This week’s readings and video has helped inform more about how abortion is seen in society today and how it has been a decision in the hands of white men in power other than women. Of course, there are people who are supporters and anti-supports on this topic. Why take away the right for a woman to abort. I have mixed emotions about this topic because I’m in between being a supporter and not one. Banning abortion would be a huge change and for a woman, she will feel like she has taken away something from her rights for her to do. Most people have abortions because of financial instability, relationship problems, and unwillingness to be a single mother. As in the article, “Telemedicine Abortion Provider Rebecca Gomperts Gets Abortions Pills into the hands of those who need them: it’s a privilege”, as the dutch physician says, “Because if you prevent abortion, you can keep people poor,” then Rebecca Gomperts says, “And when you keep people poor, you can control them.” I honestly agree with Rebecca Gomperts. 

Abortion should be available for all because women have all rights to do what they want with their bodies without having anyone stop them. If they chose to abort then they have all the rights. 

This weeks readings and video informed me a great deal about how abortion is seen in society today and how it has been a decision in the hands of others who aren’t even women but white men in power. In my opinion, the article “Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows” written by Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward was a very informative piece of writing that obviously teaches you about the initial theory on abortion and making it legal in fifty states however, it also informs you on what’s going on in current society and the supreme court today. I think the leaked document about Roe v. Wade being drafted by Samuel Alito was shocking. It’s in a way unbelievable to me that men are making decisions for women and their bodies without any experience of being a woman at all. I think people like Samuel Alito make abortion personal, they make their own personal opinions on abortion allow them to dictate their actions and how they feel towards it. It’s kind of like persuading others to feel how you feel or think how you think because you think you know better or more than everybody else. But, in my opinion, that’s not the case. Alito stated in the article, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from the bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.” I found this quote to be a bit shocking, the fact the Alito believes that the abortion debate has deepened division throughout our society is weird to me. Why does how we view abortion and how we go about it for the past decade or longer deepened division in our world? It doesn’t make sense to me. Why are men in power given so much leeway to make decisions for women and their bodies based on what they feel is right or ethical?. I learned from the readings this week what exactly is going on in the Supreme Court regarding abortion and the draft, the different types of abortions a woman can have (I didn’t know there was various types, I didn’t even know a miscarriage can count as an abortion), and how woman struggle in states where they make it harder for you to get an abortion or get funding for an abortion when you don’t have the money. The quote by bell hooks spoke to me, her idea that one is not an advocate of feminist politics if they are anti-abortion. I think that alone speaks a thousand words to what is happening in society today with the Supreme Court; most of these people in power are not advocates of feminist politics, they don’t truly support women because if they did they wouldn’t be anti-abortion, they wouldn’t be fighting tooth and nail for a law to be overturned. They would respect women, their bodies, and their decisions in which they choose to have a child or not. The thirteen minute documentary “Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa” opened to my eyes on how hard it is for women to get abortions due to their different situations and the rules and regulations on funding for abortions based off of a questionnaire. It’s sad to me that these women get funding based on their situations, they don’t have the privilege of just automatically getting the funding or just using their insurance and walking into a clinic like Planned Parenthood. I think we often take for granted the privilege in certain states like New York where you can get an abortion no questions asked and if you don’t have insurance, clinics like Planned Parenthood can get you insurance right on the spot to pay for whatever services you may need that day or in the future. 

I was really shocked when I learned about and read Roe v. Wade. I felt like I shouldn’t have been too surprised as talks of banning abortions have been present in politics for so long, however, it was still surprising nonetheless to see something like this on such a high level of government. It’s really concerning, and I hope that most of our states will hold onto this right. It made me curious about specific states that have allowed abortion for a very long time. Will these decisions affect those states as well? I know that just because this is present on the federal level, I’m not sure how it will affect different states. However, it is still terrible that this will make it that much easier to remove this decision from people’s lives.

For this week, I’m happy that we are referencing back to Bell Hooks. I think that the quote chosen in the Week 14 Announcement was perfect to keep in mind for this week, and is very relevant right now. I was not aware of the depth of the history behind abortion. I understood that it has been present for a very long time, but I had no idea about the first laws against abortion, why, and by whom. It’s awful to learn that this was another way to pursue medicalization in this way, but I’m still very happy I’m learning this. I feel that this is a very important issue to understand, and bleeds into so many other issues. This topic spurred me to learn about abortion in other countries, as I feel like we can learn a lot from the different circumstances.

