I was shocked after reading Jennifer Nelson's Introduction in her book. The facts she mentioned about abortion rights are essential, which I have never thought about it before. It is definitely not fair for others to decide what women should do with their bodies, and it should be legislated to secure women. Besides all the feminist movement or protest, the media can be another powerful tool for spreading the idea and helping the abortion rights to get established. Women's bodies are gifts, pregnancy is another gift. Women should not be judged by their bodies, colors, or decision-making based on their bodies, which the media has damaged it quite often nowadays.
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| Picture from Guttmacher points to harm caused women by abortion funding restrictions at home and abroad |
We often see videos, article, or movies showing the stories of pregnancy, sometimes it's positives, but a lot of time is not. For example, celebrity magazine always got those pregnant celebrity's pictures on the cover page to boost the sell, which it works. Because society now is surrounded by information and media that are online, those images and ideas get into people's mind and shapes us. The media like to inform us how some celebrities looked so fat and out of shape when they were pregnant, and how some celebrities looked so skinny during their pregnancy. Furthermore, they like to educate us how they quickly lost weight after they gave birth. The Sad thing is, these magazines do sell. However, women's bodies should not be valued in this way.
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| Magazines Cover Page. Picture from My 1st Years Blog |
In the online readings that class assigned, I've found facts that strike me. The article by Gloria Malone "Family Leave Laws Need to Include Teen Student Parents" talked about teenage girls often got kicked out of school when they are pregnant. I think having a law to secure or protect the teen mom is necessary, so do education. The School is a place to learn and get involved, rather than abandon and judgmental. "A recent report from the African American Policy Forum and the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies found that pregnant and parenting female teens in high school are often pushed out by school faculty and staff for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to stigmatization, lack of child care, strict attendance policies, unsafe campuses (resulting from school fights, forceful school resources officers, and bullying, among other reasons), and ill-equipped administrators" (Malone). This article reminds me of the movie Juno, a teenage girl who experienced the pregnancy while she is in school. It's difficult in school, in the clinic, in family, and with all the gazes from others. However, this could be changed if school educated students with a better sense of looking the situation like this, instead of kicking students out of the school. Below is the scene in the movie when Juno went to the clinic and got turned back after the protesting.
According to Jennifer Nelson's book, she argues that it is important to have the reproductive rights and abortion rights for women. And it means every woman, different colors or ages. There should be more options and helps based on women pregnancy. "For poor women or color, the right to bear healthy children of color...issues such as health care of poor, child-care, and welfare rights in addition to anti-sterilization abuse errors" (Nelson page 2). Also, she mentioned the past feminist movements have been working on those rights, but it should still be pushed more and expanded to different colored women in the states. "It argues that feminism was central to the development of reproductive rights... a reality for all women regardless of economic status, race, or sexual identity" (Nelson page 2). Which policy could make a difference for lots of women in needed. Poor women should have the right and access to abortion and reproduction, color women should be view equally too. It's sad and unfair that women is paying out of their pocket and then get fired from the company when they are pregnant. This is also based on the online reading of Gretchen Livingston "Of the 38 countries represented, the U.S. is the only one that does not mandate any paid leave for new mothers. In comparison, Estonia offers about two years of paid leave, and Hungary and Lithuania offer one-and-a-half years or more of fully-paid leave" (Livington).
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| Picture from Who pays for abortions? |
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| Picture from Romney's So-Called 'Moderate' Stance Would Outlaw 90 Percent of Abortions
The rights should not be limited in America, but be all over the world too. We should all look around and learn some good laws from other countries, also to avoid the issues that hurt women. I heard about the "one-child" policy in China, it is difficult to fix the situation of the population (Kristen Walker Hatten). However, that doesn't mean when you have a baby girl is like the end of the world. We should spread the idea across the world base on these, go to school and have education about these. So, the tragedies like forced sterilizations, illegal abortion, girl babies get killed, the bully at school, or get fired while pregnant will reduce in the future.
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Assigned Reading Citation:
Gay, Roxane. "The Alienable Rights of Women." New York: Harper Perennial, 2014. 267-79. Print.
Nelson, Jennifer. "Introduction: From Abortion to Reproductive Rights."Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement. New York: New York UP, 2003. N. pag. Print.
Malone, Gloria. "Family Leave Laws Need to Include Teen Student Parents."RH Reality Check. N.p., 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Livingston, Gretchen. "Among 38 Nations, U.S. Is the Outlier When It Comes to Paid Parental Leave." Pew Research Center. N.p., 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
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