Nothing angered me more than seeing Greg Abbott and dozens of other men standing over the newly passed “heartbeat” bill in Texas. This bill prohibits abortion as early as six weeks. Six weeks! A succinct time frame that I can’t even grasp. It boggles my mind that people that do not know what it is like to be a woman; create laws that in no ways affect them. Whether you are a religious extremist or a right-wing conservative this doesn’t change the fact that this impedes women’s rights. Most specifically women’s reproductive rights.
This bill and many bills similar to it stem from very sexist and misogynist inner ideals that women are just human incubators. These bills are created to exert conservative control by taking away autonomy and criminalize women for partaking in sexual freedom. It takes two people to be a part of the reproductive process yet sometimes it doesn’t seem like it.
Men represent less than 25% of the total use of contraceptive uses. This includes the pill, pulling out, condoms, and vasectomy. There have been hormonal male contraceptives in the works but, they got stopped because of negative side effects. Interesting fact, considering most women hormonal contraceptives have many side effects. Dangerous ones such as weight gain, depression, fatigue, and the list goes on.
We do need men!
Now I’m not saying that we do NOT need men when it comes to making important laws regarding women. I believe men should be an ally if anything. Men should educate themselves in contraceptives, abortions, and read stories on what women go through. By men educating themselves, this can help influence future health policy-making decisions. It would be beneficial to have their voices contribute to ensuring women’s rights lies in the hands of just women.
Stripping women the autonomy of choice leads to dangerous decisions. A percentage of women will go through great lengths to get rid of a pregnancy they are not prepared for.
Who does this affect the most?
When I watched the heartbeat bill get signed I looked across the room. This bill doesn’t effect the rich and white individuals that can take a flight whenever they find themselves in trouble. This law impacts more the disenfranchised, minority groups who cannot leave their state and are stuck in a helpless situation. Stringent abortion laws were already in place in a lot communities especially in the south and midwest. It is quite tragic to see that things are only getting worse and society is not making an effort to make healthcare a human right.
Have you read my last blog post?