The topic of abortion has always been an intense topic with many opinions. The fact is that there were no laws in place to practice abortion until the 1860s, conveniently enough so that enslavers could increase their slave ownership. During this time, oppressors would create laws that favored them only. Enslaved women had no choice but to give birth to these children that would grow into slavery which in the present time I can compare with children born to unfit parents and ultimately led to being taken by the system—being the example of adoptive parents and foster parents that only want to take on the responsibility of housing these children to mistreat them and treat them like modern-day slaves. I want to mention Devonte Hart and his brothers and sisters were murdered by their adoptive lesbian parents, Jennifer and Sara hart. The point I’m trying to bring across is that it goes hand in hand with the option of abortion. If a woman gets a funded choice, keeping or terminating her pregnancy is ultimately her choice. When I was listening to the 13-minute documentary ” Abortion helpline,” the underfunding of women who needed help to terminate their pregnancy because they already had so much on their plate was heartbreaking. Here, the real question is men’s ownership because it takes two people to complete the deed. There should be more education and movements for men to get a vasectomy. A vasectomy is reversible, and when a man is emotionally and financially capable of having a child, they can decide to get their partner pregnant. What is currently happening now is they want to overturn the rule of pro-choice and allow women to result into going to unsafe locations and unlicensed doctors to perform their abortions. Instead of progressing were are going back in time.
We have women like Rebecca in Telemedicine. Abortion providers pride themselves on distributing abortion pills to those with higher needs and individuals that don’t have any means of access to obtain them. She wants more doctors to join in the help that others need. As bell hooks stated in “Feminist Politics: Where We Stand,” feminism is for everybody; she says you can’t be a feminist and anti-choice. You have to support the entire meaning of being a feminist. Taking a stand like a feminist will lead to many challenges because male figures will always try to overthrow any reasoning that a woman tries to input. Women continue to be belittled and being taken advantage of, which shouldn’t continue to happen because we are an individual that goes through a fundamental physical and mental change when bearing a child. A lot is being sacrificed when pregnant. The least the country can do is fund women that are not ready or for other reasons. No male figure should ever have that choice.

My initial reaction to the leaked document was irritation and anger. I thought “Well, this county is really going back in time now.” This is one of the very few topics I’m opinionated about. As a woman, I care about my rights. But also as a human, I care about having a choice. I am an immigrant in the US for this reason. I think a lot of immigrants come for freedom of both expression and choice, because of how diverse this country is, and how abundant its market is. So the news made me quite sad and also, confused. I could not understand why would they go back to review something like that. Aren’t there enough issues that are more important?

I learned the details of the draft opinion and the reasoning of the people behind it. They claim that Roe decision conflicts with the Constitution because it “invented a right mentioned nowhere in the Constitution.” They suggest that the decision caused a negative demographic effect, since “a highly disproportionate percentage of aborted fetuses are black.” I wonder if the author of this statement is aware of why it is the case. Speaking of this, I also learned from the short movie “Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa” why exactly reproductive rights are a privilege. The issue is not really about the morals behind abortions, but more about the financial toll of it. People with money can afford to pay out of pocket or to travel to another state/country for their medical services. People who can’t – would become ever poorer. It seems like the whole abortion controversy is not about religion, morals, or principles, but about maintaining and expanding the financial gap. The poorer the nation, the easier it is to rule them how you want.

I think it is important to remember that politics in the US is a pendulum, and at some point, the decisions and laws will go back to being in favor of the opposing group. But we also need to remember that we as a society have the power to either accelerate the change or help to withstand the current conditions until the change is achieved. Rebbeca Gomperts and Women’s Medical Fund are examples.

I did have a reaction to the Roe Vs. Wade case and it was basically a question mark.

Why a question mark you ask ?, well it was confusing to me for one why old men are making judgement calls on what woman should do with there bodies , also i started thinking of the longer term effects. They can block access to abortion but if the situation is dire enough it will be done. Meaning people will either have to go through underground channels to get it done or possibly do it themselves. I am actually waiting for them to make it a criminal offense, that where I see this going and apologies for the bleak outlook. I have very little faith in American government or there policies, especially when it comes to social justice for minority groups, the under privileged and woman. This type of situation requires pushback from the masses but not just females , this type of scenario requires pushback from all groups under the foot of the ruling class. As we spoke about in previous discussions laws were changed due to extreme actions in certain cases which I also am a fan of. Another thing I feel will change the abortion ruling is if a few celebrity raise there voice enough and it becomes a huge enough public outcry from Hollywood that might change things for the better. A scenario I personally hate but it does bring attention to certain issues . The abortion debate which shouldn’t even be a debate is touchy. There was a time where abortion was something Me and My X considered doing. It was such a horrid empty feeling for me as a man so I could only empathize with what she was dealing with mentally as well as physically. Pushing through a “religious crowd” of people saying the worst things possible thinking they are helping. Sitting in a waiting room trying to hold yourself together, observing people who either are in shambles or are more casual like its another day at the office. Internally exploding but still maintaining your composure. My X comes out and tells me about what she went through sitting on a cold table and how she felt which adds to the already tons of tension on my shoulders. Going through that was disgusting . After words I prayed my hardest to tell god that we were not killers and this was an unfortunate situation . My point in detailing this event is to again retort back to the question mark I stated earlier. A question mark for why something personal and tragic is somehow something that needs government validation its truly bizarre. The thing that is important to remember is that once again this is not a female issue this is a world issue, an issue for all the groups under the foot of the ruling hierarchy .

