MyBody, MySelf
In my thirties, I was all about wellness, alternative medicine, and female empowerment.
Our Bodies, Ourselves, A Book By and For Women awakened in me the importance of knowing about, getting comfortable with, and loving my body.
Produced in 1971 by the nonprofit organization, the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Our Bodies promoted self-examination (with a mirror) so women could familiarize themselves with their external genitalia to spot abnormalities—growths, swelling, or irritation—and seek necessary treatment.
Unlike men, women cannot see “down there,” and often internalize the belief that their female parts are “ugly” and smelly. (Think of all those fish jokes.)
Our Bodies addresses sexual orientation, gender identity, birth control, abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth, topics that are antithetical to pro-choice advocates, evangelical Christians, far-right conservatives, and legislators in the 13 states that ban abortion. Their patriarchal and misogynistic ethics seem straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale.
A Scary Time
These are scary, precarious times for women and girls of childbearing age.
Last week, a federal judge in Texas suspended approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the drug, mifepristone, part of a two-pill regimen to end pregnancy during the first 10 weeks of gestation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, U. S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk “said the agency failed to appropriately assess the drug’s safety.”
Critics of the preliminary ruling argue that it overrides the FDA’s expert judgement that mifepristone is safe and effective.
Without access to an abortion pill, an emergency contraceptive (the “morning after” pill) or medically supervised abortion, women and girls face a minefield of bad options, including "back alley” abortions, costs for travel to a pro-choice state, and higher maternal and infant mortality.
Stress, anxiety, and depression are logical outcomes with each of these choices.
Nonetheless, states—usually Republican-led—continue to chip away at a woman’s right to make decisions (in concert with her doctor) about her body.
· Bonner General Health, a rural hospital in northern Idaho, will discontinue obstetrical services in May. Fox 8 reports that “Patients who would have used Bonner General for labor and delivery will now have to drive to hospitals in Coeur d'Alene or Spokane, Washington, over 45 miles from Sandpoint.”
· State Rep. Bryan Slaton filed State House Bill 2709 in February to prohibit the sale of emergency contraceptives and to “close the final loopholes allowing abortion in Texas."
· According to the Idaho Statesman, Idaho House Republicans rejected House Bill 313, which would have provided no-cost menstrual product dispensers in public school girls bathrooms for sixth through 12th grade students. “GOP House members said the proposal was ‘liberal’ and they objected to ‘woke’ terms describing inaccessibility to tampons and pads.”
· The Guardian reports that in 2021 a South Carolina woman was arrested for allegedly purchasing emergency contraceptive pills to end a pregnancy.
Reproductive (In)Justice
The Guttmacher Institute, a primary source for policy and analysis on abortion in the U.S. notes, “Not only Black, Latino, and Indigenous people and people living with low incomes, but transmen and nonbinary people, immigrants, adolescents, and people living with disabilities are all particularly likely to encounter compounding obstacles to abortion care and be harmed as a result ….”
In an interview with The Root, Dr. Deshawn Taylor, OBGYN, owner of Desert Star Family Planning Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, says, “Talking in isolation about Black women’s access to abortion is such a narrow lens. We’re not addressing why Black women have an increased risk of dying from pregnancy. And so yes, Black women need access to abortion, but also Black women need access to health care.”
Fighting Back
In a press conference aired on C-SPAN, U. S. Congressional Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Judy Chu (D-CA) announced the reintroduction of HR 12, or the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) for the seventh time (since 2013) co-sponsored by 208 Democrats.
The bill gives federal protection to providers of abortion and their patients.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s Abortion Criminal Defense Initiative provides access to legal counsel through its network of criminal defense attorneys for patients, providers, and supporters who face criminal charges related to abortion care.
MyBody, MySelf
Despite anti-abortionists’ cries of “murderer” or “baby killer,” the decision to abort a pregnancy is a heart wrenching one. (I know from personal experience.) Oftentimes, women or girls are left with feelings of guilt, shame, or regret.
Navigating the murky waters of a medical intervention, emotional turmoil, and interpersonal decision-making warrants empathetic, professional support, not jeers and accusations.
American women have the right to say, “I want control over my body, myself.”
© 2023 Wista Johnson (Reprint by permission only.) Photo: Thirdman (pexels.com)