#abortion talk

[briarpatch-kids]

If you CAN use hormonal birth control or an IUD to prevent pregnancy, please use it. Some people can't, and that's totally fine, but if it doesn't cause intolerable problems I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend using it. The statistics for just condoms or just cycle tracking are ABYSMAL and abortions are getting more and more restricted in the US.

There's even over the counter birth control now if you can't see a doctor.

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

nothing irks me more than pro-life cis women. like, girl, how do you not see that none of this is about protecting some unborn fetus?

you think these men in power give a damn about unborn children? the same men who let armed agents restrain pregnant women and children for hours to conduct raids? the same ones who have been implicated in sex crimes against minors?

it's never been about protecting babies (which a fetus isn't; that's why it takes 9 months to bake). it's about controlling women's bodies. if lawmakers really wanted to prevent abortion, they wouldn't be coming after birth control. they wouldn't allow businesses to refuse to cover birth control on their company insurance. it would be as easy to access as condoms. the morning after pill would be sold in every pharmacy. hell, even in gas stations. can't get an abortion if you prevent the pregnancy from happening.

and while we are on that topic, why is it solely the woman's responsibility to prevent pregnancy? why not offer birth control for men? oh, bc they tried once and the side effects were deemed too unsafe. the very similar side effects to what women experience, yet are expected to tough out. (not that i think anything that causes those types of severe side effects should be made and distributed. but it's funny how those effects were only taken seriously when they applied to men)

or why not outlaw drugs for erectile dysfunction? if you're gonna come at it from some evangelical point of view where god meant for you to get pregnant, then god meant for that dick to stay flaccid. but that would never happen, bc it isn't about preventing unwanted abortions, or saving unborn babies. it's about control over women. don't give them access to abortion; but fuck you if you can't afford to raise the kid you were forced to bring into this world and need some help, bc kids only matter before they're born. then once that's gone, start coming for birth control. for no fault divorce. for anything that gives women a bit of power in this patriarchal hellhole.

pro-life/anti-abortion has been one of the biggest ways men in power have tricked women into giving them power of their own bodies and their own agency. they pull on the emotional heartstrings of women who believe a fetus equals a baby, even though there's so much science that tells you that isn't true. they play you for fools by pretending to care, when they don't give a damn and never have.

if they did, where are the laws that protect those children or their mother when the father is abusive? did you know a mother can't even apply for medicaid (in some states, idk if it's everywhere) if she isn't seeking child support from her child's father? the thing that would allow him to claim visitation rights.

do you know how many women suffer without any sort of medical insurance for themselves, bc they refuse to let their children interact with a violent man? how many of them can't get or maintain jobs bc the trauma they endured gave them PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic disorders, etc. things that they can't get diagnosed, bc they have no insurance, and as such, no way to apply for any sort of disability that could help keep her family afloat while she heals and learns the skills she needs to be able to cope and survive in the world.

the whole point is to keep women stuck to a man by necessity. to punish women who don't meet a certain standard of purity. to keep them afraid of claiming their own sexuality. to keep them docile and submissive.

and it's all so fucking obvious. like even if you don't personally believe in abortion, that's fine--don't get one. but when you start to try to force your beliefs on everyone else and refuse to open your eyes and see the bigger picture it feels like willful ignorance. you are not as stupid as these men think you are. so stop acting like it.

[beeps-mess]

please PLEASE include trans men and nonbinary people in your conversations about abortion and reproductive rights.

[elkian]

Indigenous people and ethnic minorities, physically and mentally disabled people, intersex and transgender people have all been targets of forced sterilization and other reproductive control actions for ages. Right to abort is incredibly important, but it’s key to remember that reproductive autonomy doesn’t end there.

[obi-troll-kenobi]

Whenever I see a comment section for anti-abortion voices:

[harrison-osterfield-appreciation]

When talking about abortion I feel like a lot of people aren’t really very informed even about the nature of period and ovulation cycles. Many people don’t experience regular 28 day period cycles, especially during the first 10 or so years of having their period, and even if they do, pregnant people still can have periods. A period coming late could be due to a number of factors such as diet, stress, medication, or sometimes bodies just do weird stuff, and getting your period doesn’t necessarily definitively mean that you’re not pregnant.

Media and conversations surrounding periods and pregnancy tend to paint a clear outline that period = not pregnant, and that irregular/late/skipped period = pregnant, when it’s just not that simple. The notion of 6 weeks being enough time to discover an unwanted pregnancy and terminate it is completely unrealistic.

[victoriasugden1]

My problem with this entire plot is on the surface it comes off as if it’s attempting to be pro-choice but it’s clearly got an undertoned pro-life agenda. Not everyone will agree with me, but when Chas made her choice to have an abortion, that should have been it. 

There shouldn’t have been any of this forced manipulation to try and get her to realise that she actually does want this baby. Literally, Chas should have said “I want an abortion,” and everyone should have gone “okay it’s your body, your choice.” That should have been the end of it. 

Instead of which got this manipulative narrative, to justify her keeping the baby. it’s a shame because ED had a chance to make a powerful statement, especially since they bothered to go through with actually having scenes at the clinic; but nah.

[briarpatch-kids]

I was very careful about the idea of getting pregnant and made sure my specialists believed I could manage a pregnancy and delivery, stopped my vices that could harm a fetus, started taking folic acid for 6 months before taking out my birth control, and talked to a generic counselor about potential risks and then with my spouse about conditions we'd end a pregnancy over and which ones we wouldn't. Like responsible people.

Having a planned pregnancy is a privilege, but if you get that privilege you should try and give the resulting baby the best start possible. However, avoiding disability isn't a given, and you aren't ever guaranteed a healthy baby.