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Saturday, January 29, 2005

You didn't really think that they'd stop at abortion, did you?

From Daily Kos, the battle of what to do about contraception if Roe v. Wade is overturned is getting ugly, as anti-abortion forces make it clear that they are going to try to turn a legal ban on abortion into a ban on as many contraceptives as humanly possible. In an effort to circumvent these anti-contraception efforts, Senator Mary Margaret Whipple of the Virginia Senate has written up a bill to protect the women of Virginia from having the birth control pills taken away from them once it's determined that women don't enjoy the privacy rights won in Roe v. Wade. The quibble in the Virginia Senate is over the two definitions of what "contraception" is.

There is the medically correct definition that Whipple intends to use, which is that it prevents pregnancy.

"Contraception" is defined, for all purposes, as the use of any process, device, or method to prevent pregnancy, including steroidal, chemical, physical or barrier, natural or permanent methods for preventing the union of an ovum with the spermatozoon or the subsequent implantation of the fertilized ovum in the uterus.

But some of the right wing men of the Virginia Senate don't like the correct definition of contraception, because it relies on correct definiton of pregnancy, which starts at implantation. And they don't like that because that means that after the man has shot his load, that doesn't necessarily mean the woman is pregnant. Nope, a woman's body still has work to do in order to be pregnant, an offensive notion to say the least.

But just because science says it's true doesn't mean the law can't pretend that pregnant is something that men do to women, instead of a two to tango situation. And the men-do-it-to-women-end-of-story definition is the one that the right wing men of the Virginia Senate prefer.

But Senator Devolites-Davis ignored the definitions of contraception used by medical science, turned to Dictionary.com as her source of definitions of medical terminology, and has now introduced an amendment to Whipple's bill that removes Whipple's medical terminology, specifically the wording that refers to implantation.

As I have pointed out many times before, the debate over what "pregnant" is really reveals the ugly, wormy side of the anti-choice brigade. This ain't about babies, folks. It's about denying female agency wherever it rears its ugly head, even and especially in something as commonsensical as the fact that it may take a man to make a baby, but men surely aren't the ones who make babies.

Edited to add: Does anyone else see the irony in this whole situation? Anti-feminists are always complaining that feminists won't admit that there are differences between men and women. And yet in the one situation where we have mountains of evidence of a bona fide, undeniable difference--that women's bodies have a process to turn raw material into other human beings and men's don't--it's the anti-feminists that are denying the difference and saying that both men and women contribute equally to making a baby.

54 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Ah, but that difference is a difference that gives women a tremendous amount of power. If it's women's bodies that produce human beings (with some help from the men), then men lose a lot, including things like lineage, control over family. It is up to women as to whether the family continues or not or whether the human race continues or not, for that matter. Preventing pregnancy, having abortions, those things are huge manifestations of that power and thus why it's being squashed by men.

1/29/2005

 
Blogger Amanda Marcotte said...

Brad, I know that. In fact, this post makes no sense unless you realize that abortion and contraception rights are secured by the courts and that legislation like this is only going to be relevant if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

However, I live in the very state that Roe lived in. I assure you, it will be illegal here and women will start trying to go to Mexico to get illegal abortions like they did in the 60s in Texas.

1/29/2005

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"And since most pro-choice people believe that the majority of the country is also pro-choice, do you think the individual states wouldn't vote to keep abortion legal?"

Brad, as we saw in 2000, the majority of the country isn't the majority in every state. If abortion becomes a state decision, then it's entirely possible that quite a number of states will outlaw it entirely. (Don't a few still have pre-Roe laws on the books? I think I heard 5?)

1/29/2005

 
Blogger Maureen said...

You can pry my Sprintec pack... from my cold, dead hands!

Okay, not all Virginia legislators have learned from the example of Cosgrove what happens when feminists get pissed. Should I send Miz Whipple a letter describing this one horrible period I got before I went on the Pill?

1/29/2005

 
Blogger Maureen said...

Oops. I meant Miz Devolites-Davis.

1/29/2005

 
Blogger mythago said...

All Roe did was make it federally legalEr, no, Roe recognized a woman's right to abortion as falling under the Constitutional right of privacy.

1/30/2005

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"...And they don't like that because that means that after the man has shot his load, that doesn't necessarily mean the woman is pregnant..."

Duh. Because anti-choice men like the idea of being SOLELY responsible for conception. Event though all scientific research proves otherwise, but not that's ever gotten in the way of Christian-Rightwing anti-choice males.

"...This ain't about babies, folks. It's about denying female agency wherever it rears its ugly head, even and especially in something as commonsensical as the fact that it may take a man to make a baby, but men surely aren't the ones who make babies..."

And that's why these anti-choice males are against pro-abortion-rights and pro-contraceptive-rights. They know that a man lacks control over a woman's reproduction after he deposits his sperm (remember, every sperm needs a name), so to compensate for that they turn a woman's body into government property. It's all about property rights and making sure that sperm "possesses" that ovum.

