The Larger Issue Behind Roe v. Wade
If you're a sexually active woman capable of getting pregnant, your freedom is in danger. Access to abortion and birth control is increasingly under fire from conservatives who think all sex should result in pregnancy. ~ Rachel Kramer Bussel.
As is the case with the nomination of any new Supreme Court justice, the subject of abortion, specifically the case of Roe v. Wade, is a critical issue.
Many people miss the primary point of that case, however, assuming it was strictly about abortion. Now, even though the case was predicated on a prohibition of abortion, the ruling itself was based on a woman’s fundamental right to privacy. That is why, even if you are rabidly pro-life and anti-abortion, YOU may wish to reconsider before asking that the case be overturned.
Some of you may not be aware of a couple of predecessor cases that were just as important in many respects. Griswold v. the State of Connecticut (1965) [and a subsequent one, Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972)] legalized birth control, using the same right to privacy issue. Prior to these the dispensing of birth control medication was ILLEGAL, even to married couples. To us, that may sound asinine, and of course it was. But such was the cultural climate of the day. The Roe ruling was derivative of the right to privacy precedents set forth in these cases.
Whether or not you believe abortion ought to be illegal, I’m sure most, if not all of you would agree that YOU should have the right to decide what you do in the privacy of your own bedroom, who you have sex with, whether or not you want to get pregnant, and if you do, the vast majority of you would also like to be able to decide what you wish to do with it. I surely know that I do.
I’ve had a growing concern for some time about what is going on in this country with the culture wars and, more specifically, the wars against female reproductive health. I thought maybe I was reading too much into some of it, but it is beginning to dawn on me that I am most definitely not alone.
The same Puritanical forces that are hard at work to outlaw abortion, denying access to sexual health information to teens and unmarried people (and even married people to a large extent), outlawing all forms of erotic entertainment, banning the sale of sex toys, denying access to emergency contraception, and pushing these useless abstinence-only sex education courses, are also seeking to push us back into the 1950s when even birth control was illegal. They’re working to make all sexual activity that does not result in a pregnancy impossible. I am awaiting the day some stupid legislator introduces a bill that makes it illegal for minors to buy condoms.
As incredible as that sounds, the quote above at the top of my post from an article outlining some details about what is going on. I highly recommend that you read Rachel Bussell's article. We will see more coverage of this in the not too distant future, I sincerely hope.
Why is this important to you? The people making these decisions are invariably the older politicians, or, more specifically, people who no longer have to worry about the risk of getting pregnant. It doesn’t affect them. It most definitely will affect you, however. The statistics say most of you won’t get married until you are well into your twenties. Combined with the fact that teens are reaching puberty at a much earlier age than ever before, people of our generation have much less problem with pre-marital sex than people of older generations, and the average age for getting married now is in the mid to late 20s, the likelihood of you waiting 15-20 years to have sex is extremely remote. Do you really think you can wait……or, wait, do you really WANT to wait that long to be able to have sex, AND, once you get married, not have sex purely for the pleasurable aspects of it?
You need to understand that you, as a female, are under attack, and are at risk for losing the right to control your own body! Why do I limit it to the females? Men do not have to worry about what happens if YOU get pregnant. Some will or do, of course, but they have the CHOICE to do so. You may not if these folks succeed with what they’re trying to do.
The guys will suffer from this as well, of course. If women can only have sex when they want to get pregnant, there are going to be a LOT of unsatisfied guys! So don't think this is just an issue that affects women - it will literally affect everyone of our generation and those to come.
You need to keep up on what is happening with these issues, because, even if you don’t believe abortion should be legal, an overturning of Roe v. Wade is going to set the stage for a much greater battle about what you get to do with your own body for years to come. We've already seen the eroding of rights, liberties and personal freedoms in this country over the past handful of years. It's some frightening shit. I'd like to think that this is being overstated. But given what is going on in this country today, I don't think I want to assume that is the case.
Read the article above, read the book it makes reference to, and GET INVOLVED in what is going on that involves your reproductive health! If you don’t, the government is going to be making the decisions for you!
Technorati Tags: sex abortion sexuality contraception
As is the case with the nomination of any new Supreme Court justice, the subject of abortion, specifically the case of Roe v. Wade, is a critical issue.Many people miss the primary point of that case, however, assuming it was strictly about abortion. Now, even though the case was predicated on a prohibition of abortion, the ruling itself was based on a woman’s fundamental right to privacy. That is why, even if you are rabidly pro-life and anti-abortion, YOU may wish to reconsider before asking that the case be overturned.
Some of you may not be aware of a couple of predecessor cases that were just as important in many respects. Griswold v. the State of Connecticut (1965) [and a subsequent one, Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972)] legalized birth control, using the same right to privacy issue. Prior to these the dispensing of birth control medication was ILLEGAL, even to married couples. To us, that may sound asinine, and of course it was. But such was the cultural climate of the day. The Roe ruling was derivative of the right to privacy precedents set forth in these cases.
Whether or not you believe abortion ought to be illegal, I’m sure most, if not all of you would agree that YOU should have the right to decide what you do in the privacy of your own bedroom, who you have sex with, whether or not you want to get pregnant, and if you do, the vast majority of you would also like to be able to decide what you wish to do with it. I surely know that I do.
I’ve had a growing concern for some time about what is going on in this country with the culture wars and, more specifically, the wars against female reproductive health. I thought maybe I was reading too much into some of it, but it is beginning to dawn on me that I am most definitely not alone.
