The discourse around abortion in the United States seems to roll onto our news channels and social media timelines every couple of months. It’s very disappointing how women’s reproductive rights have been exploited, yet still have been policed so much that many women can’t seem to even have control over their own bodies. The videos we had to watch for class this week were very insightful on the issue that many individuals with female reproductive organs have to face. I especially liked the short video titled, “What is Reproductive Justice?” on youtube. It details how a women’s business regarding their reproductive organs should be kept solely between themselves and their OBGYN. I completely agree with this and believe that no outside forces should be the deciding factor on what a woman does with their uterus. Another video I enjoyed from the shared playlist was “100 years of Periods”, it depicts the history of menstruation products starting from 1911. From discovering cellucotton and marketing it towards women as a more absorbent alternative to the homemade cloth pads they were popular at the time. This began the commodification of women’s menstruation products and in turn, what we know today as the “pink tax”, where companies will sell products exclusively to women at a higher price, most of the time the products are a necessity. Popular companies like Kotex offered inconspicuous packaging for menstruation products, suggesting that a “period” was something a woman needed to hide and be embarrassed by, which most certainly is not the case. Even still to this day, many men use foul language when speaking about periods, and try to stay as far away from the topic as possible. This is ironic as they certainly don’t feel the need to not intervene with a women’s reproductive system when abortion is involved. Judging the Pro-Choice movement is completely silly in my eyes, as it is not inherently Pro-abortion, this is where people tend to get confused. Many women who are pro-choice might never get an abortion or even disapprove of them, however, they can still understand that another woman should ALWAYS have the right to choose. ALL women deserve agency towards their bodies, this should not be political discourse nor a topic up for debate.
Fawina’s Snapshot is a picture of an older woman holding up a sign against the abortion ban in Texas. It is heartbreaking that a women’s right to choose lays in the hands of politicians, many of which are male and don’t even have first-hand experience of what it means to be a woman. Not to mention that abortion bans are not going to keep women from getting one if they deem it necessary, it is statistically proven that abortion rates don’t lower after abortion bans. This decision will only increase the injuries and fatalities that will come from antiquated and dangerous forms of home abortions. These politicians are aware of this, but it is clear that they don’t care about women, or their fetuses, in fact. It is all a way to control, shame, and punish those who simply just want the ability to choose what they can do with their bodies