Weekly Links: Volume 14

I’m a little late on the links this week. I was a little busy cleaning up after some crazy christians. But have no fear, the links are here!

• ‘A’ Week starts today!
• You might be interested in seeing this documentary about atheists: Scarlet Letter.
• Are you a slut? (I know I am.) Sluts Unite!
• Here’s two of the craziest anti-women bills right now.
• Do yourself some learnin’ today: Top 7 Birth Control and Abortion Myths
• This MoveOn video shows the misogyny of the current Republican party.
• The guy who made Kony2012 has some issues. So does Invisible Children.
• Eddie Izzard is going to speak at the Reason Rally! And they just released a schedule. Who’s excited? I am!
• Above: “Travel Posters for Lazy People“

Another Bill to Fuck Over Women

Me counter-protesting the GAP. Why? Because it makes me feel better.

*Sigh*

I can’t even go a week without seeing this kind of stuff? I guess not. Here’s another battle in the current War on Women.

It looks like the Arizona (and should we be surprised that it’s Arizona again?) Senate passed a bill that allows doctors to withhold information from women if they think that that information will lead to an abortion. This includes information about ectopic pregnancies and other life-threatening conditions. Under this new law, if a doctor withheld this kind of information, s/he could not be sued for what happens as a result (like the death of the woman or the fetus). So much for all those “informed consent” laws.

So, if you’re a woman who lives in Arizona, you might want to check what kind of person your OB/GYN is. If you see crosses and bibles versus or you hear your doctor go on about Obamacare-this and Santorum-FTW-that, RUN AWAY.

This message brought to you by one very tired feminist. 

Abortion: Myths and Misconceptions

I cannot count the number of times I’ve talked about abortion with someone and they got something so very wrong, and I’m not just talking about wingnuts. Even my friends who are pro-choice don’t fully understand what abortion is and what it means for many women. So I’d like to take some time to correct these myths and misconceptions about abortion.

The Procedure

First off, let’s learn a bit about what abortion actually means, medically speaking. How many times have you heard some crazy bullshit from conservative christians about how awful and bloody it is? Just the other week, I was arguing with talking to a Tea Party lady who claimed that an abortion is when a doctor induces birth and then kills the baby by putting a nail through its head (“partial birth” abortion is the only kind of abortion, dontcha know). Honestly, these people have very active and gruesome imaginations; I think it’s all that bible reading they do (Srsly, have you guys read that thing? Crazy!). Anyway, that’s definitely not how abortion works.

There are two common types of abortion: medication abortion and in-clinic abortion.

Medication Abortion

This procedure can occur up to 9 weeks after the first day of a missed period. It’s called a “medication” abortion because an abortion pill, called mifepristone (or RU-486), is what is used to terminate the pregnancy. This pill  blocks the hormone progesterone, without which the lining of the uterus will break down.

There are three steps in this procedure:

1.  A women will take the pill at the clinic, and then will be given antibiotics to take afterwards.
2. A second medication, called misoprostol, will be given about three days later (usually at home). This causes the uterus to empty. This part is probably the worst part (but not nearly as bad as some would like to claim). This will cause heavy bleeding and cramping: like a really bad period. This will last a few days at most, but spotting can last for a few weeks afterwards.
3. Two weeks later, there will be a followup to make sure the procedure was successful. This includes an ultrasound and a blood test.

And that’s it. Not so awful, is it? It’s just a safe, effective medical procedure.

In-Clinic Abortion

In-clinic abortions are usually performed 9 weeks or later. There are two common kinds of in-clinic procedures: aspiration (aka: vacuum aspiration) and D&E (dilation and evacuation). The first is usually performed from 9 to 16 weeks, and the latter after 16 weeks.

Aspiration:  The woman’s uterus is examined prior to beginning the procedure. She’s offered pain medication and possibly some form of sedation. Then a speculum is inserted into the vagina and numbing medication would be injected. The cervix is stretched with dilators (possibly several hours to a day before the procedure) and/or medication. A tube is inserted into the uterus and it is suctioned until the uterus is empty. Sometimes an instrument, called a curette, will be used to insure that the uterus is empty. Antibiotics will be given, like with a medication abortion. This procedure takes about 5 to 10 minutes to perform, but more time will be needed to prepare the cervix.

Dilation and Evacuation:  This procedure is similar to an aspiration abortion in many ways. The main difference is that, with later second trimester abortions, a drug may need to be injected through the abdomen to ensure fetal demise. This procedure takes 10 to 20 minutes, with additional time needed to prepare the cervix.

