abortions
lately I've been working on a little science-fiction story about a girl who tries to get an abortion, say, 20 years from now. Pregnancy induces cravings for sci-fi in me, and I end up rereading my old Larry Niven novels (okay, actually they're my brothers, I stole them from him.) Pregnancy also makes me think a lot about abortions, and how very fucking important they are. So the story's been percolating along in my head, between episodes of vomiting. Then I read this little story in the Washington Post today. (via Steve Benen filling in for Kevin Drum at Political Animal). It's about a 42-year-old married mother of 2 whose doctors wouldn't prescribe her Plan B one day when she and her husband got a bit too frisky and forgot the diaphragm. The doctors wouldn't tell her why, just wouldn't prescribe. Two of them. In Virginia, not South Dakota. So she couldn't find anyone to prescribe, and she thought she'd take her chances, and her luck was not so good that month, and she had to get an abortion, which was pretty damn difficult, it turned out.
All because the assholes running our country hate women, and think it's okay to enslave us.
So then my sci-fi story seemed, I don't know, a bit redundant.
***
Pregnancy is slavery. Those of us who choose it are not slaves, exactly; more like knights who have pledged allegiance to a powerful king in exchange for some eventual reward. We are enslaved to our own desires.
But to o force a women to carry a pregnancy she does not choose is to enslave her, to make her the instrument of your own will, for no reason other than that she is a woman, and pregnant. It's repulsive. And a society that rejects a simple, inexpensive, safe alternative to abortions, and rejects abortions too, is not concerned about saving lives, but simply about controlling them.
I don't expect or want the development of artificial wombs anytime soon. I'm willing to accept 9 months of full bodily enslavement to see the result of the little experiment in genetic recombination that Max and I set up. But I'll be damned if I'll be forced into slavery for some genetic experiment I'm not interested in (yes, even one I might inadvertently set in motion myself).
The way things look these days though, some day I'll be damned. Or if not me, then you, or my daughter, or yours. We are losing this battle, people. The crazy will-to-power fucks are still winning. I think I'm gonna go puke.
posted by AmyN @ 6/04/2006 07:40:00 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
Does it ever occur to you, Amy, that hilariously over-the-top statements such as "[a]ll because the assholes running our country hate women, and think it's okay to enslave us" do not advance your cause? Do you believe that people who aren't already on your side find that persuasive? I've got a girlfriend and she'll be very upset to discover that, accordingy to you, I "hate" her. Not to put too fine a point on it, but why in the world should I take anything you say seriously?
Uh, yeah, whether one is pro-choice or not (I am), is it not too much to ask that you actually advance some type of intellectual argument, 'cause you see, mindless, holier-than-thou self-rightenous arguments is why I do not consider myself a Democrat and why I don't really consider Democratic arguments seriously. Isn't that what you're all about, Amy? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
"The crazy will-to-power fucks are still winning." Yep, that's gonna change a lot of minds. A Judith Jarvis Thomson argument, silly though it may be, would actually be a step up for you. If you actually wish to change minds -- as opposed to simply penning mindless rants -- why don't you try presenting some type of reasoned argument? Then again, I guess this post makes it pretty clear that you're not interested in a constructive dialogue.
"She and her husband got frisky" and she forgot to put in her diaphragm? We're supposed to have some sort of sympathy for a grown woman who has not taken responsibility for birth control? What an irresponsible whiner she is.
Well, as the poster of comments 1-3, I believe abortion should be legal (at least generally, perhaps not one minute before birth...but that's an entirely different discussion). My beef with Amy is that she is basically the same as other blowhards of both the Left and the Right, e.g., Michael Moore, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, etc. There's no REAL attempt to make an argument; their "arguments" consist of name-calling and self-righteous denunciation. Sorry, but I don't buy any of it. For example, Amy's claim that "the assholes running our country hate women" is more amusing than credible. Amy is just another left-wing nut who should probably band together with the right-wing nuts...at least the nuts would all be under one tent! :-)
Anonymous @2:17pm: You are soooo right. Since they practiced faulty birth control, they should be forced to have a baby. If that's "pro-choice," it's great to have you on board. Anonymous @2:50pm: Boy, nice comparison with Bill O'Reilly and Michael Savage. Last I checked, Amy wasn't advocating anything along the lines of concentration camps for illegal aliens (Savage) or claiming that American soldiers had massacred surrendered SS soldiers, when the reverse had happened (O'Reilly).
An open dialogue indeed. Especially with lots of faceless folks.
Max,
You appear to object to the fact that I'm "faceless." Perhaps that's a throw-away line that you thought sounded winning. In any event, I note that you do not state why you think my identity is important or even relevant to an "open dialogue." Nonetheless, my name is Michael Hall, and I'm the "MIFF" with whom Amy corresponded with in January 2004 (check your records, or do a simple Google search).
I don't know that O'Reilly and Savage advocated what you say they did (I won't spend the time to check and they are barely on my radar screen), but if they did indeed advocate the positions you ascribe to them, then I certainly agree that Amy's statements are less egregious that their statements. My larger point was that partisans on the Left and Right, including Amy, do not seem to care about framing the issues honestly.
I noticed that you didn't even bother to defend Amy's statements; all you did was claim that a comparison between Amy's statements and these jerks' statements was inapposite. Do you agree that "[p]regnancy is slavery" and that "the assholes running our country hate women?" Do you care to defend these statements? Not to put too fine a point upon it, but do either you or Amy have any coherent argument whatsoever? From where I'm sitting, it sounds as if you two are basically partisan hitmen (or "hitwomen" as the cae may be).
Michael
R J Keefe says that I'm an "unconscious misogynist[]." He should probably lament the apparent inability of many participating in political discourse (both on the Left and the Right) to actually advance an argument rather than calling so-and-so names. Uh-huh, despite the fact that I'm mostly pro-choice (as explained above), I'm a misogynist...even were I pro-life, you're statement is quite simply silly. Do you believe that the pro-life women out there are misogynist? This simply illustrates that some on the Left (not all) do not wish to debate a point on the merits.
P.S.: The thing is, I've got a problem with political caricatures, and that appears to be Amy's stock and trade. There are people on the Left who are honest, passionate, and serious about their causes and I respect that even though I may disagree with them on some issues (I'm an Independent). What I object to, however, is Amy's demagogic rhetoric. It's not serious, and I question whether it's advanced in good faith.
Oops, sorry, those last two posts were mine and I forgot to sign them.
Michael Hall
Anyway, commenting on this site is obviously a waste of brain power. G'night.
If there's one thing Amy isn't, it's "holier than thou." The mouth on that girl!
The Anons seem to be a bunch of unconscious misogynists. A common enough breed, sadly.
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