Ladies and gentlemen of Ireland, you did us proud. For those ladies and gentlemen who still might not get it, here’s the message – if it’s not your uterus, then keep quiet with your anti-abortion opinions. Have opinions by all means, that’s your right, but keep them to yourselves. Apart from other anti-abortionists, no-one wants to hear you.
Ladies, those of you who publicly gang up against your sisters, and sell out to the patriarchal ideology of not allowing women to have sovereignty over their own bodies, stop it. Another woman’s uterus is not your business, nor anyone else’s business, unless she invites you to make it your business. Remember back when women were owned body, mind, and soul by fathers, husbands, or brothers? It really wasn’t that much fun, so why would we want other women to take over now from where they left off?
Men, you simply have no right to tell women what they should and shouldn’t do with their uteri. That’s where it should end. However, for those who might have missed the memo, women are no longer men’s legal property. We are people in our own right, with or without a man, and our bodies belong to us, just as yours belong to you. You have, and always have had, the luxury of either caring about what goes on in a woman’s uterus, or not caring. You can simply choose to care, or not to care; to walk away, or stay. It’s your biological luxury. Women have no such luxury, and will never have that luxury under ordinary circumstances. What they do have is the biological prerogative to decide whether they want to use their uteri to grow foetuses, or not. If you are in a relationship with a woman, and you are invited to share in the decision-making process, that’s great. However, having a uterus does not imply there is an obligation to let a foetus form in it. It’s an option, not an obligation.
However, guys, you still have some say and control over this whole conception business. You also have the option to not be careless about allowing a foetus to form. Here’s a thought – instead of those of you (and this includes the ladies) who are anti-abortion screaming about women being under some sort of stranger-imposed obligation to grow a foetus to full term, how about putting your energy into screaming about men taking responsibility for their ejaculations? After all, that’s where it all starts. If you want to ensure that uncontrolled sperm don’t lead a woman into the ‘sin’ of abortion, then put your efforts into ranting at men to constrain or contain it, and then everyone stays out of trouble. Less irresponsible ejaculation = less abortion. See the equation there?
Maybe those who are anti-abortion could also protest outside bars and nightclubs where young men gather? Wave your placards in their faces, call them hideous names, and threaten them with harm, because you can guarantee that some of them will be ejaculating irresponsibly that night, and a foetus may get aborted as a result. But you won’t do that, will you? It’s a bit risky to take on men, unlike the softer target of women. The men might break your placards over your head, punch you in the nose, and push you over. They won’t stand for you telling them what they can and can’t do with their own bodies. Nah, better stick to making women’s lives miserable – much safer for you.
So, some of you ladies and gentlemen have a moral objection to abortion, eh? You endow a foetus with all sorts of reasons as to why it’s more important than the fully-formed, living, breathing, woman whose uterus it’s inhabiting. Fine, have your opinions and beliefs – you’re entitled to that freedom. Just don’t try and make them other people’s opinions and beliefs. Although those beliefs might feel like incontestable facts, they aren’t – they are just stories that you happen to believe. Stop harming women’s freedom to have sovereignty over their own bodies with antiquated laws based on your opinions, beliefs, and moral objections. Do not diminish women into having fewer rights than a foetus.
How did women end up being burdened with these rules of morality, anyway? Seems to me that patriarchy did a real number on us. It made women the moral gatekeepers, because men didn’t want that shitty job, and women are easier to boss around and make do as they’re told. Then patriarchy decided to really f**k with us, and made it okay for men to do their utmost to get women to break the moral rules, and if they did, it wouldn’t be men’s fault. The wages of moral sin were the women’s to bear. Mwah-ha-ha-ha! However, if the man she sinned with happened to be decent, she was saved. Otherwise, men’s sins were invisible, because their bellies didn’t blow up in everyone’s faces. Then – and this is the REALLY good bit – “We’ll make it that a foetus is more important than a woman. In fact, we’ll say it’s a crime to not carry a foetus to full term, because …um….oh yes, how’s this – sanctity of human life, and God and all that. You know, we should have a hierarchy for sanctity of life. Let’s think – men first, then foetuses, and lastly women. We’ll leave guns and wars out of it this sanctity of life business, though, because there’s good money to be made from those. Everyone agree? Good, done”. Doesn’t seem too bad if you’re a man, eh? But, in fact, extreme patriarchal ideologies of any sort only benefit a handful of people – the rest of us, both women and men, suffer from them.
Women have abortions for a variety of reasons that are often complex and fraught with anguish, and not because they decide they’ll do that today instead of catching up with the girls for a few drinkies. There really are more fun things they could be doing on their day off. Believing that it’s okay to force a woman to grow a foetus into a child, and then bring it into the world for the sake of appeasing your personal anti-abortion opinions and beliefs, is anti-human. Knock it off. A woman is a person of the world first and foremost, not simply a vessel for reproduction. Her rights and prerogatives come before that of a foetus. If she wants to use her uterus to grow a foetus into a child, that’s her choice – if she doesn’t, that’s also her choice. For everyone else, if in doubt, the only thing we have to remember is that if it’s not our uterus, and we’re not invited to talk, then we shut up. Easy.
