Zamaneh Media
  • Latest Articles
  • Latest News
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Contact us
    • Legal
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
  • Latest Articles
  • Latest News
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Contact us
    • Legal
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
Zamaneh Media
No Result
View All Result

“Wake Up, the Sky Is Falling!”: The Unsettling Reversal of Abortion Rights for American Women

by Lily Mafi
July 20, 2022
in Featured Items, Latest Articles
Reading Time: 6 mins read
0
Woman protesting for abortion rights in Los Angeles.

Protest against Roe V. Wade overturning in Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Derek French.

In the United States lately, women hold less rights than an inanimate object. Although not literally, the recent overturning of Roe vs Wade has positioned American women in an uncomfortable seat. Despite years of progress made for women’s rights, the recent Supreme Court decision on the right to abortion has taken the power from women, giving it back to the states. It is no longer the choice of a woman to carry a pregnancy or have an abortion, but instead, the choice of each state – driven by their own ideological and religious dogma. 

The right to terminate a pregnancy is no longer a constitutional right in the US, and with an estimated 26 states expected to ban abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, the future of American women is up in the air. While some of these states make exceptions for rape and incest, conditions are vague and problematic. In a country where 44 states have provisions to protect the right to keep and bear arms, the life and death discourse has become more unsettling than ever. 

At what point is life sacred and worth protecting? To grant the power to draw the line to those far detached from the very experience of child bearing creates an apathy for those experiences, perpetually shaping the lives of those affected. Part of the implications of taking the power of choice out of the hands of the women biologically able to procreate is presuming readiness to take on the greatest extant responsibility. 

We spoke to two American women about Roe vs. Wade. Although they represent a speck of the population, their experiences as women with different personal and professional distances from abortion shed light on the perils of an anti-choice US. The banning of abortion will fuel intersectional experiences that will further complicate discrimination in the US.

Ms. Merle Hoffman. Photo by Joan Roth.

Merle Hoffman, abortion rights activist and pioneer, founded one of the first ambulatory abortion centers in the US, just three years before Roe v. Wade. Despite starting out her career as a concert pianist and psychology major, a part-time job as a medical assistant paved her way in the medical world and feminist activism. It wasn’t until her night shift on the midnight express at Bellevue hospital that she became wedded to the movement. After being asked to go in and talk to a Catholic mother of three from New Jersey who had arrived bleeding from an attempted abortion, she was catalysed to dedicate her life’s work to abortion access. She co-founded the Flushing Women’s Medical Center in 1971, the forerunner of Choices Women’s Medical Center in New York today, one of 10 states with expanded access to abortion.

“Do you prioritise life or do you prioritise the opportunity for a good life?”

The name Choices represents Ms. Hoffman’s doctrine to have the right to a choice rather than taking an anti-abortion approach, “I stress that to be pro-choice doesn’t mean that you have to be pro your own abortion. You can come and say I would never have an abortion, I would never kill my baby, I would absolutely not do it and I would say that’s fine. That’s your choice.” The choice, she argues, is an embedded right that stems from biological differences between men and women that should be made by women and women only. 

Beyond legal barriers, the social construction of gender and ethical debates surrounding abortion present women with difficult challenges in the realization of their right. “It’s one thing to externally criminalize abortion, and it’s another thing to have women absolutely believe that they have no right or bodily autonomy, not even constitutionally,” Ms. Hoffman says.

The argument against the right for a woman to choose commonly forwarded by pro-life groups equates abortion with murder, viewing human life with high regard. When it comes to women’s rights, the same pro-life belief comes with a double standard. Chloe, who considers herself a democrat and feminist tells us, “It’s a blatant assault on women’s rights. It’s basically saying that potential for life is more important than a woman’s life, period…or that it gets priority and that’s a huge attack on our autonomy as women and our ability to decide what we do with our bodies.”

“You see, I call my organisation ‘Choices’, but how much choice do we really have when you don’t have an economy that supports women to have children, when you basically have an anti-natal society in the United States? We have no daycare, we have poverty, at rates we should not have.”

For women belonging to racial and ethnic minorities or lower income classes, this impact is even greater. In response to pro-life priorities, Chloe asks, “Do you prioritise life or do you prioritise the opportunity for a good life?”. Data from the Guttmacher Institute shows that approximately 33 million women live in states hostile to abortion rights – where abortion is already banned or likely to be banned. These states, such as Mississippi and Louisiana have some of the highest poverty rates amongst women between the ages of 15 and 44. Women living on the margins in these clustered states face a multifold of challenges when it comes to resources to access safe abortion. 

Protestors outside the US Supreme Court. Photo by Joan Roth.

Ms. Hoffman explains, “You see, I call my organisation “Choices”, but how much choice do we really have when you don’t have an economy that supports women to have children, when you basically have an anti-natal society in the United States? We have no daycare, we have poverty, at rates we should not have.”

Chloe tells Zamaneh, “This idea of the Supreme Court going back on its previous rulings, that is not something we’re used to and that’s the thing that’s scary about it.” This regression in the United States adds further desperation to the global women’s movement. Ms. Hoffman adds, “Women’s issues are transcendent issues that go beyond nationals.” 

