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Thing is, the more I get immersed in my Gender and Sexuality class, the more I get exposed to the shades of gray when it comes to this topic.  Sometimes, it even turns out that Pro-Life people cannot call themselves Pro-Life because…well, extremists kill Pro-Choice supporters. Also, in this country, Pro-Life laws actually kill mothers-to-be.  (In fact, my professor doesn’t call this group Pro-Life, she calls them Pro-Natal.)

Some arguments are really extreme on both ends that I find myself stuck in cognitive dissonance.  I still cannot imagine myself deliberately killing a baby, no matter how young it is, but I also believe that women should be given a choice as to the kind of contraceptive she can use. Options. They’re very important because the choices “Pro-Life” credos provide us are severely limited.

So I’m starting with the basics: The RH Bill. I cannot even begin to discuss Manila Mayor Atienza’s Executive Order 003, Series of 2000 — not only because it violates international covenants, but also because find it absurd that he’d give P500-1,000 (once a year, like an award) to the biggest families as if that paltry sum would alleviate the poverty he inadvertently threw his people into.

I’m still anti-abortion (except in special cases where the mother’s life is at risk or when there are psychological issues to be covered), but I believe in the importance of empowering women, their partners (husbands or…wives?) and children by giving them information on their Reproductive Rights.

Related Reading:
Thirty-five Years of Legal Abortion in the U.S.: The Unfinished Agenda by Marlene Gerber Fried

delete reply legioastartes wrote on Sep 11, ’09 Awww. A lot of people tend to see black and whites, but few see the shades of grey. Personally, I don’t like the thought of abortion (unless it endangers the mother) but then, my mom is pro choice for women, she says it’s the mother’s choice >_> so yeah, a lot of people have conflicting opinions..yet don’t work toward a practical compromise.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, ’09 hmm. nalilito po ako dito. if pro-choice ka, would it be ok if you are using contraceptives? kasi parang dito sa pinas extreme yung pro choice, iba iniisip pag contraceptives. hnd mo naman pinapatay kasi wala pa naman nabubuo. naniniwala ako na the moment na may conception me buhay na yun. well depende sa contraceptives…. natural method and all. except sa mga abortifacients. >__< (dapat talaga, nakinig ako nung dinidiscuss 'to dati XDDD )

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, ’09, edited on Sep 11, ’09 criys said hmm. nalilito po ako dito. if pro-choice ka, would it be ok if you are using contraceptives?  baka you mean pro-life? kasi pro-life is against anything that isn’t natural. that includes artificial contraceptives. dito pumapasok ang complexities ng female body. we are so diverse that we need a lot of options. (and jeez, anyone who’s been so exposed to women will probably know how complicated we are in so many aspects.) pro-choice naman believes na dapat may choice ang babae. unfortunately, i’m not comfortable with the idea of abortion. even if my professor (and she’s really good ha) is pro-abortion, i got really squeamish during the discussion. i actually went out of the room to get some air. haha! thank goodness the next reporter was funny. i do get her point, though, when she said that we shouldn’t discriminate people based on ideologies. like there was this one woman daw who was having a miscarriage and she was being ignored while she bled half to death…apparently, the medical team thought she had an abortion and wanted to teach her a lesson. that kind of attitude is not at all pro-life (which is why my prof calls them pro-natal) and is inhuman. no matter what the reason was for that woman to bleed to death, they should give her medical attention.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, ’09 skysenshi said baka you mean pro-life?  ay opo. (sabi na nga ba… -_-; me ma mimiss ako dito, sabaw pa kasi… XD)

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, ’09 criys said ay opo. (sabi na nga ba… -_-; me ma mimiss ako dito, sabaw pa kasi… XD)  hehe, anyway, what i like about my prof is she’s not just a feminist. she’s just anti-oppression because she believes a lot of the men are being shortchanged, too, when you ignore the needs of women. hehe.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, ’09 mahirap…. parang ang extreme nga naman. I agree miss, kelangan pa rin ng artificial contraceptives (at marami pang under dito) what I don’t agree with are the use of abortifacients. At nung sa stuation na sa isang babae na nag miscarriage, grabe naman ung medical team. nakakalimutan na nila ang tinuro sa ethics. well. that’s reality. (sidetrack lang po, kwento lang po sa kin ng mom’s cousin na nurse. dun sa isang hospital kasi na public, e maraming nanganganak at para daw maturuan ng leksyon, ung mga marami nang anak e di na daw binibgyan ng anesthesia >___< )

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, ’09 waahhh. napaka ironic. nung dinidiscuss ‘to sa class, di ako masyado nakikinig. pero ngayon mas nagiging interesting ang topic dahil mag gagamit ito sa future. XDDD (~sabaw mode~)

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, ’09 criys said (sidetrack lang po, kwento lang po sa kin ng mom’s cousin na nurse. dun sa isang hospital kasi na public, e maraming nanganganak at para daw maturuan ng leksyon, ung mga marami nang anak e di na daw binibgyan ng anesthesia >___< )  yes, that’s true. we discussed that. that was part of our discussion kanina. grabe no? namamatay tong mga babaeng to and hindi naman nila kasalanan actually. they weren’t educated enough or given options on how to prevent unwanted pregnancies. and you know what’s sad? people like us would probably never experience that because we have the means to prevent it. may kaya tayo kahit papaano so nagagawan natin ng paraan. actually medyo ganun din ang take ko on abortificients…ayoko talaga. pero may mga cases na kailangan. pag nagkwento nga yung prof ko na 3rd trimester na ng pregnancy, as in buong buo na yung bata pero naging health risk siya dun sa mother…gosh. she described how paisa, isa tinatanggalan ng parts yung baby hanggang sa matanggal lahat sa katawan ng mommy. di ko kinaya talaga. lumabas ako ng room. ^^;;; i know it was needed so that the mother could survive, pero talagang di ko kaya pakinggan.

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, ’09 skysenshi said men are being shortchanged, too, when you ignore the needs of women. hehe.  interesting, never thought of it that way..

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, ’09 skysenshi said pag nagkwento nga yung prof ko na 3rd trimester na ng pregnancy, as in buong buo na yung bata pero naging health risk siya dun sa mother…gosh.  ang hirap nga po nyan. walang tamang sagot, sino pipiliin ang bata o ang ina? what if ikaw ang ina? (so many questions… hirap) … nakakapanindig balahibo naman yung isa isa… tanggalin ang parts O.o

edit delete reply skysenshi wrote on Sep 11, ’09 criys said ang hirap nga po nyan. walang tamang sagot, sino pipiliin ang bata o ang ina? what if ikaw ang ina? (so many questions… hirap) … nakakapanindig balahibo naman yung isa isa… tanggalin ang parts O.o  di ba? mamamatay din kasi yung bata dahil di pa siya fully developed. so kung ipilit mo rin yung pregnancy pareho silang dead. @_@ gosh di ba?

delete reply criys wrote on Sep 11, ’09 andun na ang pala yung sagot. di talaga madali….