By Andrea Allen
Monday, May 22, 2017
Hollywood director Joss Whedon recently said he made a
support video for abortion giant Planned Parenthood because “Women’s health
care is so much just about women’s humanity.” The video shows three different
women for whom access to Planned Parenthood meant hope, a chance for an
education, and even the woman’s own life. It’s a savvy marketing approach,
meant to convince the public how essential Planned Parenthood clinics are for
women.
“It is about whether they have control over their bodies
and whether they have control over their minds and their education and their
decisions,” Whedon told BuzzFeed, concerning the video and the current
discussion regarding Planned Parenthood. “It’s all wrapped up.”
Yet I’ve found that some of the “freedoms” Whedon and
Planned Parenthood consider necessary actually are “wrapped up” in women’s
oppression. Since 1990, I’ve worked with many women who have suffered from
various forms of oppression, first as a volunteer for a hotline for battered
women, then in my first job as a social worker at a feminist agency serving
abused women and women dealing with substance abuse. I’ve also worked in a
hospital, group homes for teen girls and young single moms, in pregnancy help
centers, and in other domestic violence agencies.
I Didn’t Expect to
Hear about Coerced Abortions
When I started a career in social work, I expected to
hear about physical and sexual abuse, bad neighborhoods, nasty landlords,
difficulties with welfare and food stamps, and the like. What I never expected to hear were the stories
women told me about coerced abortion.
When discussing their experiences of abuse, woman after
woman told me how they hadn’t wanted to abort their babies, but their husbands
or boyfriends had forced them to do so. They shared their experiences of
heartbreak, with symptoms of trauma such as nightmares about the abortions, and
their regrets. This experience has been repeated many times when I’ve counseled
an abused woman or teenager over the last 20-plus years. Over time, I have
become less surprised by what I hear, but never less saddened by hearing my
clients’ stories.
Some may say the above are extreme cases and don’t
represent the average woman who seeks an abortion of her own volition. I’ve
found that even women who haven’t been coerced into abortion by a partner, who
have seemingly freely chosen
abortion, bring up regrets and symptoms of trauma spontaneously when discussing
their life histories. It seems that even women who make a choice to abort often
feel like they have no choice but to
abort.
Is It Really a
Choice If Women Don’t Feel They Have One?
The observation that women choose abortion in response to
some crisis is supported by empirical research. According to a Guttmacher
Institute Fact Sheet from January 2017, the three most common reasons given by
1,200 women seeking abortion were the following: their concern for or
responsibility to other individuals, financial issues, and the belief that
having a baby would interfere with work, school, or the ability to care for
dependents. Nearly three-quarters of the women questioned cited these concerns.
Nearly half of the women either stated they had chosen abortion because they
would be single mothers or they were having relationship problems.
The problems women face with unintended pregnancy are
legitimate and real. Yet is abortion the best “tool” we can come up with for
solving the problems women face, considering the trauma women often face
post-abortion?
Here’s a short list of some problems abortion-seeking
women often face, and alternatives to solve them. All names are pseudonyms for
actual women I have counseled who have found other tools — rather than abortion
— to find resolution to their crises.
Jane is told to
either abort or leave her home. Jane faces homelessness. The solution to
her problem is not abortion, but finding a safe place for her to live. That can
be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Pregnancy help centers frequently help
women in such situations find housing.
Felicia doesn’t
have health insurance because she is undocumented. In every state I have
ever worked, pregnant women can get medical coverage. Those public health
centers we keep hearing about serve many women who need prenatal care. I’ve referred
many a pregnant woman to them. I should add that even those who are in the
country illegally can get help with
these costs, as charitable
care does exist.
Marina is a senior
in high school, about to graduate and go off to college on scholarship. Title
IX does not allow a school to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy
or any related conditions, because she has a child, or because of her marital
status. A school receiving federal funds cannot make someone sign an agreement
not to get pregnant, or punish someone for getting pregnant. Also, groups like
Feminists for Life and Students for Life have lots of resources for students
who are expecting or parenting, including the “Pregnant on Campus” initiative.
This is not an exhaustive list of the issues that cause
women to consider abortion, nor of the resources to assist in their resolution.
Admittedly, there also is a need for better access and funding of ressources
for pregnant women (e.g., for greater funding for public health centers).
Yet my clients’ experiences show that real oppression for
many women is the lack of choice to avoid abortion because of things like
poverty, educational barriers, homelessness, and abuse. Real liberation and
control over their “minds, education, and decisions” consists of removing
obstacles so women know they have better choices than abortion.
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