In this week’s videos and readings to me were nerve wrenching and depressing. But at the same time, I know its knowledge and can help all of us in understanding and what to expect. I have been seeing this all over the news. It has made me angry and cringe at the thought. We live in the year 2022 how can the Government think overturning abortion rights is right, how are we not moving forward instead of backwards? Why do they want this control over a woman’s body? Did they make a woman’s body? Hell No! I believe that banning abortion is a damaging consequence for women mentally why would anyone force a woman to do what they do not want to do. What happened to NO means NO….  

Hearing about the leaked draft regarding abortion rights and then reading about it make things seem helpless and fear full for the women now and in the future. It made me think about the women who would have their lives affected by this overturn. How would they even begin to feel or think if they will not be able to get an abortion due to unforeseen circumstances? It will be a battle that they have to be strong to fight against. It makes me sad for them. See I have always felt that a woman has her right to do what she will with her body whatever that may be and not with all this happening. It is a shame that after so many years they even think of such a horrible overturn. All this makes me think that all these other rights that we fought for and overcame can now be overturned and dismantled, this makes one feel helpless. I just hate that this is even being considered. What happens to the rest of the other rights, do they all go to the garbage also? Why is all this happening today? 

This week’s reading and documentaries gave us more insight about what abortion is, the multiple procedures and methods used to get them done, the multiple regulations it has, etc. It was also possible to observe the perspective of the people who choose to do an abortion and the multiple reason they have to do it. Besides seeing the perspective of women who get abortions, we were also able to see the perspective of some pro-life people.

When I found out about the leaked document, I was a concerned and worried. I thought that it was done just to put another obstacle on women’s path since doing that is completely unnecessary and doesn’t have any other purpose than mocking women and establishing more control towards them. To be honest, I don’t understand how abortion could not be a constitutional right since pregnancy it’s something very personal and it directly affects the women’s health, development, lifestyle, etc. Therefore, terminating a pregnancy should be a private decision where no one else interfers and it still should be protected by the 14th amendment. I wasn’t aware of the racism behind abortion regulation laws. It definetly makes a lot of sense that the rich white men wanted to continue to abuse people for their personal gain. It’s extremely sad that after thinking that we made a significant progress legalizing abortion, we could be going 50 years backwards putting in risk the health of thousands of women.

This week I learned about the terrible start of abortion regulations. It is sad to see that it wasn’t done even for religious reasons, they literally wanted to own black women’s sexuality and bodies, just so they can bring more people into the world to continue to serve them, it’s extremely dehumanizing. I also gained more understanding of Roe v Wade and how is it so important to women’s abortion rights. Regardless of the terrible situation we are in, it gives me a little bit of hope seeing an initiative like the one of Rebecca Gompert, which is benefiting women in the United States and other countries around the world. It’s amazing that she’s making abortion much more accessible and it’s being delivered in creative ways like with robots and drones. The content of this week reminded me of the multiple abortion methods and also reminded me of the importance of keeping abrtion legal.

I feel like sometimes we get very caught in our own world and forget to think about what other people could be going through, to be honest I feel like that was happening to me. Watching the “Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa” video and the “Abortion Divide” documentary, allowed me to get a grip of reality and think about what other people are going through, and why keeping abortion legal it’s necessary for women’s health. Getting an abortion it’s not an easy decision to make, and it’s important to be thoughtful before bringing a human into this far from perfect world,. People sometimes suffer when they decide to get an abortion since they could become kind of attached to the embryo and the idea of what it could become, but one not always has the resources to give them a live worth living. Having a child It’s also something so personal and lifechanging, it’s incredibly disrespectful that some random pro-life people are trying to influence your decision, it’s extremely insensitive. Getting an abortion it’s far from selfish because it’s not easy at all to live in this world, and even less when you belong to a minority and the system is built for your failure. I couldn’t agree more with the words of Bell Hooks “If feminism is a movement to end sexist oppression, and depriving females of reproductive rights is a form of sexist oppression, then one cannot be anti-choice and be feminist. A woman can insist she would never choose to have an abortion while affirming her support of the right of women to choose and still be an advocate of feminist politics”. Women should be able to have the option of getting a safe, free, and legal abortion because they are human beings who have the right to decide for their futures.