"...And the men-do-it-to-women-end-of-story definition is the one that the right wing men of the Virginia Senate prefer..."

I think that has to do with "macho culture" and patriarchal standards of masculinity. I have met guys who thinks it's "macho" and "manly" to impregnate a woman. And these guys are like these anti-choice male senators, they think that men solely responsible for conception. The most mind boggling thing about that is....they've taken biology and health classes! They know better, but they still think it's all about them and their sperm.

I've noticed that among anti-choice guys; they think it's all about them, because they shot a load into the woman. So that must guarantee his property rights over her body, right?!

"...that women's bodies have a process to turn raw material into other human beings and men's don't--it's the anti-feminists that are denying the difference and saying that both men and women contribute equally to making a baby..."

Because it reveals their ignorance and they won't admit it, because they're too weak and proud. Plus it once again proves, that when it comes to reproduction, it's up to the woman's body (and her choice) to initiate pregnancy. NOT a man's sperm! After all, there are all sorts of obstacles to fertilization or sperm even surviving once it's been deposited. Which apparently, to some of these anti-choice guys, it's a huge blow to their ego to know that a woman's body has more control over reproduction and conception than he could ever hope to have. But they remedy that with anti-abortion laws and anti-contraceptive laws.

Bottom line; to these anti-choice male senators (and anti-choice men in general) it's all about controlling women's bodies after he shoots his load into her. To them, ejaculating into a woman must be tantamount to "buying" a piece of property. In this case, a woman's uterus. Like I said, it's all about *them* and their precious seed.

1/30/2005

 
Blogger flea said...

IIRC, abortion is set to become illegal in 20 states if RvW is overturned.

1/30/2005

 
Blogger Amanda Marcotte said...

Maureen FYI--it's not Whipple who is the bad guy. She is trying to pass a law protecting the right to obtain the pill even if a woman's right to privacy is overturned by the Supreme Court. (And make no mistake, a man's right to privacy will not come under legal challenge if Roe is overturned.) It's other VA senators who are opposing her.

1/30/2005

 
Blogger delagar said...

I'm glad Brad can rise above the abortion question.

I'm glad he's "aware" that abortion won't automatically become illegal everywhere if Roe V. Wade is overturned.

Too bad for the women in the states where it does become illegal, I guess.

And too bad for the minors, right now, in the states with archaic laws about contraception and parental notification laws now, I guess, and too bad about impoverished adults living in states (like Idaho, for instance) with laws that say you have to get the abortion within the first trimester, except that there aren't any doctors within a thousand mile that will do those abortions and the women can't raise the money to travel to doctors who can, not within the time limits.

Too bad. Their tough luck. Glad Brad can rise above this debate.

Lucky him.

1/30/2005

 
Blogger mythago said...

Probably because 'what the federal government has to do with abortion' is explained rather well in Roe.

1/30/2005

 
Blogger ValerieAnne said...

I heard on NPR, the right wing will do everything in its power over the next 4 years to get RvW overturned. This is so scary to me. I feel like I'm watching my rights dissolve before my eyes. What's next - Women's suffrage? These rights were so hard-fought. I really thought we were done fighting. How did those women do it? I'm so busy. I can't imagine making time to attend a protest march. They don't seem as effective any more either.

The description of these anti-choice men is bizarre. I honestly thought people like that only lived in other countries. I wish we could go back to the Cold War so they could have a different enemy to focus on.

Are things going to get as bad as the Taliban until people wake up and smell the coffee? History books will record these years as the descent into madness - like the McCarthy hearings. Just when I think it can't get worse, it gets worse. I've been outraged and seen nothing done about it. (9/11 = Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Clear Skies, outing the CIA operative....) It was just dismissed. Nothing done about it. The media just reports fluff, like, which celebrity marriages broke up.

2/01/2005

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you stupid fucking feminist...
who the hell do you think you are?
you are pretty much saying that a man has NOTHING to do with a woman getting pregnant,well if you believe that u are even dumber than u seem if thats possible...
so a woman can get pregnant willy nilly whenever she wants, without access to sperm? your saying that a woman does everything to create the baby, but does the woman supply her own sperm? no.
you say a lot of men think impregnating women is 'macho' but on the contrary, i think a lot of men are scared to death of getting a woman pregnant, and thats usually why women get abortions.. not because she wants one but because the guy wants one.
pro-choice, pro this pro that, you femi-nazis talk about 'choice' but the minute a teenage woman decides to have a baby, or a wife decides to be a stay at home mom and take care of their children, you scream at them for not having a 'choice' but staying at home or having children IS their choice, yet you are so quick to call them bad women. in the u.s because of all the feminism one of the worst stigmas imaginable is that of the housewife. they are viewed deplorable, backwards, inferior, and stupid. pro-choice for you isnt about choice, its about YOUR choice, if they dont like YOUR CHOICES, (having abortions, not having kids at all not getting married, working fulltime and never seeing ur kids) then they are 'bad women.'
you people sicken me, and by the way... i am a female

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