Tuesday, June 21, 2011

More "fetal rights" nonsense

I got mad reading more ideological nonsense about how fetus' require protection because they are so "separate" from the mother. From here.

Of course, it has nothing to do with a woman's body. The fetus is simply growing in some random incubator, right? Because the placenta isn't attached to anything and isn't drawing nutrients from anyone's blood, and the uterus doesn't belong to anyone, and nobody's blood volume needs to increase to deal with the pregnancy, and nobody's bladder and bowels are affected, and nobody's lungs and stomach are affected by a distended uterus, and an increase in fluid doesn't cause anyone's extremities to swell, and nobody suffers from potentially fatal increases in blood pressure call pre-eclampsia, and nobody's heart needs to work harder to pump blood, and nobody needs to forego the medications needed to treat serious conditions like cancer or rheumatoid arthritis because they are known to cause birth defects, and nobody ever has vomiting so severe that they need to be hospitalized, and nobody has ever had spinal anesthetic for a c-section immobilize their diaphragm and cause breathing difficulties, and nobody has ever had urinary or bowel incontinence after delivery, and nobody has ever developed a fistula, and nobody has ever had their uterus literally rip open (uterine rupture) during a delivery, and nobody has ever had the anesthesia wear off in the middle of a c-section, and nobody has ever had a c-section incision that kept bleeding for a month after the birth, and nobody has ever had a potentially fatal hemorrhage following delivery, and nobody has ever had a serious infection following either vaginal or c-section delivery, and nobody has ever had a violent partner beat them during pregnancy and specifically target the abdomen, and no one has ever had difficulty landing a job while pregnant....

Now, before anyone screams that I must hate babies and pregnancy, check my profile: I (unlike the other blogger in question) have 3 kids, all very wanted and loved. My point, yet again, is to point out just how insane it is to think that we can advocate for babies without having any regard for mothers. It's a package deal. Support women. Make sure that they can feed and house themselves and their children. Make sure that decent nutrition is available. Make sure that good health care is available. Don't beat pregnant women. Make sure that any woman facing domestic violence has a viable, safe way out. Do the research necessary to ensure that safe medications exist for use during pregnancy. Make sure that there is really good birth control information and access, so that pregnancies are wanted in the first place. Make high-risk OB care available for women facing serious medical issues while pregnant. Make sure that pregnant women have adequate job protection. Reach out to those that are marginalized, living on the streets and/or engaging in substance abuse, and offer them the help they need. Above all - make them feel valued.

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