“This Is My Body”: The Video Anti-Abortion Activists Need To See [x]
“If I choose to have sex, I have the right to birth control and to be spared the demeaning insults that you’d never want leveled against your daughter or mother. My pursuit of orgasm is neither unnatural nor dangerous nor scary nor an infringement of your religious liberty. My sexual activity exists for my benefit, not your pleasure. And it’s never my fault if you rape me. I am done being excluded from decisions about my sexual and reproductive health. This is my body. Not yours.”
(via ethiopienne)
*trigger warning: rape*
Written by Bria Murray for RH Reality Check. This diary is cross-posted; commenters wishing to engage directly with the author should do so at the original post.
Dear Representative Trent Franks,
Today, I watched you debate during the markup for H.R. 3803, or, as you may know it, the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortion after 20 weeks in Washington, DC. I watched you valiantly fight to save “the children” from their pain even in the case of rape or incest, or when a mother has been diagnosed with cancer and the treatment needed to save her life is incompatible with the continuation of her pregnancy. I watched you warn the rest of the judiciary committee that abortions are linked to higher rates of suicide, even though this “fact,” and the basis for the bill itself (that 20-week-old fetuses can feel pain) flies in the face of all accredited scientific evidence.
And all I could think about was September 7, 2007.
It may seem strange to you. September 7, 2007 was nearly five years ago. Why think about that now? And why such a specific date?
September 7, 2007 was the night I was raped.
September 7, 2007 was the night that my rapist’s sperm met my egg and I was impregnated with the child of my rapist.
I thought about all of this as I watched you passionately advocate on behalf of “the tiny little babies” and the only reaction I could muster was “how dare you.”
How dare you, Representative Franks.
What a jackass.
It looks like Texas is poised to ban doctors from discussing abortion as a medical option. Take a look at the newest proposed anti-abortion rules from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
I just can’t anymore.
(via kinkyturtle)
I know I’ve told this story before, but my abusive ex refused to let me take birth control. I was on the pill until he found them in my purse.
I went to the Student Health Center—they were completely unhelpful, choosing to lecture me about the importance of safe sex (recommending condoms) instead of actually listening to my problem.
Then I went to Planned Parenthood. The Nurse Practitioner took one look at my fading bruises and stopped the exam. She called in the doctor. The doctor came in and simply asked me: “Are you ready to leave him?” When I denied that I was being abused, she didn’t argue with me. She just asked me what I needed. I said I need a birth control method that my boyfriend couldn’t detect. She recommended a few options and we decided on Depo.
When I told her that my boyfriend read my emails and listened to my phone messages and was known to follow me, she suggested to do the Depo injections at off hours when the clinic was normally closed. She made a note in my chart and instructed the front desk never to leave messages for me—instead, she programmed her personal cell phone number into my phone under the name “Nora”. She told me she would call me to schedule my appointments; she wouldn’t leave a message, but I should call her back when I was able to.
And that was it. No judgment. No lecture. She walked me to the door and told me to call her day or night if I needed anything. That she lived 5 blocks from campus and would come get me. That I wasn’t alone. That she just wanted me to be safe.
I never called her to come to my rescue. But I have no doubt that she would have come if I had called. She kept me on Depo for a year, giving me those monthly injections in secret, helping me prevent a desperately unwanted pregnancy.
I cannot thank Planned Parenthood enough for the work they do.
Curious Georgiana (via grrrlstudies)
I know I’ve reblogged this before, but it bears re-reblogging (?). This is how you respond to abuse, this is how you give people control over their bodies/uteruses, this is how you act as a generally non-judgmental and compassionate person. I love this story so fucking much.
(via coffeewithants)
(Source: sexistmorons, via kinkyturtle)
In addition to restricting the flow of federal “family planning” funds, House Bill 487, sponsored by Representative Ron Amstutz and adopted without a recorded vote by members of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, completely prohibits the distribution to Planned Parenthood of Ohio or any of its affiliates from any of the following federal programs:
- Violence Against Women Act
- Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act
- Infertility Prevention Project (US Dept of Health & Human Services)
- Minority HIV/AIDS initiative funds (Centers for Disease Control)
In other words, according to GOP House members, Planned Parenthood is such an undesirable organization that not only do we want to prevent it from doing any family planning work (remember, the law already prohibits public funds from paying for abortions), we also don’t want them to help people with HIV/AIDS or infertility, to screen women for cervical or breast cancer, or to help victims of domestic violence. Just take a second to let that sink in.
Mother of fuck.
OKAY SO. I’m back from my very first Planned Parenthood journey, and I have to say, I’m a great mixture of emotions. Ranging from overjoyed and happy and thrilled and grateful to angry and bitter and frightened and downright pissed—very varying degrees of emotions, but…
(Source: warmerwind, via goforthandagitate)
