Thread by @AnneOminous9

Now that we’ve covered the legal history of abortion in Canada (broadly), let’s jump into some facts about abortion. I’ll be using one of my favourite books to do. It’s unfortunately an American perspective. You can thank Harper for the lack of CND stats. Fuck Harper.

This book is Pro:Reclaiming Abortion Rights by @KathaPollitt. Let’s begin. Abortion freed women from unwanted marriages. Allowed them to commit to education or work. Allowed them to have independence. (We also have to note that WOC were always working). (Loc 62).

Anti-abortion sentiments arise from misogyny and the historical fact that a woman’s body has never been her own. It’s always belonged to - her father, her husband, her nation (close your eyes and think of England). Anti-abortionists extend ownership to the fetus. (Loc 75).

That is why we have gotten arguments that have centred the fetus over the pregnant person. However, the anti-abortion movement in Canada has gotten far more clever and often co opts feminist messages insidiously. More on that later. (Waiting on article to cite).

I spend a lot of time arguing with anti-abortionists and I have done so since I was 13. In person, online, at school. Sometimes I practice these arguments in my head. I have often heard people say that women should have to go through a pregnancy and birth bc...

Pregnancy is what happens when you have PIV sex. As if pregnancy is a punishment and consensual sex is an offence. Pollitt says that it appears that we think motherhood is the default setting for women. And it isn’t. We also should’t punish folks for consensual sex.

Truth is, people are going to have sex. There’s nothing wrong with consensual sex. Sometimes PIV sex will result in pregnancy. Not all pregnancies are wanted. That is okay too. If we want to lower abortion rates then we need to end poverty, improve equity, universal child care,

We need affordable housing, affordable healthy food, we need BETTER sex education, we need FREE contraceptives and birth control, we need better public health. We need to stop punishing women who have children by pushing them out of the workforce. We need more social supports.

What we don’t need is inaccessible abortion services. Because that doesn’t decrease abortion rates. What that does is add an additional hoop, more pressure, more costs (financial, physical, emotional) to folks. It keeps women poor. Traps them in toxic relationships.

So, if you’re going to argue abortion is bad and should end then advocate for an end to poverty and better social supports listed above. Stop arguing that abortion should be inaccessible. Abortion isn’t the villain of this story. Individualism and neo-conservativism are.

I am sick & tired of anti-abortionists cry “what about adoption!!!” They argue that abortion is evil & traumatic but don’t see how adoption can be traumatic. They don’t look at the numbers of kids waiting to be adopted. They don’t see all of the issues in our foster care system.

I’m sick of the red herring of sex selective abortions from the anti abortion camp. The solution to sex selective abortions will NEVER be abortion restrictions. It will always be equity.

We end sex selective abortions when we end widespread devaluing of women and girls. When we increase their (and all gender minorities) social, economic, and political capital so its on par with the capital of cishet white men. Abortion isn’t the evil.

For the record, even in a perfect utopia I would support abortion. Because its health care and bodily autonomy is a fundamental right.