in the name of protecting women.
The long-term psychological and health consequences that anti-choice groups claim are associated with abortion – everything from depression to breast cancer – have never been proven. The risks associated with pregnancy and labour, though, are serious and demonstrable, from postnatal depression to death in childbirth. That's the basic issue that most progressive lawmakers, with the exception of heroes such as Texas senator Wendy Davis, have been too squeamish to raise: it is monstrous to force a woman to go through pregnancy and labour against her will when the medical technology to prevent her having to do so is available.The long-term psychological and health consequences that anti-choice groups claim are associated with abortion – everything from depression to breast cancer – have never been proven. The risks associated with pregnancy and labour, though, are serious and demonstrable, from postnatal depression to death in childbirth. That's the basic issue that most progressive lawmakers, with the exception of heroes such as Texas senator Wendy Davis, have been too squeamish to raise: it is monstrous to force a woman to go through pregnancy and labour against her will when the medical technology to prevent her having to do so is available.
The rhetoric may be all cuddles and concern, but the results, for millions of women shut out from vital services across the world, will be just as cruel. It's a bit like deciding, instead of making a person homeless, to go to their house every day and gradually remove every piece of furniture "for their own good". First, you take away the kitchen, because accidents happen there; then you confiscate the bed, because lying around all day is unhealthy; finally, you demolish the roof and walls, because fresh air is good for you. The story ends the same way, but you get to pretend you haven't really kicked anyone out of their own home. That's precisely the logic being applied to women's right to control their own bodies.The rhetoric may be all cuddles and concern, but the results, for millions of women shut out from vital services across the world, will be just as cruel. It's a bit like deciding, instead of making a person homeless, to go to their house every day and gradually remove every piece of furniture "for their own good". First, you take away the kitchen, because accidents happen there; then you confiscate the bed, because lying around all day is unhealthy; finally, you demolish the roof and walls, because fresh air is good for you. The story ends the same way, but you get to pretend you haven't really kicked anyone out of their own home. That's precisely the logic being applied to women's right to control their own bodies.
Of course, some women find abortion a traumatic experience, partly because some jurisdictions go out of their way to make sure they do – for example, by making women with crisis pregnancies travel hundreds of miles to clinics surrounded by religious zealots waving pictures of bloody foetuses. However, women still put themselves through this process, and they will continue to do so no matter what sadistic sanctions are put in place. This is because any abortion pales in comparison to the trauma of being forced to carry and give birth to a child against your will.Of course, some women find abortion a traumatic experience, partly because some jurisdictions go out of their way to make sure they do – for example, by making women with crisis pregnancies travel hundreds of miles to clinics surrounded by religious zealots waving pictures of bloody foetuses. However, women still put themselves through this process, and they will continue to do so no matter what sadistic sanctions are put in place. This is because any abortion pales in comparison to the trauma of being forced to carry and give birth to a child against your will.
A creeping backlash against women's sexual, social and economic freedom is taking place in the west, and attacks on abortion provision are the brutal core of that backlash. Some people believe that, despite technological advancement, women should still pay a higher price for our sexuality than men do. They believe women should be punished for sexual behaviour with the risk of pregnancy. And if we become pregnant as a result of rape, as 40 Irish women did in 2011, well, that's tough luck, and it was probably our own fault anyway.A creeping backlash against women's sexual, social and economic freedom is taking place in the west, and attacks on abortion provision are the brutal core of that backlash. Some people believe that, despite technological advancement, women should still pay a higher price for our sexuality than men do. They believe women should be punished for sexual behaviour with the risk of pregnancy. And if we become pregnant as a result of rape, as 40 Irish women did in 2011, well, that's tough luck, and it was probably our own fault anyway.
Women cannot truly be the equals of men in any society where we are denied control over our fertility. The anti-choice backlash is couched in terms of care, but if women are denied basic bodily autonomy – if our fundamental human rights are confiscated by the state – we will remain second-class citizens. Women cannot truly be the equals of men in any society where we are denied control over our fertility. The anti-choice backlash is couched in terms of care, but if women are denied basic bodily autonomy – if our fundamental human rights are confiscated by the state – we will remain second-class citizens.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.