Chapter 8 Half the Sky brought up federal polices to the forefront
for this first time. There will always be debates on Capitol Hill between left
and right ring politicians. A big piece of legislation that was passed by the
Bush administration was the Gag Rule. The Gag Rule held foreign aid to countries
that counseled women about abortion options. Do you think it’s a women’s right
to hear options of abortion? In 1985 president Regan reduced funding in China
because UNFPA was advising China to control its population. UNFPA main tasks
are to provide family planning and maternal health. The problem of
contraception leads to out of control population in China. The book says 122
million women can’t get the contraception they want and need.
Should the government have a say of a child inside a women?
Should the women have the ultimate fate of the child there carrying? And
finally how can passed legislation be implemented worldwide?
I do not think anyone should have the right to terminate life, not a judge, doctor or mother. It is against the law to commit suicide and yet people can legally kill others? That seems twisted to me. Of course people that are pro-choice will always use the most extreme cases to support their opinion, such as incest, rape, and the safety of the mother, cases that make up a minority of abortions today. To me pumping a baby full of chemicals, smashing its skull or impaling it with a metal coat hanger seems wrong to me but I guess some people find it okay or are willing to turn a blind eye if it benefits them.
ReplyDeleteAs for legislation I have lost virtually all hope in our government. The likelihood that the people making the decisions (not the voters) would actually think about the good of future humanity before they line their pockets is laughable. It is unfortunate that the Clinton administration “gutted American donations of condoms: from 800 million condoms donated annually to only 190 million in 1999.” Yes Clinton was a joke as president that has been proven many times many different ways and Bush wasn’t any better and Obama is embarrassing. I agree with the author, Nicholas Kristof, when he said that Pro-choice people should try to reduce the number of abortions. Pg.134
I do have to agree with you, Roger, on this topic. Abortion is murder in any circumstance. Although, there are extreme situations that woman or girl getting pregnant was not their choice, aborting a child is still taking the life of a human being. The author, Nicholas Kristof, does make a good point that conservatives and liberals should be working together to influence our society to have less unplanned pregnancies, and the poverty that plays out hand-in-hand. He specifically says, “Each side has the best of intentions, yet each is deeply suspicious of the other-and these suspicions make it difficult to forget a broad left-right coalition that would be far more effective in confronting trafficking and overcoming the worst kinds of poverty.” (Kristof 132). This is no easy task, as we can see throughout our government today. The inability of the left and right parties to come together to agree on how to produce a productive solution does nothing but hurt the women who are in these situations.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, religion plays a key role in how someone thinks about abortion. Typically the Christian/Catholic belief is to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage, thus, only having sex with your spouse. This is, however, the ideal situation and does not happen very often, which is where many of our problems take place.
I think women should be aware of responsibility of having a baby. They should be educated to protect themselves from getting pregnant accidentally. If she's not ready for a baby, she should have enough preparation of contraception. On the other hand, if a woman gets pregnant accidentally, she needs to force herself to be ready for the newborn, because she needs to be responsible of what she has done. For the large population of China, I would say that's the result of the World War 2. During the war period, some women were raped by Japanese soldiers, so some of them got pregnant after that. Besides, after the war, many Chinese soldiers went back to countryside and continued to farm, so they didn't have other things to do, then they would like to have more children. After the world war 2, the Chinese Communist Party were not very stable, so the government used to encourage people to have more children to be prepared for other wars (just in case).
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard question to answer, at least in the case of China. I wholeheartedly believe that women alone should have the right and ability to act on pregnancy as they choose. Population control tends to be a large problem in China, while I don’t think it should a choice of the government there are long term issues that China will probably face due to over population. It’s kind of a double edged sword, if I had to pick a side it would be with the potential mother. As far as legislation goes I would be totally against that in any form. No government should ever be given that much control over their population, communist or not, an individual’s body should always remain their own personal property.
ReplyDeleteI think that all women have the right to know about their abortion options/rights. If a women is in a situation where she is unable or simply does not want to have a baby she should have the options to do so or not to do so. If we have the medical technology to take care of anything in anyway people have a right to know their options. I think it is a personal decision that every female should be entitled too. Some women are uneducated and do not know proper birth controls, if they are uneducated over all it limits their options, but the choice should be from an individuals perspective. I know that this is a touchy subject, but I feel that peoples religions should not affect the laws or prevention of abortion.
