Femagination » Abortion

Sarah Palin Is NOT a Feminist!

Ellen Keim — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:15:38 +0000

Let’s get something straight: a feminist is not someone who dictates what others should do with their lives. Sarah Palin and her ilk insist that they are feminists even though they would take away all women’s right to determine whether or not they will have children. The irony here is that these pseudo-feminists are also against the federal government sticking its nose into anyone’s business—unless of course that “anyone” is a woman who wants to have an abortion. Apparently it’s all right for government, state or federal, to decide categorically that some citizens do not have the same rights as others.

To make the distinction clear, we ought to change the terminology used by both sides of the abortion debate. Just because you’re against abortion doesn’t mean that you are the only ones who value life. (In fact, it’s amazing how often anti-abortionists are also for capital punishment and complacent about killing in war.) And alternatively, just because you’re for choice doesn’t mean that you like abortion. It merely means that you uphold a woman’s right to make a choice about her own body.

I consider myself pro-choice and pro-life. I am not pro-abortion in the sense that I think abortion is the only answer for an unwanted pregnancy. But I am anti-force. People like Palin are pro-force. They want to force women to have babies they can’t afford to have, whether the cost is financial, emotional or physical.

I have four daughters. When they asked, I told them about my own abortion. And then I told them that they should never get themselves in the position where they would have to make that decision. Because abortion is regrettable. It’s morally and ethically complicated. Whether a woman makes the decision lightly or anguishes over it for the rest of her life is something we can’t anticipate or regulate. Every woman had different reasons and reactions. It’s not for any one of us to say what they should believe or how they should act on their beliefs.

A woman who insists that you cannot ever have an abortion is no more a real feminist than one who insists that you have to get married or stay home with your children. And if we allow such women to call themselves feminists, real feminists will forfeit their right to represent all women.

Sarah Palin does not represent me or my beliefs. I don’t represent hers. But if she had her way, my views would be irrelevant. They would be sacrificed on the altar of arrogance and insensitivity.

Emergency Contraception: What It Is, How to Use It and How to Get It

Ellen Keim — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 09:17:33 +0000

The use of emergency contraception is very low in the United States (only one out of three women even know about it) compared to other countries. So low in fact, that a bill has just been introduced in Congress to establish a public education program to inform women and their health care providers about the its use, safety and availability. Similar bills were introduced in 2002, 2005 and 2007, but they never made it out of legislative hearings.

Why the ignorance about emergency contraception? And the resistance of law-makers to dispel that ignorance? There are a couple of factors at work here. One is that the FDA has been slow to approve emergency contraception even when it has been available and legal in some countries for several years. The FDA was also resistant to allowing emergency contraception to be sold over the counter. I’m not sure why the FDA drags its feet when it comes to emergency contraception, but part of the reason is probably politics.

Why politics? Because law-makers in this country are extremely sensitive about the abortion issue and there is a widespread, but erroneous, belief that emergency contraception causes abortion. This belief stems from the controversy about RU-486, otherwise known as the abortion pill. Basically, what RU-486 does is cause a medical, as opposed to a surgical, abortion. It is quite expensive, not just for the pills themselves, but for the required doctor visits both before and after taking them. Because it induces abortion, the patient has to be checked afterward to make sure that the abortion is complete. If it isn’t, a medical abortion must still be performed.

Emergency contraception, on the other hand, does not induce abortion. Instead, it works to prevent a pregnancy from happening in the first place. Some anti-abortionists will tell you that this is still an abortion, just as they will say that the birth control bill and IUDs cause abortion because they may prevent a fertilized egg from being implanted in the uterus. But the medical profession does not consider a fertilized egg as the same as a pregnancy; pregnancy doesn’t start until implantation.

The form of emergency contraception currently available in the United States is known as Plan B. It is also known as the post-coital or “morning after” pill and is meant to provide contraception after unprotected sex or the failure of other methods of birth control. (One good reason for the use of emergency contraception is in the case of rape, but amazingly enough, not all hospitals will offer it.)

Plan B works like other birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. Plan B acts primarily by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary (ovulation). It may prevent the union of sperm and egg (fertilization). If fertilization does occur, Plan B may prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb (implantation). If a fertilized egg is implanted prior to taking Plan B, Plan B will not work. The pregnancy will continue. (For more answers to questions about Plan B, go to the FDA web site here.)

Plan B is only available from a licensed pharmacist because the woman’s age has to be verified. Women 17 and under require a prescription from their doctor. Women over 17 can get it without one, but they still have to ask the pharmacist for it. Some people are pushing for it to be available off the shelf, so that it can be sold at gas stations and convenience stores like other forms of over-the-counter birth control, (meaning mainlycondoms). However, one thing that does make Plan B a little more accessible is that men are also allowed to purchase it.

There is also a Plan B ® One-Step now available which only requires one pill instead of two, taken 12 hours apart, as in Plan B. It is also only available through a licensed pharmacist and requires proof of age. Both Plan B and Plan B® One-Step have to be used within 72 hours of the unprotected sexual intercourse and cost anywhere from $35 to $60. However, Planned Parenthood will usually provide Plan B on a sliding scale or even free if you don’t have insurance or have a low income.

There is a new form of emergency contraception that has just been recommended for approval in the U.S. by a FDA advisory panel. To be known as Ella, its advantage is that it is effective up to 120 hours (or five days), two days longer than Plan B. Unlike Plan B, it does not contain progestin but is rather a progesterone blocker, which means that it could have an effect on the few pregnancies that do commence when taking it. This makes it similar to RU-486, although its function is not to induce a medical abortion. Because it is a bit more complicated than Plan B, it will probably be available only by prescription, no matter what the age of the woman.

For more information, see The Emergency Contraception Website.

