On May 14, the Alabama state Senate passed one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in U.S. history. This bill prohibits abortion in all circumstances, except for instances where the baby poses serious health risks to the mother. Additionally, any doctor that gives an abortion can face up to 99 years in prison, and up to 10 for attempting.
Before delving into this topic, it must be acknowledged that abortion is not a simple issue, nor is it merely a pro-choice vs. pro-life debate. It is extremely multifaceted, with various layers. It traces back to systemic institutions of power used to socially restrict oppressed groups—in this instance, all those that identify as female.
Anti-abortion laws inherently constrain female autonomy over their own bodies. Without reiterating and overusing the common pro-choice arguments, it should be known that anti-abortion laws won’t prevent abortions from occurring—they’ll still happen, just in an unsafe manner. Instead, there is inward fighting over the nuances of abortion. People tend to focus on their personal beliefs and generate a volatile atmosphere. We should be striving for a society where abortion will be an obsolete concern, because we must work to create an environment where it won’t be necessary. It’s about changing the entire system, not just one facet of it. Perhaps if access to birth control improves, or if sex education is to be taught to both females and males the same, or if wealth inequality were to shrink, then the number of abortions would decrease. This is what we should be fighting for. It’s about looking at the source of the problem, not necessarily the problem itself.
Now, let’s focus on social structures. Women’s history in the U.S. is no secret—for all of existence women were conditioned to be submissive to the patriarchy. Colonialism perpetuated the conception of women as commodities. This is embodied in the feminization of land. It traces back to power and privilege. In compartmentalizing demonized groups, it enables the marginalization of them.
To visualize this, think of life as one huge social script. The screenwriters and directors are white males. The actors and actresses are individual roles curated by the screenwriters and directors. Our roles were defined for us, not by us. Thus, when an actor/actress goes “rogue” and doesn’t follow the script, they face repercussions, and must redo the scene until it’s up to par with what the screenwriters and directors envisioned. When placed in such a context, the fight for abortion is akin to an actress asking to do improv in one scene. Yet, one scene is not enough. The entire script needs to be trashed.
The fight for abortion isn’t just a fight for female bodily autonomy. It must be a fight to dismantle the patriarchy and ascertain justice for all women. We must remember why the abortion debate is even a debate—it is one bar of the cells containing the justice long overdue. It is only when we take a step back that the extent of oppression becomes apparent. The focus must shift towards fighting for women.