The few days after these types of abortions will be similar to after a medication abortion. Some bleeding and cramping may occur, lasting a few days.

And that’s that. Nothing scary or gruesome or dangerous. It’s just a simple, safe medical procedure.

How Women Feel

You’ve probably heard something like this before (actually, Santorum just said something like this): women are emotionally damaged by abortion; it ruins women’s lives; etc. etc. This just isn’t true. As Planned Parenthood puts it:

You may have a wide range of feelings after your abortion. Most women ultimately feel relief after an abortion. Some women feel anger, regret, guilt, or sadness for a little while.

Serious, long-term emotional problems after abortion are about as uncommon as they are after giving birth.

Most sources I’ve seen say that most women just feel relieved. Any post abortion emotional problems are rare and usually pass quickly. If you’d like to read more about it, Planned Parenthood has a good explanation of several studies on the topic here [pdf] (it also cites sources!).

Other Misconceptions

A lot of pro-choicers will say things like “I’m not pro-abortion; no one is pro-abortion, but women have a right…” Well, I’m here to say that I am pro-abortion. I am absolutely for a safe, effective procedure that gives women the ability to control their own reproduction. That’s not to say that I’d prefer women get abortions rather than properly using birth control. But, hey, shit happens, even with the proper use of birth control. And I’m certainly not going to make moral judgments on a woman because she’s had an abortion (or even multiple abortions).

Another misconception floating around is that a woman must have a really good excuse to have an abortion. She must be a victim, unable to financially support a child, or have a medical problem. Well, fuck that shit. The only reason any woman needs to have an abortion is that she either doesn’t want a child or cannot safely have a child. That’s it. And if she doesn’t want to explain herself to you or someone else, then she doesn’t have to.

One thing really bothers me is how the media sometimes reports about abortion. Have you ever been watching a report about something abortion related and seen the stock-footage they use? It’s just fucking stupid. They always show women who are hugely pregnant; ones that are clearly in their late third trimester. Or they show ultrasounds that are similarly from later in a pregnancy. As if indicating that this is what women who get abortions look like; this is what their fetuses look like. Well, it’s not! Abortion that late in pregnancy just doesn’t happen. It’s not even legal in the US! I mean, I doubt they’re (usually) pushing an anti-choice agenda. They’re probably just lazy and have grabbed whatever stock-footage they found first.

These are just some of the myths and misconceptions floating around these days. There are many more, but hopefully, my dear reader, you’ve come away from this with more knowledge about this “controversial” topic.

If you’ve heard any myths about abortion that I didn’t get to, please leave a comment.

Mississippi’s Personhood Amendment Has Been Defeated

Incase you haven’t heard, Mississippi’s personhood amendment has failed! Go ahead and celebrate for a few minutes and then come back to me. Are you done? Ok. So, as great as this victory is, this isn’t the end. It’s actually just the beginning. Six states across the country are supposed to have personhood amendments on their ballots next year: Ohio, Oregon, California, Nevada, Montana, and one from my own state, Florida.

The amendments in Florida, Ohio, and Montana would create a ridiculous definition of “human being”. Florida’s ballot measure will read like this:

SECTION 28. Person Defined: (a)The words “person” and “natural person” apply to all human beings, irrespective of age, race, health, function, condition of physical and/or mental dependency and/or disability, or method of reproduction, from the beginning of biological development of that human being. (b)This amendment shall take effect on the first day of the next regular legislative session occuring after voter approval of this amendment.

So, what does this even mean? It certainly means that abortion will be completely illegal. But what do they mean by “beginning of biological development”? The eggs in my ovaries ‘begin biological development’ every month in preparation for fertilization. Does that mean that by not getting pregnant every month, I’ve been committing genocide? What about male masturbation? Are you guys out there murdering potential children? Some might say: “Well obviously when they mean human, they mean a being with 24 pairs of chromosomes.” If that’s the case, then are women only allowed to abort fetuses with trisomy or monosomy chromosomal disorders, like people with Downs Syndrome? Nevada‘s personhood amendment might say as much:

‘Human being’ includes everyone possessing a human genome specific for an individual member of the human species, from the beginning of his or her biological development, without discrimination as to age, health, reproduction method, function, physical or mental dependency, or cognitive ability.

According to the wording of this personhood amendment, people with chromosomal disorders don’t qualify as ‘human beings’. I’m sure we can all see that this is outrageous.

What can we, the rational citizens of this country, do about these amendments? Well, first off, make sure you vote! Another thing you can do is educate your friends and family about these amendments, because the wording is intentionally misleading. I know no one wants to talk about abortion, but this really is important.