A B'Old Woman 
Thats the best statement of pro choice I have ever read, and it is utterly convincing to me (but i am in the choir, so to speak). Who do you see as the ‘handful’ who truly benefit?
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘The handful’ are mostly those at the top of the financial ladder, who have the power to make the rules, or influence the rule-makers, to suit their own purposes. Because they are mostly men at this point in time, the ‘power over’ principles of patriarchy suit them very well. The average bloke doesn’t have a lot of cultural freedom to just be who he wants to be, either, although in a different way to women.
LikeLike
Very keen on legislating for full spermatic responsibility too. Awesome idea. Men who wastefully flush it down the toilet should be prosecuted, as it is so, so precious. Every little sperm is a potential life, so just like abortion, “spermicide” is too, a crime against humanity.
And before anyone says that if I do not have testicles, I have no right to comment, I do have testicles. They just happen to all be in preserving jars in the laundry, but still mine. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahahahaha – that’s feckin hilarious! So true about the sanctity of little spermy lives 🙂 I’d love to see your testicle collection one day, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are most welcome to see my testicle collection. I am rather proud of it. 🙂 All sizes and colours. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quote of the Week
“Our world is full of men and women who do not like powerful women. We have been so conditioned to think of power as male and that a powerful women is an aberration. And so she is policed. We ask of powerful women: Is she humble? Does she smile? Is she grateful enough? Does she have a domestic side? Questions we do not ask of powerful men, which shows that our discomfort is not with power itself, but with women. We judge powerful women more harshly than we judge powerful men.”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, writer
Ideas piece: Beware of “Feminism Lite”
PetPlan, the pet insurance company in the Uk made the coolest bumper stickers for vets and nurses one year-
“Keep your distance, castration is part of my day job!” I too have found that my surgical powers have made me unpopular with men. You know how guys speak to you looking at your chest? Try speaking to them, looking at their crutch, twiddling a knife. Or a pair of surgical scissors, which no good nurse is ever without. Works for me at parties. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
How many minutes does it take you to liberate a male’s testicles?
LikeLiked by 1 person
So loving the liberation idea!!!? Depends on the technique and the equipment to hand. One of my wise old friends has shown me a rather fabulous implement he has in his garage, which crushes the spermatic chord, vessels, and nerve, and then there is blade which does the severing, post crushing, so that is a job of a few seconds. Designed for the mass market you understand. Not illegal to sell on ebay.
But I would imagine a closed surgical procedure, so we are talking 5 minutes for total liberation, with a good nurse. 🙂 Depending on the species.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Holy crap – ‘the crusher’ even makes me squirm! Good ol’ ebay, eh? You can get anything from bomb-making paraphernalia to three-second testicle removers.
LikeLike
I know, but the crusher makes it “humane”. The nerve is destroyed, so there is no pain. It is all good. The only concern is the welfare of the man, obviously. 🙂
LikeLike
I have been watching the Handmaid’s tale, loved the book, loving the series, and I can so see a future for men who have been “liberated” from their testicles getting special hats to indicate their elevated position in society. Like the Handmaids’ “wings”. It would so work for me. A physical and positive action to show support for the feminist position. What would not be to love and like? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have we just discovered ‘men’s liberation’ ???
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely! 🙂 Let’s start a webpage! 🙂 I have always been keen on “liberating” them at birth, cryo-ing the liberated products, and letting them breed if a panel of women deems them competent and most importantly, worthy of passing on their genes. Seems to make perfect sense to me. Does anyone have any issues with that? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lololol x 100 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I place no claim upon a Uterus, yet I’m told to remain silent when my child no longer exist but if the tides should just happen to turn my way, those same voices will say the daddies should pay the child’s way, but just don’t have nothing to say. Is that the message today, I would be remiss if I played it that way, your Uterus Yes! I do not own! but don’t tell me I must dance to any lyrics in the song.
LikeLike
That’s correct. Your biological prerogative is to either walk away or stay when a foetus takes up residence in a woman;s uterus. A woman’s biological prerogative is to decide whether or not that foetus stays in her uterus. You can always prevent such a choice having to be made either way, by not being irresponsible with your ejaculations.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes but your premise is flawed with assumption as a father of two only because I wanted two, a decision that was made by two. What if she had a change of mind before the baby’s time, this prerogative is no longer mine yet speak not would be the crime.
LikeLike
Well said. Always wanting to put the onus on woman. Be moral don’t get pregnant, don’t make me(man)pay for resulting pregnancy following irresponsible ejaculation but keep the baby
LikeLiked by 1 person
As an addendum to my previous comment if the man is so keen to have a baby he could rent a uterus for an appropriate amount. Classifieds new column
Uterus for rent
LikeLiked by 1 person
The personal morality of a situation is a matter for the couple only. No ‘what ifs’ must interfere with a woman’s basic human right to have autonomy and sovereignty over her own body. She may not always behave well, just as a man doesn’t always behave well. That is a matter for the two of you, and not for legislation.
LikeLike