The critical state that women’s rights are in have caused animosity not just between men and women, but within females themselves. The unfair indecisiveness within our system of government to decide what is best for women has left the impression on citizens that the services provided by Planned Parenthood could essentially be harmful and unnecessary for not women, but for the unborn child she is baring. More emphasis is placed on the life of a theoretical child than the life of a woman who is making a life-altering choice to abort a child. This is not only a widespread thought only by the American people, but one that is taken very seriously in our government. By Congress adamantly fighting to defund Planned Parenthood beginning this last January, the systemic oppression against women furthers the cruel and unusual idea that the rights of these people belong in the hands of powerful male leaders. Women have endured the an unusual cruelty in that America made abortion legal however every anti-abortionist is going to make sure women feel like a murderer. It's like Congress said "here's your cake, but we won't let you eat it".
Visualizations and physical models of aborted fetuses have caught wind among the anti-abortion community which has prompted them to verbally lash out against women, causing a greater conflict of interest within women. Verbal attacks and picketing has been notoriously occurring in front of Planned Parenthood sites- also known as “sidewalk slander”. What escalated these incidents beyond comprehension is the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting that occurred in November of 2015 where Robert Lewis Dear invaded and fatally shot three people in the name of “saving the babies”. This act of domestic terrorism has only furthered the misconception that inhumane and cruel procedures take place in Planned Parenthood and consequently should result in immediate defunding. What the general public are seeing are “heavily edited” videos taken from “television” and procedures that are extracting stillborn children which is immensely different than the various abortion procedures that are offered at Planned Parenthood. In a CNN Republican debate, Carly Fiorina cited a video that shows an “intact fetus kicking its left leg and moving an arm shortly after being aborted”, which is completely falsified and has no evidence connecting it to Planned Parenthood. Adding fuel to that fire is how Congress has consistently lied about Planned Parenthood to justify their long-running obsession with banning abortion in this country with false videos and claims that Planned Parenthood was “selling fetus tissue”, when all the evidence actually proves that the family care provider was “donating the tissue for medical research” which is completely legal in all states. All of these fabricated lies and visualizations created to be pinned against innocent women have only lengthened the animosity between females and anti-abortionists. Even if the images were real and apart of the Planned Parenthood agenda, is it still a woman’s body? Is it still her life that is also at stake? The debate and adamant desire to defund the clinic has lengthened the fight for women to have essential services available to them, but have made them question if the people in the wrong are anti-abortionists or themselves.
This double-consciousness many women endure only apply more stress and internal conflict that forces women to make decisions not based on their own needs, but on what they think society favors. The backwards-thinking women are being forced to experience could be completely eliminated if the public payed more mind to the facts behind abortions and the real lives at stake which would then eliminate the endless guilt and internalized tug-of-war women face when making these private choices that concern no one but themselves. As stated directly on the Planned Parenthood website, “in-clinic procedures” as well as “abortion pills” are clearly identified and elaborated on, leaving no room for confusion or idea that the expulsion of a pregnancy is anything harmful or unjust to the woman or cells growing in her stomach. There are no “harvesting of a baby’s organs” or mutilation of premature bodies as falsely depicted by angered conservatives. Planned Parenthood has consistently provided data and evidence combating the inhumane allegations made against them, each accusation overlooking the importance and necessity of the services every day women need.
How could a nationwide healthcare provided to men and women for one hundred years be built upon a foundation of unsafe and morally unjust procedures harmful to women, children, and the general public? Conservatives in office are against abortion at all costs and the only means of ending it is by attacking the sole provider of abortion procedures; however, the entire Roe v Wade decision that affirmed “the legality of a woman's right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution”, is being discarded for the selfish desires of powerful men. Women are becoming so used to seeing themselves in the eyes of these people that it has become common to disregard what she truly wants for herself just to appease the public. In an online segment for Our Bodies Ourselves, an organization designed to educate women on their needs and options, A’yen Tran shared her story about dealing with abortion. From outside the Planned Parenthood site, men with rosaries in hand were chanting to not kill “your black/Hispanic/Oriental baby”; however, she forced the anti-choice protestors to the back of her mind because what they did not know was that the child of her father had been “consistently mentally and physically abusing” Tran which resulted in her pregnancy. Because of the major difference in opinion between pro-life and pro-choice individuals, A’yen felt “isolated” and “alone” in her decision to get a surgical abortion based on the fact that she would not be able to give her child the “financial and emotional support necessary for a healthy life”. Prior to considering this option, she too had been blinded by the faulty medical information concerning how the procedures are played out. After sifting through religious websites displaying “brutal photos of aborted fetuses”, it did not take long to find how altered and fake the visuals were and how they were tearing down everyday women.
It is not up for debate whether or not women are fit to make decisions regarding their bodies. It is not a topic that needs to be thought over by Congressmen. And it is most definitely not a matter where men and women can congregate and publicly shame women for doing the best she can with what she has. For there to be this double consciousness within a woman creates an internal battle of what is right and wrong. There should ultimately be a oneness between how the public sees women and how a woman sees herself. While the question of where the concern for the life of the child being aborted is constantly being raised- what about the life of the mother? This uphill battle between society and women is prevalent with and without the topic of abortion and services provided at abortion clinics such as Planned Parenthood. It is completely unnecessary to risk the emotional stability and potential of a woman to force her to carry a child for nine months only to either become an unfit parent, her baby be taken in by a better family, or enter foster care. It is time to end the disparity in thought when it comes to what decisions a woman can make about her body and stand with them as they make choices that are rightfully theirs and no one else's.
