Act III: In Which God Gets His Revenge On A Pagan

Recently, an Indian woman died in Ireland as a result of a miscarriage. What made this event unique is that she was 17 weeks pregnant and in great pain for 3 days before they did anything about it. She began asking for a "termination" immediately after learning of the miscarriage. She was denied that and several further requests for a an abortion because (A) there was still a fetal heartbeat and (B) "Ireland is a Catholic country." After thee days of pain and agony, the fetal heartbeat finally stopped. The baby was removed and she was rushed to ICU where she died of septicemia a few days later. Her husband, now a widower, is left trying to rationalize why he lost both his wife and child when it wasn't necessary and due to religious beliefs that likely aren't his own.

This happened largely because of an Irish law passed in 1861 that made abortions illegal - a law that has yet to be overturned. Don't fret. I'm not going to go into a rant about the morality of abortions. I'm just going to rant about pro-lifers and women's rights.

Men are involved in creating life only to the point of ejaculation. They are not held responsible for anything afterwards - up to and including raising children. Women, however, are equipped for the arduous physical and mental task of developing and carrying life inside of them. If that isn't bad enough it ends with childbirth which has been scientifically proven to be the 2nd most painful thing a human being can endure next to burning alive. Both pregnancy and childbirth can kill them. If that isn't bad enough, they are expected to primarily (or solely) raise the child whether the man is in the picture or not. 

To put it lightly, pregnancies are complicated and a variety of things can go wrong that can affect the mother's health. With that in mind, this is not an issue of religious morality or the love of children and life. It is a women's healthcare issue, end of discussion. Some say "women just should take care not to get pregnant" and those people are fucking stupid. (A) It isn't solely the female's responsibility, (B) sometimes, shit just happens (I'm an expert on shit happening), and (C) some women aren't lucky enough to live in a country where people treat them like human beings.

What makes this story particularly irritating is that the proponents of the kind of laws that resulted in this woman's death call themselves "pro-life". 

First of all, fuck that group for using the descriptor "pro-life" in the first place. Not only is it misleading given their stances, but it insinuates that anyone that doesn't agree with them is "anti-life". It's similar to saying "I'm anti-priests-raping-kids." WHO ISN'T!

Pro-life should mean that you are a proponent of life all the way through. If you support war or capital punishment, for example, you are not pro-life. If you value the life of a 17 week old fetus above that of its mother, you are not pro-life. If you would bomb an abortion clinic, you are not pro-life. I would argue that "pro-life" means anti-poverty, anti-starving, and anti-homeless whether man, woman, or child. Yet most pro-lifers detest welfare and government programs because...fuck poor people. (Am I right?) Most "pro-lifers" don't seem to actually care about life beyond the birth itself. Anti-choice is a better name for their agenda. 

Now, I realize this is a different country. We had Roe v. Wade and all that. In the last election the Republican party put their balls in their mouths a few times going for that "white male vote". Women and minorities responded at the polls and Republicans are now looking into getting a makeover. It seems their message didn't resonate well with many people. However, there is still support for these kinds of laws throughout the country and that faction of the Republican party isn't going anywhere any time soon. 

We like to brag about our freedom and act as if we are so progressive. In reality women were granted suffrage less than 100 years ago; to this day they are underpaid in comparison to men and they are still treated as inferiors and discriminated against across the country in a variety of areas. Sure we treat women better than many third world countries, but we also don't shit in the street because we have indoor plumbing. By that I mean, as a 1st world country we are not doling out clitoridectomies left and right but we aren't exactly treating women as equals. To put it in perspective, it's cute when a woman runs for president in the US but other countries actually elect them. Here is a list of countries that have elected female prime ministers in the 20th century. Please take note that Pakistan is one of them. Exactly what kind of freedom are we exporting again? 

The popular argument made by the pro-choice group is that if women are legally denied the right to get an abortion, they will obtain them illegally in an alleyway or somewhere else equally squalid, death-prone, and uncomfortable.* Poverty and a lack of health insurance already limit women's healthcare enough as it is. Truth be told, abortions can kill women under a doctor's care and making them illegal is just going to create a black market for it.

Lastly, a women's healthcare issue means if you have a penis, shut the fuck up.** The least we can do, as men, is ensure that women have access to the care they need to keep them, and their potential children, as healthy as possible while removing as many obstacles as possible. A woman's life should never be jeopardized because a third party believes "God wants it that way". If that's true, God is the biggest asshole in creation second only the doctor that chooses to let her die.

*Like the back of a Volkswagen?
**If you have a penis and a vagina, that's just gross and I'm not into it (not that there's anything wrong with it). 

Thanks to Greg Proops for the topic and much of his insight. 

(As always, don't comment. I don't care.)