Why are liberal men freaked out by abortion?

This is truly one of the bigger mysteries of our time, especially considering thoughtful and considerate articles like these.

I was twenty-five when I discovered I was a month pregnant. I wasn’t dating the fetus-daddy anymore, and I was without health insurance, having been laid off from my crappy fact-checking job.

I was the living, breathing example of that small percentage of women who get knocked up for being careless with their pill intake. I had no doubt I was going to terminate the pregnancy. In fact, my certainty gave me odd satisfaction. I’d spent countless weekends in college escorting abortion patients through the obnoxious church groups outside Planned Parenthood. One elderly protester, Teresa, would debate me for hours, and every time the argument was losing steam, she would let out a knowing, self-satisfied laugh, reducing my pro-choice position to lack of experience: “Ah, honey, you’ve never been pregnant. When you get pregnant for the first time, you’ll feel a connection instantly. You’ll know your child loves you and you won’t be able to harm it.”

Lo and behold, when I looked down at the two plus signs, there was no instant connection. The invasion in my abdomen felt more like a cruel joke than a loving creature who would paw at my breasts and call me “Mommy.” Afterwards, I considered calling Teresa to brag about my angst-less procedure and the sweet aftertaste of relief.

Hmm, may be the reason why people i.e. men are disgusted by abortion is because it’s, well, DISGUSTING! For the last time, an abortion is not like any medical procedure. It’s fraught with all sorts of complications and men, liberal or not, are entitled to their own feelings about it. If you’re gonna share stories about your abortion with random dudes, be prepared for said dudes to react in a way that may be very different from you.

Seriously, when did the pro-choice movement become this cold and unfeeling movement where people’s raw emotions are totally dismissed. I thought that was strictly the domain of anti-choicers? News flash: having an abortion is a big fucking deal. This statement is not laden with judgement…it’s a simple statement of fact. There’s a reason why more young people are refraining from calling themselves pro-choice and it’s because of dismissive, alienating columns like these. Ugh.

h/t: feministe

-Indira

Our system at work

What is the deal with Republicans these days? I don’t know if it’s the massive electoral losses or the fear of irrelevancy that seems to have taken hold but the massive whine-fest about the stimulus bill is just ridiculous. Newsflash- you guys lost. Get over it and move along.

Earlier this week, party members were outraged that the $825 billion stimulus package contained funding for birth control services for low-income women. Admittedly, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s justification for such funding was rather weak. I wish she had focused more on the numbers which are actually quite positive- enacting such a policy would save $200 million over five years and $700 million over 10. Plus, aren’t Republicans supposed to be into this sort of thing since better contraception access=less abortions?  The reaction from the right wingers has been hilarious. Personal favorites include Chris Matthews referring to the measure as reminiscent of the one-child policy in China and former drug addict Rush Limbaugh advocating putting up Pelosi’s pictures in motel rooms in order to deter sex. Dude, have you looked in a mirror lately?

And just for the record, yes, unplanned pregnancies among low-income women pose a huge financial burden since they are then forced to leave the labor force, thereby straining personal savings and sapping scant government resources.

Predictably, President Obama and the Democrats caved on the family planning measure, removing it from the package. It didn’t end there, though. Republicans then became upset that the stimulus contained funding for HIV and chlamydia testing. The horror! Seriously, what century are we living in? According to Republicans, any talk of sex, pregnancies and STDs is embarrassing and to be avoided at all costs. Apparently, we have a bunch of giggly fifth-graders for political leaders.

None of this mattered really because despite Democratic concessions and personal appeals by Obama, not a single House Republican voted for the stimulus package yesterday. While I would expect nothing less from a party that lacks any credibility on economic issues whatsoever, I hope this definitively ends all the talk of  bipartisanship on the part of Democrats.

-Indira

Those classy anti-choicers

My obligatory Roe v. Wade column is up on the IDS website. I hope for the day when the issue of abortion will cease to consume us but until then, this is it. I definitely struck a more conciliatory note in the piece (blame it on Obama!) An excerpt-

Ultimately, the fight to rearticulate reproductive justice will rest with us liberals. After all, conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Jerome Corsi are far too busy promoting hateful rhetoric and referring to us as “baby killers.” Indeed, for a group that cares a great deal about the sanctity of life, anti-choicers have repeatedly opposed comprehensive sex education and other measures to decrease abortions.

Perhaps I’ve been swept up by all the talk of unity that seems to have surrounded us, but I’m tired of pro-choicers, particularly women, alienating well-meaning people from our dialogue. We might disagree on the specifics, but we can support the notion of a society that abhors unwanted pregnancies. This is not just our fight alone, and it never should be.

Just as my column went up though, I found this video by an anti-choice Catholic group that is beyond astounding.

Happy Roe v. Wade, eh?

-Indira

h/t- feministing

Burning bridges, not building them

This is fucked up. Evangelical pastor Rick Warren will be giving the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration. I don’t know what’s worse about this choice- that he’s anti-gay, anti-choice or anti-peace. Or all three. While we’re on the subject, what is the deal with Obama’s spiritual leaders? First, there was Donnie McClurkin and his “cures” for gayness, Rev. Wright (who needs no introduction), Rev. Pfelger and his generous use of the race card against Hillary Clinton and now, this.

And please, please spare me the grief about how this isn’t Obama’s choice to make. It’s true that a bipartisan Congressional committee makes the final arrangements regarding Inauguration Day but I have a hard time believing that as the President, you have no say over who gets to attend.

