My Body is All That I Own

To split yourself in two
is the most radical thing you can do.
So girl if that shit aint up to you,
then you simply are not free.
Cause from the sunlight on my hair,
to which eggs I grow to term,
to the expression that I wear--
all I really own is me.
~Ani DiFranco

I painted this five years ago as my final for my painting applications course. It is sad that today I am feeling I could paint something even more depressing.

Today is a sad, aggravating, infuriating and embarrassing day to be a woman, a feminist and a Nebraskan.

Yesterday, Governor Heineman signed two bills into law that severely restrict a woman's night to make decisions in regards to her own personal health and body. The first, LB1103 bans abortions past the 20th week after conception based on some shaky science that the fetus can feel pain. Even if it were proven that the fetus can feel pain at this stage, I do not see where that should negate the rights of the mother.

The second bill, LB594, requires all doctors to screen women for "possible mental or physical risk factors". The bill does not state what these factors are, or how doctors would determine or document them. This bill would also not make allowances for women with mental health issues to have abortions.

Truly, these bills intentions are to make it nearly impossible for women in Nebraska to obtain a safe and legal abortion, should they choose. There is an arguably more sinister effort to these bills, in that, because they are blatantly unconstitutional and LB594 specifically is quite hard to know and regulate, the hope among anti-choicers is that they will inspire cases to go to the United States Supreme Court. This, they hope, will lead to an eventual overturn of Roe vs. Wade and open up the doors to make abortion fully illegal in the United States. If you would like a view of what that might be like, see the Romanian film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.



Of course, this legislative session Nebraska also revoked medicaid coverage for women who are not in the country legally. So not only will the state not give help to women who need it, but it also wont let them choose to terminate the pregnancy that they clearly cannot afford. Here's an idea, if you are so concerned with the rights of the fetus and making sure it does not feel pain or discomfort--PROVIDE SERVICES TO HELP IT AND KEEP IT HEALTHY.

A woman's right to choose what she does with her body and more specifically her own reproductive health has always been an important issue to me. As someone who is currently pregnant, especially with an unplanned pregnancy, these issues seem even more pertinent than before.

When I found out about my pregnancy over a month ago, I did not know what I was going to do. I looked at all the options in front of me and weighed each one to find what was right for me. I eventually chose to continue with the pregnancy and to have the baby. I made this choice because Aaron and I are in a long term committed relationship and had already planned on having children together--it was just that the timing was a bit off. Had circumstances been different, I might have made a different choice. The point of the issue here is that I did make the choice. I decided what was right for me to do with my body.

The real kicker behind this kind of legislation is that it is so often supported by people who are constantly screaming about smaller government. Indeed, Governor Heineman, who signed the bills, calling them "sound public policy" was also yesterday at a Tea Party rally talking about how there is too much government interference in the lives of citizens. I guess that doesn't apply to women and our reproductive health and choices. In that regard, they feel that clearly women are not smart or capable enough to handle making ourown decisions.

What anti-choicers fundamentally do not understand is that being pro-choice does not mean being pro-abortion. It means recognizing that a safe and legal abortion should be an option for a woman who decides they cannot or do not want to carry a pregnancy to term. The reasons for this decision need only be important and explainable to the woman making it and no one else. It also means recognizing that the label of pro-choice extends to decision making capabilities in general including birth control and parenting decisions.

If men had babies, abortion would be considered not only a constitutional but also a basic human right. However, because they do not and because there is still an inherent belief in our culture that women cannot rationally take care of themselves, men take away and use the reproductive power of women to continue to subjugate us. These bills will not stop abortions, they will not stop unplanned pregnancies. They will simply make them horribly unsafe and even more traumatic for women.

I am a woman, I am a (soon to be) mother, and I am pro-choice. I am choosing to have my baby. And I made this informed choice on my own--without government or any man (or other woman) telling me what I should do, which is how it should, must be.