The same Puritanical forces that are hard at work to outlaw abortion, denying access to sexual health information to teens and unmarried people (and even married people to a large extent), outlawing all forms of erotic entertainment, banning the sale of sex toys, denying access to emergency contraception, and pushing these useless abstinence-only sex education courses, are also seeking to push us back into the 1950s when even birth control was illegal. They’re working to make all sexual activity that does not result in a pregnancy impossible. I am awaiting the day some stupid legislator introduces a bill that makes it illegal for minors to buy condoms.
As incredible as that sounds, the quote above at the top of my post from an article outlining some details about what is going on. I highly recommend that you read Rachel Bussell's article. We will see more coverage of this in the not too distant future, I sincerely hope.
Why is this important to you? The people making these decisions are invariably the older politicians, or, more specifically, people who no longer have to worry about the risk of getting pregnant. It doesn’t affect them. It most definitely will affect you, however. The statistics say most of you won’t get married until you are well into your twenties. Combined with the fact that teens are reaching puberty at a much earlier age than ever before, people of our generation have much less problem with pre-marital sex than people of older generations, and the average age for getting married now is in the mid to late 20s, the likelihood of you waiting 15-20 years to have sex is extremely remote. Do you really think you can wait……or, wait, do you really WANT to wait that long to be able to have sex, AND, once you get married, not have sex purely for the pleasurable aspects of it?
You need to understand that you, as a female, are under attack, and are at risk for losing the right to control your own body! Why do I limit it to the females? Men do not have to worry about what happens if YOU get pregnant. Some will or do, of course, but they have the CHOICE to do so. You may not if these folks succeed with what they’re trying to do.
The guys will suffer from this as well, of course. If women can only have sex when they want to get pregnant, there are going to be a LOT of unsatisfied guys! So don't think this is just an issue that affects women - it will literally affect everyone of our generation and those to come.
You need to keep up on what is happening with these issues, because, even if you don’t believe abortion should be legal, an overturning of Roe v. Wade is going to set the stage for a much greater battle about what you get to do with your own body for years to come. We've already seen the eroding of rights, liberties and personal freedoms in this country over the past handful of years. It's some frightening shit. I'd like to think that this is being overstated. But given what is going on in this country today, I don't think I want to assume that is the case.
Read the article above, read the book it makes reference to, and GET INVOLVED in what is going on that involves your reproductive health! If you don’t, the government is going to be making the decisions for you!
Technorati Tags: sex abortion sexuality contraception
posted by StripGoddess at 1:41 AM
4 Comments:
this much is "more than obvious": the men (and perhaps some women) at the levers of power are against MOST if not all "freedoms".
it is really a matter of "control" and "domination" . . . control what peole read and watch and one controls what most "think" . . . control then what they "do" and the "Domination" is absolute!
it is sad that there are people today intent on turning the clock back and curtailing any and all liberties and freedoms.
"life . . . liberty . . . and the pursuit of happiness" -- doesn't the pursuit of what "someone else' TELLS you is "life" or what someone else proscribes as the boundaries of your freedom . . and not to seek someone else's understanding of what makes you "happy".
so, aside from the "abortion" issue, there is a true threat (already in advance) of the usurpation of "America" and turning it into "AmeriKa".
Great article! It's downright fulfilling to read another strong woman's voice speak out on behalf of all of us, both genders included.
Thank you for speaking your mind, writing with honesty, and always enlightening us while motivating us to act and BE better people. :)
It won't matter for guys though. If you all decide to get pregnant, we have no choice, we have to pay child support. If you decide to abort, we have no choice. Now you all can be on the other side, getting screwed with all of us. Welcome!
I have to agree with carl wayne in that we have no choice in the matter; which can suck. But he should realise that having an abortion is very traumatic physically and emotionally (so can having a baby); and believe me paying for half of the expenses that come with bringing up a child, which you should do anyways, is the easy part.
I don't like the idea of abortions but in no way should they be illegal; however the best method is prevention so in reality puritains are just shooting themselves in the foot if they want condoms and sex education out cause the outcome will be more unwanted pregnancies.
My grandparents were at one point the main leaders of the pro life movement in Ottawa; they are not bad people (not that bad anyway) but they are so disillusioned. My grandfather once said that there was less teen sex in his day even though there was no sex education; that's like comparing apples to oranges. Times haved changed drastically since then, sex is everywhere in the media now and people no longer believe that god will punish them for their sins; plus, as my mom mentioned to him, how did he know what was happening in his class since people did not talk about such things.
You are so right when you say that it is old people trying to tells us what we should do or not do; like they know any better. However I don't think they are all bad and their is some things to be learned from their messages; they are just old fashioned and need to face reality and in no way should we change are laws because of their unfactual beliefs.
As for freedom, I would argue that it is in fact the amount of freedom, that people but mostly corporations have, that is fucking up this planet. Why should we listen to what a bunch of rich slave owners wrote 250 years ago anyways; especially when they only wrote it because they refused to pay taxes to britain where slavery was illegal. Freedom my ass, bunch of hypocrites; and trust me, we don't want to allow every dumbass in the world the right to what he calls his happiness.
In canada we have the right to life, liberty and security of the person (and being miserable); I also like the french's rights to liberté, egalité et fraternité (the last one is ify).
However, Micheal is right when he says it's a matter of domination; and most of the time the freedom talking away from us are the ones that should be fundemental and the ones protected are only done so in view of the profits they will bring (just like the initial american constitution and probably the canadian one as well; this whole continent was stolen from indians after all).
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home