But the part that really kills me about Warren’s choice is that it overshadows the fact that civil rights leader (and one of my personal heroes) Rev. Joseph Lowery will deliver the benediction. Lowery is a devout Christian and supports both equal marriage and reproductive rights, a wonderful rejoinder to Warren’s hate-filled messages. But now, we have this huge distraction and people are (rightfully) upset about this.

For the past few weeks, some prominent liberals have been urging others to temper their criticism of Obama over his administration picks- the choice of Tim Geithner as Treasury Sec. comes to mind. But, this is precisely the sort of thing we criticize Republicans for- mind numbing adherence to leaders and authority and here we are, doing it again. Why shouldn’t we hold ourselves to the same standards? I understand that Obama campaigned on an agenda of unity and change but let’s be clear here- bipartisanship does not mean providing a national platform for bigotry and religious extremism. Episodes like this demonstrate that Democrats are going to have to figure out if it’s worth burning old bridges in order to build new (dangerous) ones.

-Indira

In which I defend Sarah Palin (sort of)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the crass attempts by the Obama campaign to seek out a rape survivor for an attack ad against Gov. Sarah Palin. Well, I was just sent an ad with a similar theme and while it’s unaffiliated with his campaign, it still advances a horrible (and inaccurate) narrative of Palin.

*Triggering*

I dislike Palin and I think her views represent a step backward for all women. But, this ad really hurts. It’s hard enough experiencing the loss of control associated with sexual violence and re victimizing someone by denying them an abortion is even more traumatic. But, that doesn’t make it ok to distort someone’s record. Palin has NEVER said that she wants the Government to force rape survivors to carry their pregnancy to term. Take Palin’s interview with Katie Couric, where she expands on her views about rape-

Couric: But ideally, you think it should be illegal for a girl who was raped or the victim of incest to get an abortion?

Palin: I’m saying that, personally, I would counsel the person to choose life, despite horrific, horrific circumstances that this person would find themselves in. And, um, if you’re asking, though, kind of foundationally here, should anyone end up in jail for having an … abortion, absolutely not. That’s nothing I would ever support.

Unpacking that a bit, Palin is personally opposed to abortion. But, as a matter of public policy, I’m not sure if she would go so far as to ban all abortions, not that the V.P. has any power to do that. Still, there are a number of things I would like to see restrictions on but I wouldn’t call for policy to be formulated on my personal views alone. Couldn’t we say the same for Palin? Actually, I’m yet to find an interview where Palin explicitly calls for a ban on all abortions. She just talks about how she’s morally opposed to the practice and in my mind, they are two very different things.

And I don’t know, something about this ad and politicizing rape doesn’t sit very well with me. Really, how’s Palin supposed to respond to this?

-Indira

Faux feminism

The news that no one’s waited for is finally here- Sen. John McCain has picked Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. Thanks to the relative anonymity of Palin, media outlets are devoting a great deal of time to her, effectively pushing Obama’s historic acceptance speech out of the limelight. Wall Street Journal, a “serious” and “respectable” media publication, just dedicated an entire feature to Palin’s workout routine. And let the sexism begin!

One of the more interesting points emerging about Palin is that she’s a self-professed “feminist.” Feminists for Life, a rabidly anti-choice group, claims that Palin has been a member of the organization since 2006. Now, if you look through the FFL website, some parts clearly resonate with me- the group rejects violence and discrimination against women. Where the organization differs from feminists like me is their stance on abortion. Republican women (and men) have appropriated the word “choice,” casting it as some sort of catchall phrase for abortion. In reality, “choice” has less to do with abortion and more to do with giving women the tools to make their own reproductive decisions. If one considers reproductive rights to be a bundle of rights, then abortion is merely a tool, alongside adoption and contraception. This brings me to an issue I often struggle with: can a feminist be pro-life?

I’m the leader of a feminist group on campus but I’m hardly the authority on the movement. Nevertheless, in my experience, feminists have focused far too many of their efforts on abortion rights. This bothers me largely because, to this day, abortion makes me uncomfortable. Now, before my feminist card is revoked, let me explain where I’m coming from. In many ways, I consider myself “pro-life.” Heck, I used to be anti-abortion. Thankfully, my political views have evolved over the years but to this day, I don’t support the death penalty, euthanasia or offensive wars. Some small part of me still wonders if abortion amounts to murder and this makes me feel awful. I often reserve harsh words for pro- “lifers” but underneath the sarcasm and anger, I feel guilt. Not because abortion “stops a beating heart” but because we can never be sure.

Despite this, I’m still pro-choice only because the movement offers real alternatives to abortion. It’s why I’ve worked with organizations like Planned Parenthood (which I dislike but that’s another post) and Campaign for Healthy Families- because these groups care about decreasing abortions. While folks like Palin equate abortion with murder and engage in harmful rhetoric, pro-choice organizations are actually taking steps to prevent unwanted pregnancies through the promotion of contraception use and comprehensive sex education. So, yes, I’m pro-life but only if we choose to expand the meaning of that phrase.

Feminism, like reproductive rights, has often been misrepresented by conservatives and the choice of Palin as V.P. is a perfect example. Republicans promote harmful anti-woman policies (like unequal pay and decreased reproductive rights) with the help of strong women like Sarah Palin and Carly Fiorina. They think that feminists (and women, in general) vote with their ovaries, not their brains. Remember when Sen. Hillary Clinton “cried” at a campaign stop in New Hampshire and Bill Kristol attributed her victory in the state primary to women feeling sorry for her. I’m not sure if Republicans are really this stupid but it doesn’t matter. Feminists don’t appreciate the condescension and will see McCain for what he really is.

-Indira