Sepideh Rashno

The US is not the only country living the Handmaid’s Tale in real life. On July 12, Iran’s IRGC announced a national day of Hijab and Chastity. Women cloaked in green and white hijabs danced around reciting the Koran in the ceremony on state television. In resistance, Iranian women called on the world to support them in an act of civil disobedience against the mandatory hijab. Images and videos of women roaming the streets without the mandatory hijab flooded the internet.

A video that went viral a few days after, on July 25, shows a woman wearing a chador harassing another woman not wearing a hijab while riding the bus. Sepideh Rashno, a 28-year old writer and artist, has been identified as the woman being harassed for her “bad hijab”. Reports confirm that Ms. Rashno has been arrested, sparking discussions over the mandatory hijab, women’s rights and security in Iranian discourse.

Ms. Hoffman at a protest. (Photo from MerleHoffman.com)

“I want those millions of people in the street demanding their rights but it’s coming, it may come, it’s gonna take time. ’cause we can’t depend on the courts, we can’t depend on the politicians. So where is it? It’s within us. It’s within the people…so we have to take it out and that’s a challenge…that is the challenge.” -Ms. Hoffman.

Tags: abortionamericahijabhuman rightsprochoiceroevwadeunited stateswomenwomen's rights
Previous Post

A Human Rights Website Reports a Dutch National Has Been Arrested in Iran

Next Post

Suppression of the Teachers and Bus Drivers Protests: Download Zamaneh’s Quarterly Labor Rights Report

Related Posts

Suppression of the Teachers and Bus Drivers Protests: Download Zamaneh’s Quarterly Labor Rights Report
Latest Articles

Suppression of the Teachers and Bus Drivers Protests: Download Zamaneh’s Quarterly Labor Rights Report

July 31, 2022
Featured Items

A Human Rights Website Reports a Dutch National Has Been Arrested in Iran

July 18, 2022
Iranian Official Sentenced to Life Imprisonment: War Crime Trial of Hamid Nouri in Sweden
Latest Articles

Iranian Official Sentenced to Life Imprisonment: War Crime Trial of Hamid Nouri in Sweden

July 14, 2022
Kidnapping Iranian Children for Sex: The Role of Patriarchy and Religion
Latest Articles

Kidnapping Iranian Children for Sex: The Role of Patriarchy and Religion

June 23, 2022
A story from Qarchak prison: the gang that sells girls’ virginity for men’s sexual pleasure
Featured Items

A story from Qarchak prison: the gang that sells girls’ virginity for men’s sexual pleasure

June 21, 2022
Mazut Production in Iran: Human and Environmental Devastation for Nothing
Featured Items

Mazut Production in Iran: Human and Environmental Devastation for Nothing

June 18, 2022

RSS Iran in Other Media

  • Iran Won't Be Happy: Israel Returns F-35I Stealth Fleet to Active Service - 19FortyFive August 10, 2022
  • US charges Iran operative with plotting to kill former Trump hawk John Bolton - bne IntelliNews August 10, 2022
  • Iran's nuclear chief worked on military nuclear program, report says - Ynetnews August 10, 2022
  • Iran says it will review Airbus contract if sanctions are lifted - Press TV August 10, 2022
  • John Bolton: 'I'm not the only one Iran is trying to assassinate' - Sky News August 10, 2022
  • Reward extended for info on shooting death of Pasadena teen Iran Moreno - FOX 11 Los Angeles August 10, 2022
  • Caroline Glick: Israel's biggest problem is America's appeasement of Iran - JNS.org August 10, 2022
  • Iranian charged in alleged plot to kill former national security adviser John Bolton - WUSF News August 10, 2022
  • China calls on US to 'positively' respond to Iran's 'reasonable concerns' in Vienna talks - Press TV August 10, 2022
  • Iran's energy minister in Kabul after Taliban releases water from Helmand - Press TV August 10, 2022
  • Video Report: Russia Cooperating With Iran on Nuclear Launches - Newsmax August 10, 2022
  • Turkish, Iranian foreign ministers discuss bilateral, regional issues - Anadolu Agency August 10, 2022
  • Trump's shadow looms over last ditch effort to revive Iran nuclear deal - CNN August 10, 2022
  • Surviving as trans in Iran | World | Breaking news and perspectives from around the globe - DW (English) August 10, 2022
  • Iranian operative charged in plot to murder John Bolton - KWQC August 10, 2022
  • The reactivation of the nuclear deal is in Iran's hands - Atalayar August 10, 2022
  • Houshang Ebtehaj, prominent Iranian poet, dies at 94 - ABC News August 10, 2022
  • Iran's Morality Police Warn Clothesmakers To Avoid 'Loud' Colors Or Face Closure - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty August 10, 2022
  • IRGC-Linked Website Claims Iran Exporting A Lot Of Oil To China - ایران اینترنشنال August 10, 2022
  • The Farda Briefing: Space Cooperation Between Russia, Iran Raises Western Concerns - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty August 10, 2022
Zamaneh Media

© 2020 Zamaneh Media

More information

  • Sponsors
  • Donate
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Legal

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Latest Articles
  • Latest News
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Contact us
    • Legal
  • Advertise

© 2020 Zamaneh Media