First of all, if you are a man and you are against this practice, shut your damn mouth.
Second, if you are a woman and this practice offends you... don't have one.
There. Controversy solved.
So, Congress backed the ban on a method of abortion, given after 12 weeks of pregnancy. There are still other methods available, those who terminate before 12 weeks will not be affected.
At first this doesn't appear to be to bad...but don't be fooled. This is only the beginning. They are testing the water to see how much they can get away with.
As the line between Church and State fades even further, women are now being stripped of their autonomy, and the choice lies in the hands of rich, white males. This is nothing new. It is how the story was first told back in the Middle Ages:
The rise of Capitalism had begun. The white males in power realized they would need an adequate, unlimited workforce in order to sustain this new found form of economic exploitation. They realized in order to control the number of workers, they must control the number of births, therefore the need arose to control women's bodies.
The Catholic Church and State were united like never before:
-Sex for pleasure, and sex outside of marriage became a sin punishable by DEATH, and the offender would burn in hell for all eternity (as opposed to previously needing to complete a small number of prayers to wash away the offense).
-Using protective measure during sex was also forbidden, since the Church now decreed that the result of sex should only be to bear children.
-Women were now held responsible for the sins both men and women committed during intercourse.
-Young unmarried women were even encouraged to disfigure themselves in order for men to NOT find them attractive, and therefore not want to have sex with them.
-Women were being push out of industries they once owned (brewing ale, textile production, laundry service, sale of goods at markets) Men took over these industries as they became more profitable with new technology. Therefore, women were increasingly kept in the home with little to no capital.
-Urbanization brought men to the cities and women again were kept at home, tending to fields and raising children.
**-Midwives were accused of killing Christian babies, delivering women out of wedlock and preforming abortions, most were stripped of their duties UNLESS they became spies for the State.
-Expecting mothers were brought to hospitals where male doctors with degrees delivered their babies. (women were rarely allowed to attend the universities). They convinced many women that midwives were a threat, with little knowledge and dirty methods.
-Finally, any women who spoke out against these oppressive changes were accused of Witchcraft. Over 400,000 women were burned at the stake, dismembered, drowned or tortured to death under such accusations. Many women learned if they did not speak out, they would not be killed. They stayed in the homes, had many children and laid the groundforce for Capitalism.
Source: 3 Independent Studies I took on "Women and Work in the Middle Ages," at SUNY New Paltz.
Today the abortion ban points toward the same goals: To uphold Capitalism and to uphold the beliefs of the Catholic/Christian Churches.
Today we must not be afraid, and we must not back down. We need everyone to be united in order to lift this ban and prevent the authorities from taking any further steps to control women's bodies.
