The fringe of the pro- “choice” movement?
You can imagine my excitement when over the course of a few months, I landed interviews at many of the big pro-choice organizations here…. But each interview ended with some version of this: “I’m sorry, but you are too radical/too much of an activist to work for us.”…
At one particular organization, a senior executive looked me in the eye and said, “If you work here, you have no voice on reproductive rights.”
Another organization wanted me to delete my Twitter account. Some wanted me to stop blogging. Others said that because I have a published opinion on later abortion, I would be a liability. One wanted me to resign from all my volunteer pro-choice activism….
[H]ow can a pro-choice organization tell a job candidate that her dedication to pro-choice activism disqualifies her from a job?….
There is something perverse about not wanting to hire people who are so committed to the movement that they work in it in their spare time.
~Steph Herold, founder of IAmDrTiller.com and the Abortion Gang, decrying the lack of extremism in the mainstream pro-choice movement, Feministe, March 25
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Gee, I have a great solution: delete the “tiller” account and open a new one called “IAMKERMITGOSNELL.” That should warm the cockles of their hearts.
Too extreme for the extremists? LOL
I think PCG is one of founders of that gang.
If you click on the Abortion Gang link you will get an eyeful of the F word in the latest article.
Lovely.
PCG is listed under WHO.
I would actually say that this represents a more well thought out position on abortion than many pro-choicers. What’s the general view of abortion by pro-choicers?
Abortion always in case of rape, incest, health/life of teh mother, fetal deformities, and for any reason up to maybe 18 weeks or so and then after that, it becomes harder and harder to justify.
Why, I might ask? The person who is being quoted bases teh right to abortion on the bodily autonomy of teh woman. Thus she may have an abortion anytime through all 9 months of pregnancy for any or no reason. At least that is consistent. There is a principle (bodily autonomy) and she takes the principle to its logical conclusion. Of course, I think what that ultimately shows is a reductio ad absurdum for teh bodily autonomy argument, but at least they are willing to bite the bullet and embrace absurdity. That’s more than I can say for most pro-choicers. (though when I say “most” I do not mean most on this site. Certainly there are some who have a carefully nuanced theory of personhood, which may not allow abortions later in the pregnancy. But most people have not thought this through, as was evidence [for teh umpteenth time] by Reality recently when she copied and pasted parts from a Wiki article about personhood theories. She is just now realizing the difference between the claim that the fetus is a human being vs a person, and will hopefully be able to articulate a rational defense of abortion as such.)
Oh my goodness, it’s no wonder they don’t want to be associated with her or her social media, have you seen some of the posts over at Abortion Gang? They’re pretty extreme, filled with hysterics and hyperbole, just short of screaming. Also, I think her call for “abortion on demand, for any reason, without apology or restriction” makes some of the more mainstream and less extreme pro-choice organizations uncomfortable. Geez, it’s no wonder she’s viewed as too radical or extreme. But at the same time, it’s no surprise as every political cause has a radical, extreme fringe movement
Ok, the profanity doesn’t suprise me (golly who wouldn’t want her to answer phones or work the reception desk, lol!), but I’m a little confused:
..”we’re not f*ing people who use masculine pronouns..” Wh-what? What do you call each other? “Oh, hey, can you give this book to the unfemale person in the front row?” Or, “oh, can you tell me the name of the non-male person who just asked me where room 207 is?”
“Something perverse” Well, yeah-ah!
@Ninek: “We’re not f*ing [having sex with] people who use masculine pronouns…” As in, “Some of us are lesbians.” But I agree that the phrasing there is crap. It’s really confusing and I had to look at it a couple times before I could work out where she was trying to go with that one.
[English minor rant]This is the problem with the overuse of swear words. They start to acquire too many meanings and then nobody can figure out what they mean in a given context and you just end up confusing your audience. Drives me up the freakin’ wall…[/English minor rant]
You guys read farther than I did. :)
What’s the general view of abortion by pro-choicers?
Abortion always in case of rape, incest, health/life of the mother, fetal deformities, and for any reason up to maybe 18 weeks or so and then after that, it becomes harder and harder to justify.
Bobby, on the bodily autonomy deal, taking viability into account makes a lot of sense to me, as inducing delivery can thus satisfy the woman’s wish to not be pregnant while the baby lives. Not saying it’s a perfect solution since premature births may bring problems of their own, but at least it’s not then simply either/or. As far as no restrictions on abortion right through the 9th month, etc., I’d say it’s a very small minority indeed who favor it.
Personally, I don’t see how rape or incest really changes things from an overall standpoint. Sure, cases where they are involved may have a higher incidence of the woman wanting an abortion, but if I’m going to draw the line at 22 weeks, I wouldn’t be in favor of a later line for rape or incest.
Fetal deformities/deficiencies – makes a difference to me how severe they are. For the life and health of the mother, it’s a very, very rare deal where the risk to the woman is such that the doctors are gonna say the pregnancy has to be ended via abortion. The hardest call, again IMO, is what I think would also be a rare case – where it’s mental distress that is the woman’s problem. What if she’s just plain going crazy nuts about being pregnant, wants an abortion – just what do we do with her?
What if she’s just plain going crazy nuts about being pregnant, wants an abortion – just what do we do with her?
Doug,
Having experienced a spectrum of feelings when pregnant, I can tell you, most of the time those feelings don’t last forever.
With the right help it is possible for a woman to work through those “crazy nuts” feelings. No, it won’t be easy, however, it’s much better than undergoing a procedure that isn’t really necessary. (Being “crazy nuts about being pregnant, wants an abortion” does NOT mean abortion is going to solve that woman’s issue/issues). You have to get to the heart of the issue. It’s easy to look on the surface and say “Well, if she wasn’t pregnant, she wouldn’t be going “crazy nuts”.” But, how do we know that the abortion would really help her deal with those emotions/issues? Abortion would only treat the symptom (pregnancy) but not any underlying issues as to WHY she was going “crazy nuts about being pregnant”.
Alice, wow, you deciphered what I could not, lol!
The overuse of profanity reminds me of that comedy skit where two non-females (lol) only say “dude” and have a whole conversation by the different ways of inflecting it.
Dude? Dude! Duude. Dude, dude…
Mother in Texas – yeah, agreed that most times the feelings will go away, and that there may be other problems at the heart of the woman’s distress, rather than just being pregnant. If John McDonnell were here, he’d no doubt mention a possible zinc deficiency, so perhaps nutrition should be considered as well.
On this issue of language, I heard a funny one about a month ago, while winter lingered on. A co-worker, upon going outside, remarked, (slightly changed to gain a PG rating) “Freak me, ain’t this a freaking cold freak of a day?”
“we ARE NOT all f*cking people who use masculine pronouns..and we STILL need access to emergency contraception.”
Um… enlighten me as to how 2 lesbians (thanks Alice, I misread that too) who are not having sex with non-females need emergency contraception. Just…what??