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What is feminist theory
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Feminist research is concerned with exposing and changing the oppressive structures and ideologies that women must experience in everyday life. When feminist philosophy categorizes oppression into singular terms, it fails to acknowledge that privilege and oppression is experienced in different ways by every individual. Without an intersectional lens, it becomes impossible to understand the ways in which varying forms of privilege and oppression work to mitigate or aggravate the systemic disadvantages experienced by the oppressed. Individual’s desires and intentions emerge from structurally defined differences of social categories and power differential, which thus impacts women’s ability to fluidly navigate through their abortion process (Fegan, …show more content…
Intersectionality moves beyond the choice model of abortion by considering how race, class, gender presentation and socioeconomic standing affect women’s journey through abortion. Access to abortion may be a singular problem for white middle class women, but the issues facing individuals marginalized by racism and classism become intrinsically intertwined with reproductive health. Therefore, choice is not simply about access to abortion, but about a choice on safe and effective access to birth control options, whether or not to have children, or how many children to have. Abortion is not a singular issue that can be simplified into women’s right for autonomy and a fetus’ right to life. Abortion is an issue of intersectionality as it is complicated by issues of race, class, and gender identity. By taking into account the variables of race, class, and gender, the unique disadvantages women face can be addressed and systematically treated in order to reduce and eliminate the barriers that confront abortion
Instead of participating in the “Pro-choice” campaign women of color participated in the “Reproductive justice” campaign. The reproductive justice is a woman of color feminist movement that fights equally for the right not to have a child, the right to have a child and the right to parent their children as well to control birthing options (Lecture, 5/11). The abortion movement focus on white women only and it didn’t focus on the sterilization of women color had to endure. If women of color participate in the “Pro-choice”
As many may know abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. Abortion is one of the heaviest topics currently discussed in contemporary American politics. Also, it has always been a contentious issue. Even great philosophers like Plato and Aristotle weighed in on abortion, arguing its benefits and drawbacks in a democratic society. There are both pros and cons about abortion. In this quote it states,
Famous author Dr. Seuss states that a “person is a person no matter how small.”
In the article “All Abortions Must Be Illegal” the president of the American Life Judie Brown and the director of public Relations for American Life League says “All choices should not be legal or protected, and abortion is one that should not be legal. Allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest punishes the innocent child more than the guilty rapist”. The question is “Who should make the choice to kill preborn babies?” the answer is “Nobody”. Therefore, most women "choice" abortion precisely because they believe they have no other choice.” Abortion has change in our society today now because the women have the right to choose to abort or having the baby. Abortion is a medical or surgical procedure that ends a pregnancy.
Abortion, which is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, is one of the most controversial issues in society. Many people believe that abortion is unethical and morally wrong, while others believe that it is a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body. According to www.census.gov, “the number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. has leveled off at 1.2 million a year” (1). This statistic supports how many women are choosing abortion. Although abortion is legal in the United States, many people continue to voice their opinions on how it is a human rights violation and should be illegal everywhere.
McClain, Linda C. "Equality, Oppression, and Abortion: Women Who Oppose Abortion Rights in the Name of Feminism." Feminist Nightmares: Women at Odds, Feminism and the Problem of Sisterhood. Ed. Susan Ostrov Weisser and Jennifer Fleishner. New York: New York University Press, 1994. 159-188.
women. The abortion rights movement has since its earliest days argued that poverty is one of the most compelling reasons why women must have...
Abortion may be one of the most controversial topics in America today. Abortion is defined as “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus” (cite dictionary). There are really only two sides on people’s opinion on abortion; pro-life which means abortion should be outlawed and pro-choice which means a woman should be able to decide whether she wants to keep her baby. Thousands of protests and riots have begun due to the fact pro-life activists believe abortion should become illegal. Both sides bring valid points to support their decision that could sway any person’s thoughts. The Roe v. Wade law has allowed abortion to be legal in the U.S since 1973 (Chittom & Newton, 2015). The law “gives women total control over first trimester abortions and grants state legislative control over second and third trimester abortions” (Chittom & Newton, 2015). Ever since the law was put in place, millions of people have tried to overturn it and still
Choice, what is choice? Choice is the right, power, or opportunity to choose. Everybody in society has a choice and these choices have many outcomes. A woman’s right to choose to have an abortion or not, is her fundamental right. If society outlaws abortion, society is interfering with the woman’s right to make decisions related to her own body. Many theorists believe that sexuality is what divides women from men and makes women less valuable than men; keeping this concept in mind it can be said that gender plays an immense role in social inequality. In one of Thomas Jefferson’s speeches, he explains how we should never put at risk our rights because our freedom can be next. (lp. org 2007) Roe.V .Wade is believed to have been the United States Supreme Court’s decision that resulted in the dawn of the abortion controversy between pro-choice and pro-life advocates, and whether what the woman is carrying is simply just a fetus or a life, the debate is endless. The social-conflict theory reflects the inequality women face regarding abortion in society which brings about a negative change. If a woman’s right to choose would be taken from her then this would cause social inequity. Taking a women’s right to choose would mean taking her freedom and taking freedom away from any human being would imply inequality.
