In the summer of 2013, Texas senator Wendy Davis stood on her feet for thirteen hours (with no restroom breaks) to fight against a bill that would close numerous abortion clinics in Texas. During the filibuster, Davis presented an important question: “What purpose does this bill serve? And could it be, might it just be a desire to limit women's access to safe, healthy, legal, constitutionally-protected abortions in the state of Texas?” (Bassett, “Wendy Davis …”). For centuries women have struggled for adequate access to birth control and resorted to abhorrent means of abortion when they face unwanted pregnancies. In the 1923 naturalistic novel Weeds by Edith Summers Kelley, protagonist Judith Pippinger Blackford struggles against the fate of …show more content…
Such a life is referenced by Kelley in her depictions of the hardships pursuant to a destitute, rural lifestyle, especially during the winter seasons (207, 249, and 299). When Judith resigns herself to this way of life and her withdrawn behavior reveals as such, Jerry blames it on a poor diet and thinks that if he could provide for her properly, she would be happier in herself and their life together (Kelley 209). Judith indeed falls into the dullness of rural womanhood which includes "unceasing work, bad weather, failed crops, endless debts, and incessant childbearing" (Campbell 161). These substantial reasons solidify Judith's rationalization in her decision not to bring another child into her impoverished environment: “She wanted no more children that she could not clothe, that she could hardly feed, that were a long torture to bear and a daily fret and anxiety after they were born. Her flesh recoiled and her spirit rose in fiery protest against any further degradation and suffering” (Kelley 299). Such degradation unfolds when Judith finds she is pregnant again, this time with the preacher’s child, and she makes different attempts at aborting the fetus: “a wild horseback ride, a knitting needle, and ‘Pennyroyal and tansy and other noxious herbs’” (qtd. in Capo 34). When she senses that these folk remedies will not work, she attempts and fails at drowning herself in a frigid horsepond (Kelley 287). However, as a result of these efforts, she finally endures the agony of a miscarriage. Judith's act of defiance against nature at this point is commendable for her character because she has made a choice for her self, and it is a victory in her corner. Why would she
When Gianna Jenson addresses the argument that abortion should be legal for support of women’s rights, she states “if legalizing abortion is about women’s rights, where were my rights as a female when my brain desperately tried to search for oxygen while the saline solution was supposed to kill me before I could even think.” This strong rebuttal to the argument makes the audience think, if abortion is in women’s rights, why isn’t the baby allowed those same basic rights, or even the right of survival? Again, Gianna puts the topic of standing up for your rights into perspective for the audience by saying, “how much are you willing to take and how much are you willing to risk to speak the truth in love and in graciousness, to stand up and at least be willing to be hated, or at the end of the day is it all about you, or me?” In other words, Jenson asks the audience how far they will go to stand up for what they believe in, because she went as far as delivering a speech about the topic to the public. This provokes the audience to wonder if their arguments were valid enough and if their personal thoughts are strong enough to be fought
When people are asked to imagine the struggles of day to day lives, they predominantly think about not having enough gasoline for their cars or embarrassing oneself in front of others. What is often over looked is the harassment and hypersexualization of women all over the world, twenty-four seven, seven days a week. Barbara Kingsolver in her work of fiction, The Bean Trees, has given readers all over the world an insight of few realistic women’s struggles in the revolutionized world. The book follows main character Taylor Greer as she deals with having an unknown baby handed to her through starting over her life. She learns the real world through an unshielded window.
Rather than stating the argument, Willis poses it as a question, “Are the fetuses the moral equivalent of born human beings?” (Abortion Debate 76), thus showing how modern feminists can only support one side of the argument in their chosen stance, and cause limitations by doing so. In doing so, Willis shows how to some “extent… we objectify our enemy and define the terms of our struggle as might makes right, the struggle misses its point” (Ministries of Fear 210), which implies that feminists have completely missed the point of the argument by getting caught up in an answer. Rather than looking for a compromise or gray area, they exert their stance as the only solution that woman can have. Willis also shows how feminists fundamentally “see the primary goal of feminism as freeing omen from the imposition of so called ‘male values’, and creating an alternative culture based on ‘female values’”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, pioneer and activist for women’s rights, women’s suffrage, and even abolition, was the head of the Women’s Suffrage Movement well into the Antebellum Period. Along with other trailblazers of the women’s movement, such as Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton paved the way for not only women’s rights and abolition but the right to protest in America. Therefore, Elizabeth Cady Stanton reserves the title of one of the most compelling figures in history for her efforts in establishing the right to protest and free speech that is so important today. By the ratification of the 15th amendment in 1870, suffrage in the United States of America was supposedly achieved for the male half of the country. However,
Reproductive Justice and Activist Ambitions Deborah Walsh’s traumatic experiences have saved countless lives. The emotional and physical abuse she endured for over sixty years was transformed into the motivation to protect women’s rights to bodily autonomy. Living in the South for a majority of her life, Walsh describes in this interview her experiences with segregation, marriage, conservative protests, and, most importantly, the evolution of her career as an abortion provider. What began as a nursing aide position in a burn unit eventially led to ownership of a medical clinic, providing a wide range of resources for thousands of women.