Tuesday Tidbits

Ellen Keim — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:00:27 +0000

Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley

Modern-day Lysistrata? Kenyan women urged to withhold sex for a week to protest political infighting: CNN, BBC

Abortion doctor’s killer, Scott Roeder, receives life sentence including 50 years without parole: Yahoo News Also, possible effects of Roeder’s sentence: Salon Broadsheet

Portrait of Cambodian feminist Mu Sochua: New York Times

Critique of Daily Beast’s “Women in the World” summit that was held March 12-14 in New York City: AltMuslimah

Archdiocese of Baltimore sues city over crisis pregnancy center “truth-in-advertising” law: Feminist News

The Health Care Bill and women’s health: wins, losses and challenges: RH Reality Check

For more “tidbits,” follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Abortion Doctor’s Killer’s Trial

Ellen Keim — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:47:45 +0000

Notice I didn’t write “alleged” killer in the title. That’s because Scott Roeder has confessed in court and in fact is eager to defend his actions. “Those children were in immediate danger if someone did not stop George Tiller,” Roeder told jurors. That a man can be proud that he killed another man is beyond me, no matter what the provocation.

AP Photo

Fortunately, the judge has thrown out the possible verdict of voluntary manslaughter which would have required the defense to show that Roeder had an unreasonable but honest belief that deadly force was justified. The judge also noted that abortion is legal in Kansas. Judge Wilbert also refused to allow a second-degree murder defense, which does not involve premeditation, because the evidence — and Roeder’s own testimony — clearly showed Roeder planned the shooting. Instead, Roeder is being charged with premeditated, first degree murder.

Roeder testified that he considered several different ways of stopping Dr. George Tiller from performing abortions, but finally decided that walking into his church and shooting him in the head was the simplest and most effective. He also testified that he had gone to the church on three other occasions, but that Dr. Tiller wasn’t present then. I guess he finally got “lucky” on May 31st, 2009.

At least one person who was watching the trial protested that Roeder wasn’t being given a fair one. “The very thing (the judge) is attempting to suppress, vigilantism … he is actually promoting it by not allowing Scott to have a fair trial,” Andrew Beacham said. Excuse me?

Kathy Spillar, executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, said that the trial shows that Roeder believes that the killing was justifiable homicide and that a guilty verdict might open the door to a federal investigation and prosecution of any others who might be involved in similar acts. One can only hope. It’s about time that such a precedent is set.

Source: Associated Press story

Post Script: The jury returned a verdict of guilty in just 37 minutes!

A Personal Story

Ellen Keim — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:33:12 +0000

I’ve been a feminist since 1971 when I joined a consciousness-raising group after I had my abortion. I didn’t think that I would ever tell anyone about the abortion, but as we all began to share our stories, I felt safe enough to share mine. Instead of shock or disapproval, I was met with understanding and support. I had had a decision to make and I made the one that I thought was best for me at the time.

The boyfriend who got me pregnant would never have allowed me to give the baby up for adoption, but he was okay about an abortion. I didn’t tell my parents because I felt like I should be adult enough to handle it myself. And, okay, I admit that I was afraid of their reaction, but that wasn’t the main reason I had the abortion. I was 19 and in my first year of college and I knew if I had the baby I would have wanted to keep it. It’s hard to believe now, but in 1971 it was still considered shameful to have a baby out of wedlock. All of the girls I knew who had gotten pregnant (and not had abortions) went ahead and got married. I realized when I got pregnant that I didn’t want to marry the father. He could be cruel and I didn’t think he would be a good father.

Turns out I was right. I did end up marrying him after my first husband and I got a divorce. And he abused the children I had from my first marriage. Not sexually, but verbally and physically. We divorced after three and a half years, which was three years and five months too long. I’m not proud of what I allowed to happen to my children. But it was a kind of vindication that I had been right to not have a child with him in the first place, and I thank God that I didn’t have one when we were married.

When my four daughters were old enough, I told them about my abortion. “Just don’t ever put yourself in that position where you have to make that decision,” I told them. My oldest daughter took my advice to heart and had a child on her own when she was 25. She told the father that she would never consider an abortion and I was really proud of her for that. Thankful, too, because her son is the only grandchild I have today. And I can’t imagine his not being in the world.

Sometimes I think about the child I didn’t have. He or she would have been 39 this year. I like to think that if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t have terminated his or her life, but I don’t know that for sure. If I’d had the baby, I probably wouldn’t have the children I do have, because my life would have gone in an entirely different way. (I probably wouldn’t have married a man who was going into the ministry, for instance.)

I understand where people who are anti-abortion are coming from. I don’t think abortion is ever a good thing. But I’m uncomfortable with making it impossible for women to have one legally and safely. I know that legal abortion doesn’t make women get pregnant because they’re thinking , “Oh, if I get pregnant I can always have an abortion.” All it would accomplish would be that women who find themselves in tough situations would have illegal abortions or try to abort themselves. And then they might die, sometimes leaving their other children motherless. That’s not a good solution.

Most people who are against abortion are against it on religious grounds. But they don’t take into consideration that not all people believe in God or have strong religious convictions. I do believe that God forgives, but you have to believe in Him to ask for His forgiveness, or to see abortion as a sin in the first place. The only way we can influence people who are not religious to believe in God is to be there for them when they need us. And forcing women to have babies they’re not ready to have isn’t going to convert them. That’s God’s job.

I became a Christian two years after I had my abortion. It was then that I had to come to terms with the “sin” I’d committed by having an abortion. But I asked for God’s forgiveness and I believe that I received it. Now that I’m a Muslim, I am just as sure of God’s forgiveness. I would counsel a woman to avoid abortion, but if she had one, I wouldn’t sit in judgment. That’s God’s job, too.