ReplyDeleteWhile I try to avoid the topic in public, I personally do not believe in abortion as a morally sound or medically safe alternative to an unwanted pregnancy. However, instead of focusing on my personal beliefs, I would rather focus on what can be done to reduce the need for abortion. I believe that sex education and access to contraceptives should be a right for everyone, man or woman. Increasing the availability of condoms and educating people on how to use them and, more importantly, the benefits of using them, has been shown already to make a considerable difference. As Americans, we are fortunate to be allowed to form our beliefs and design our moral compasses as we will. However in a world where women are raped, married at young ages, and otherwise uneducated about sex, we must all learn to compromise and find a common ground that we can all work towards. Yes, it will require members on both sides of the issue to sacrifice, but what we will gain is a united group of people that, while differing in their views, can become a force for good in the world. I truly hope that this can happen.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said Maggie! I've been struggling to put my thoughts into words and so far what you said really rang true to me. I personally think abortion is wrong but its such a hot button issue and I'm a people pleaser so I tent to avoid talking about it. That said I don't have the right to tell someone how to live their life so ultimately its not my decision but it is important to focus on preventing abortion like you said. I think its ridiculous the government has so much control over such a personal topic. As a women, I should be able to have access to sex education and contraceptives if I want to, especially in America! I would love to see the politicians put aside their personal opinions and really look at the facts to realize they aren't serving the people like they should.
ReplyDeleteThat a question that can only be determined by the woman. it is the responsibility of the government to educate and promote the best practices of a society. Ultimately the government is a representation of the people, for the people, by the people, that collaborates an individual right of all...
ReplyDeleteWith this we are talking about the touchy subject of abortion. I believe, like many of my Catholic peers that abortion is no better, and perhaps even possibly worse than murder. Aborting an unborn child, a living child who didn't do anything wrong, who couldn't speak for himself, who couldn't fight for himself. As I believe that abortion is inherently evil, I would like to see legislation passed against it, although for something like this to happen we would probably have to scientifically prove that a fetus, not only is living, but also is a conscious human being with a soul.
ReplyDeleteI too feel that abortion is not the way to handle an unwanted pregnancy. This is my personal opinion. I would in no way take away a woman’s right to choose what she feels is best for her, but I believe that if there is better education about contraception’s available, for both men and women, that there would be fewer unwanted pregnancies and in turn fewer abortions.
ReplyDeleteI'm against abortion, completely. I don't think anyone has the right to determine life of another being, no matter how young they may be. I don't think the government should have a say in it, and I think that the mother who is pregnant, should go through the whole pregnancy whether she decided to keep the child or not. I think it'd be better to have the baby, and put it up for adoption rather than to kill the baby before it even has a chance to breathe life. I know abortion is certainly a touchy subject because everyone stands with their own opinions, circumstances, and life style.
ReplyDeleteAbortion is such a controversial topic but does get talked about a lot on whether it should be allowed or not. Regarding your question, Do you think it’s a women’s right to hear options of abortion? I absolutely think it is right for a women to hear her options of abortion. I am pro-choice. But I have always leaned more towards being against abortion. I still think that it is right to allow a women to hear those certain options. It is her body and she deserves to know what all of her options are. I found myself struggling to answer your other questions. Again, this is such a touchy subject but I thought it would be easier to elaborate and answer your questions from your blog. I am stumped. I don't exactly know what to say. Although I am pro-choice, I am more against abortion than for it. So these questions weren't very easy for me to answer. I think the main thing that I agree with is that every women should still be allowed to hear all of her options when she is pregnant. Not just necessarily hearing about the abortion option, but all of their options while being pregnant.
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of a statement I read online once, "I'm pro-choice. That doesn't mean I'm pro-abortion, it simply means I understand that it's none of my business."
ReplyDeletePretty much sums up my opinion on the state's right to influence someone's family planning options. Every woman has the right to know how to control every aspect of her body from the way her arms move to what is implanted in her uterus be it through medical exam or consensual/non-consensual sex. It speaks to an entire country's morals when their leader is willing to deny care to those who are starving and dying from lack of medical treatment because they are working with other organizations to control their population when feeding those who already exist is an impossibility.