Among the many subjects covered in this book are the three classes of oppression: gender, race and class in addition to the ways in which they intersect. As well as the importance of the movement being all-inclusive, advocating the idea that feminism is in fact for everybody. The author also touches upon education, parenting and violence. She begins her book with her key argument, stating that feminist theory and the movement are mainly led by high class white women who disregarded the circumstances of underprivileged non-white women.
With so many women choosing to have abortions, it would be expected that it would not be so greatly frowned up, yet society is still having problems with its acceptance. Every woman has the fundamental right to decide for herself, free from government interference, whether or not to have an abortion. Today, more than ever, American families do not want the government to trample on their right to privacy by mandating how they must decide on the most intimate, personal matters. That is why, even though Americans may differ on what circumstances for terminating a crisis pregnancy are consistent with their own personal moral views, on the fundamental question of who should make this personal decision, the majority of Americans agree that each woman must have the right to make this private choice for herself. Anti-choice proposals to ban abortions for “sex-selection” or “birth-control” are smokescreens designed to shift the focus of the debate away from this issue and trivialize the seriousness with which millions of women make this highly personal decision. Any government restriction on the reasons for which women may obtain legal abortions violates the core of this right and could force all women to publicly justify their reasons for seeking abortion.
Are you a man? Have you ever dealt with the issue of losing or being in the process of losing a child in which you took part in making? It’s difficult to truthfully answer these questions if you’re not a man and if you haven’t experienced abortion first hand. January 22, 1973 marked the beginning of a moral and political revolution in this country that would forever change many lives 1. The landmark decision ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court to legalize abortion with unrestricted procedures would profoundly affect women and men’s lives. But the American society forgot half of the population that would be traumatized by this experience, just because they were men. Throughout the limited information available on this topic it was clearly evident that men do suffer both emotional and physical symptoms due to a personal abortion. Abortion is considered an inhuman procedure according to pro-life activists, but if it’s the only option a female is willing to take to correct a mistake then it’s a decision that needs to involve both sides that created the “problem.”
According to Dehlendorf’s study done on disparities in abortion rates, lower socioeconomic status individuals have an abortion rate of 52 abortions per 1,000 reproductive aged women. While wealthier socioeconomic status individuals only have 9 abortions per 1,000 reproductive aged women (Dehlendorf et al.,2013). Now, taking into consideration the number of unintended pregnancies that occur within the different socioeconomic classes and racial groups is also important to understand this issue. A 2008 survey done by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) reported that 70% of all pregnancies among African American women were unintended. 57% of all pregnancies among Hispanics were unintended, while 42% among white women were unintended. This is a significantly higher rate that has more to it than people being reckless. This is a problem of social stratification between power and wealth. Which leads to a strain in equal opportunity and equality of condition within the higher poverty rate
Millions of illegal abortions were done by the 1950s, and over a thousand women died each year as result. Moreover, millions of women who had illegal abortions were rushed to the emergency ward; some died of abdominal infection, and other, found themselves sterile and chronically ill. In 1969, 75% of the women who died from these abortions were either poor or of color. In the landmark case of Roe v. Wade (1973) the Supreme Court ruled that woman had the right of privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to obtain an abortion, yet, keeping in mind that, protecting the health of the woman and the potential life of the fetus is the main interest. As result of this decision, safe and unpainful abortion services were offered to many women. In addition, some health care centers provided counseling, women’s group offered free referral services, and, non-profit abortion facilities were created. Nevertheless, legalization was not enough to ensure that abortions will be available to all women, women of low income and of color still found themselves without safe and inexpensive abortions. Between the early 1980s, feminist health centers provided low-cost abortions, however, by the early 1990s, only 20% of these centers survived the harassment by the IRS and the competition of other