Pamela Cross is an advocate and a public policy director. Her sponsorship to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) has influenced her to become a representative for women’s equality, empowerment and sexual health education. In the article “Abortion in Canada: Legal but Not Accessible” (2009), Cross’s main objective is to spread her advocacy and thoughts on abortion to ensure social action towards supporting women’s rights. In addition, her article goes in depth with the many barriers that women face when accessing the medical procedure of abortion. Cross’s main argument in her article is: although abortion has been legalized for many years, services remain inadequate and uncertain about the procedure of abortion.
The Each Woman Act is an irresponsible piece of legislations that forces hard-working American to disregard their moral and economic objections to paying for abortions. Throughout my time in public service, I have fought to defend the principle
In 1916 overpopulation was a growing issue. Many children were coming into the world unintentionally and unwanted. Margaret Sanger believed that all women should have the ability to choose if and when they wanted to become mothers by giving them access to birth control. Sanger’s family had 11 children and she worked as a nurse. Sanger worked in New York City slums with poor families and mothers constantly giving birth to unwanted children.
“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable? How very odd, to believe that God gave you life, and yet not think that life asks more of you than watching TV” (33). Within John Green’s novel An Abundance of Katherines, Colin Singleton, a 17 year old child prodigy, is dumped by the 19th Katherine he has dated. Feeling rejected, Colin goes on a spontaneous road trip accompanied by his best friend, Hassan, which lands them in Gunshot, an irrelevant town in rural Tennessee. There, Colin and Hassan meet Lindsey Lee Wells, a girl who has lived in Gunshot for as long as she can remember, and isn’t planning on leaving any time soon.
Trying to prevent neglected children and back-alley abortions, Margaret Sanger gave the moving speech, “The Children’s Era,” in 1925 to spread information on the benefits and need for birth control and women's rights. Margaret Sanger--activist, educator, writer, and nurse--opened the first birth control clinic in the United States and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. During most of the 1900’s, birth control and abortions were illegal in the United States, causing women to give birth unwillingly to a child they must be fully responsible for. This caused illness and possible death for women attempting self-induced abortion. Sanger uses literary devices such as repetition and analogies
The argument over a woman’s right to choose over the life of an unborn baby has been a prevalent issue in America for many years. As a birth control activist, Margaret Sanger is recognized for her devotion to the pro-choice side of the debate as she has worked to provide sex education and legalize birth control. As part of her pro-choice movement, Sanger delivered a speech at the Sixth International Neo-Malthusian and Birth Control Conference in March of 1925. This speech is called “The Children’s Era,” in which she explains how she wants the twentieth century to become the “century of the child.” Margaret Sanger uses pathos throughout her speech as she brings up many of the negative possibilities that unplanned parenthood can bring for both children and parents.
Controversial and heavily debated, abortion is the hot button issue of the Republican Party. Abortion, the act of ending a pregnancy by removing a fetus or embryo from the womb, is a multifaceted issue that has been in heavy debate since before the 19th century, and became a huge issue in the early 1960’s. This is easily the most important example of women’s rights, in which there are virtually no women actually making the decisions for themselves. Even the Supreme Court, which decided in favor of women’s reproductive rights, was made up of older aged Caucasian men. In September of 2015 a hearing, using misleading or false data, was held about Planned Parenthood funding after several videos came out claiming Planned Parenthood used and sold fetal tissue.
Before Roe v. wade the number of deaths from illegal abortions was around 5000 and in the 50s and 60s the number of illegal abortions ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. These illegal abortions pose major health risks to the life of the woman including damage to the bladder, intestines as well as rupturing of the uterus. The choice to become a mother must be given to the woman most importantly because it’s her body, her health, and she will be taking on a great responsibility. A woman’s choice to choose abortion should not be restricted by anyone; there are multiple reasons why abortion will be the more sensible decision for the female.
Human Right: Unwind In today’s world, choices are considered a God-given right and life considered precious. Human rights are the rights inhere to all human beings. But in some places in the world, people are not so fortunate earning these basic rights.
Janet Harris wrote in her piece, shared by Washington Post, that when she was faced with the decision to get an abortion “it wasn’t “Should I or shouldn’t I?” but “How quickly can I get this over with?””(Harris). Where have a woman 's values and morals gone if she can knowingly make the decision to kill a child that is a part of her own body? Statements like these are prime examples of why abortion shouldn’t just be an option women can chose whether or not to receive . Janet’s reasoning is that when it was time for her to make this “decision” in her life it “was in the mid-1980s, when abortion was about women having control not just over their bodies but over their destinies” (Harris).