Blood Lies

Jill Stanek writes of an anti-abortion movie that she suggests her readers should see. Having only reviewed the You Tube trailer, I have limited understanding on the arguments inside of the 'documentary'. I am delighted to address the trailer Stanek provided and will review the full documentary when it becomes available:

A. Women Do Not Talk About Their Abortions. It's true. Women generally do not engage in discourse about abortion or other reproductive choices for that matter when they get together at their block parties or over dim sum with work colleagues. Given that one's birth control options or gall bladder and aorta for that matter, concerns do not interest the majority of individuals they engage with, why does anyone expect abortion to be different? It's not like AG rings up her blog BFF. "Annie, so how's that IUD working for you? Did you feel like it was the best money your insurance paid for?". Men rarely speak of vasectomy. Why then should women discuss their abortions or reproductive choices with anyone other than someone they trust and respect or beyond the patient-physician relationship? Furthermore, HIPPA legislation resulted in a clear message: what happens behind closed doors and curtains should stay there.

Feminists would argue here that I should not encourage women to be ashamed of their abortions. I certainly am not saying they should. However, there are social, political, and historical reasons for their silence that the trailer would like to avoid. Many women do not reveal whether they have or have not had an abortion because of the stigma attached from the very people who created and will watch this kind of propaganda. Would you want Terry Randall or Jill Stanek to know you or your partner/spouse/lover has had an abortion? Given what Terry Randall recently did and the acts of domestic terrorism anti abortionists engage in, I wouldn't even share a pap smear result with these individuals.

Historically, it was not that long ago when the anti-abortion crowd saw it fit to go through healthcare clinics and hospital's dumpsters searching for records. Once recovered, they would treat women who used abortion services like so many treat sex offenders as the result of Megan's Law. They had no regard for privacy or the Geneva Convention. They went for public jugglers and showed no mercy. Those days were not that long ago to be forgotten and too many are not willing to take the risk.


B. When Life Begins. It would be desirable if the real issue behind the hatred of abortion spewed by the anti abortion crowd was actually about when life begins. I personally would find that argument easier to fight against because it would be a one issue, honest and open debate that is not opaque. It would be an easy argument of separation of church and state and a reminder of science and medicine are like math for the masses: too complicated for them to understand. Stanek has proven his misrepresentation of that in a vast majority of her work.

Unfortunately, the debate is not that easy and the underlying debate is not so easily dissected from the majority of haters. Thus we are left to remind them that the question of when life begins is not relevant to the abortion debate because so many individuals like religious leaders and medical ethicist are not specialized in the field of science and medicine. Them taking part in the debate is like me going to a church and taking communion and then filling out a comment card on what the church could do to improve their practice of Catholicism. More importantly, quasi self proclaimed experts apply their definitions to abortion but do not hold other related acts of contempt to the same standard.

For example, countries all across the globe are at war and people are dying and poverty and lack of basic needs such clean water claim millions of child and adult lives everyday in third world nations. People in the United States expire daily because of the archaic rules of private health issuers. (Death panels currently exist in practice by Aetna, Blue Cross, etc. and domestic poverty rates.) Given that Stanek and pseudo scientists and the physicians who determine when life begins are not in Africa right now addressing the genocide in the Sudan or out paying for wells for clean drinking water in Pakistan, I have to wonder what gives with these individuals. Is women terminating unwanted pregnancies more heinous than say the killing of innocent civilians in Zaire for blood diamonds? Clearly moral debate is not only a cloaked but its a veiled argument by these individuals to negate the real issues behind their vehement hatred of abortion and reproductive freedom.

C. Planned Parenthood is Expanding in Anticipation of Socialized Medicine. I am intentionally placing the overt misuse of the term 'socialize medicine' to the side in this conversation. Planned Parenthood provides the following services according to a random sampling of a Planned Parenthood website in New York:

Birth Control

Abortions

Colposcopy, Cryosurgery & LEEP

Emergency Contraception (EC)

Endometrial Biopsy

GYN Exam/Annual Exam

Male Services

Mid-life Services

Pregnancy Testing & Counseling

Prenatal Care

Rape Crisis Service

Sexually Transmitted Infections Testing and Treatment HIV Testing

More than three million individuals receive services annually from a Planned Parenthood facility in the United States. Whereas the Guttmacher Institute reports in 2005 (the most recent year for which there is reliable data), approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S., down from an estimated 1.29 million in 2002, 1.31 million in 2000 and 1.36 million in 1996. Since abortions can and are performed by other organizations as well, the highest number of individuals Planned Parenthood would serve for abortions would be approximately 1 million or a third of their services to patients. Remember, this is the maximum number if one believed Planned Parenthood is the sole provider of abortion services in America.

This United States based non profit made available to the public a break down of their services provided in 2007. A mere 3% of services were devoted to abortion procedures. Therefore, if a particular Planned Parenthood is expanded or a new office opens, it may be that there is a greater need for the other 66% or more of services they are providing. Abortion is not the only function of this healthcare provider, folks!

C. An Unknown Organization Only Takes Cash. Many organizations uphold a standard operating procedure of cash or credit card only. Since many organizations enter into similar policies with their patrons it makes the argument for tax evasion not only false but incoherent in logic. Rather many organizations recognize that cash is king and money today is worth more tomorrow. This is good business sense and basic economics. If an organization like Planned Parenthood or a non profit hospital were engaging in such practices as the trailer suggests, we can be rest assured that the likes of Stanek and others would be eager to call in the federal auditors. Since they have not hauled my local Planned Parenthood into court, they lack standing.


D. What Abortion Does to Women. From a medical perspective, surgical abortions are safe. A surgical abortion during the first trimester is safer than a tonsillectomy. The Guttmacher Institute reports abortion is approximately 11 times safer than carrying a pregnancy through to childbirth. Less than one woman in 100 will report a complication, and serious complications are rare.

What does abortion do to women? What is it really about abortion that the anti abortion crowd detests? Abortion allows women to control their own destiny. It allows women to retain a form of control over the patriarchy. The sobering reality is that pregnancy is fundamental to women. It allows women to control their own bodies and not men, other women, governmental bodies, and anti abortions to determine their lives and their futures. Most importantly, it levels the playing field in a society indoctrinated by patriarchal values and rampant in misogynistic actions.

Are Stanek and her crowd of angry vagina haters finished yet because I am tired of listening to their veiled arguments and false cries. more...