In today’s “whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?” news, fringe anti-abortion group Personhood USA is pushing for a legal redefinition of personhood in which life would begin the very moment sperm fertilizes an egg, even before the embryo would have an opportunity to implant into the woman’s uterus. The effect of such a (ridiculous) redefinition? Contraception, like the Pill, could be outlawed.
Think Progress explains,
These laws would recognize every fertilized egg as an individual and complete human being with full rights, and place millions of women in legal jeopardy. According to 2008 numbers, around 11 million American women use birth control pills and another 2 million use intrauterine devices (IUDs).
Contraceptives like the pill and IUDs not only act to prevent fertilization, but, if fertilization does occur, may prevent that fertilized egg from implanting in a woman’s uterus. Personhood USA considers this tantamount to abortion, and wants to make it a punishable offense for women to control their own fertility. Worse, because the proposed legislation could make any effort to terminate a pregnancy a criminal act, it could also bar doctors from saving the lives of women with ectopic pregnancies, which are never viable and need to be terminated as soon as possible.
Also at risk of prosecution would be the millions of women whose fertilized eggs never begin dividing, never implant, or implant but spontaneously abort. This often happens so early on that the woman never even knows she might have been pregnant.
Personhood attempts have been out there for a long time as an anti-abortion tactic. But what makes it particularly scary now is the fact that Alabama is very close to passing such legislation and Mississippians could vote on a personhood amendment to their Constitution as early as this November. These developments are in line with Personhood USA’s goal to have similar measures added to almost half the states’ ballots by 2012.
As fiercely pro-choice as I am, I understand and respect the fact that not everyone else is. However, it goes against every grain of logic to be anti-contraception if you are anti-abortion. Preventing unwanted pregnancies should be the common ground between the two camps, not another battle ground. In what way does outlawing or reducing access to contraception reduce the number of abortions? Oh, right, it doesn’t. It’s just another coercive attempt to control women’s lives through their fertility and shame them for engaging in sexual activity.
I have to wonder how these personhood folks would feel if feminists moved to make fellatio — or hand jobs, even — illegal, since every sperm could result in a potential child?
Great post Maureen!
I have been wondering lately, why is anti-abortion movement getting stronger at this moment in time? Why have we not been able to move past this issue after decades of political debate? It sometimes feels like we as a nation are moving backwards on civil liberties. Is it because the politically conservative have more resources than before? If a bill like this that is anti-contraception is passed, then I would really wonder if civil liberties are being stripped now more than ever. There have not been many civil liberties gains in the past decade. Patriot Act allowed for racial profiling and increased surviellence. The number of rights being taken seem to outweigh the gains we as a society are making. What may be the reason? I understand this can be a difficult question, but I would love to hear your thought.
That is the million dollar question!
While I certainly don’t have THE answer, I do suspect a lot of it is rooted in backlash — against a (purportedly) pro-choice, “progressive,” African American president. Sadly, there are millions of people in this country who are terrified of all of those qualities individually, let alone collectively. When people feel threatened or afraid, what do they do? They lash out. It’s as if a flight-or-fight response has been ignited and well, they’ve opted to fight! And is it me, or is the anti-choice movement right now reminiscent of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum for not getting its way?
Anyways, those are just my initial thoughts. It’s a very difficult, complex question and as much as I wish I had the perfect insight, I’m afraid it’s partial at best!
The personhood thing will not outlaw hormonal contraception b/c there is proof that they do not have a postfertilization effect okay, so stop the frickin BS!
For that matter, menstruation ought to be outlawed and anyone who ovulates without getting knocked up thrown in jail. Wasteful, wasteful menstruation! All those potential people that the human body discards almost as if it’s part of an innate, biological function…
Oh, thank goodness! A dude showed up to mansplain things to us wimmins, and little lady brains! Yay!
Scott, please post a link to the peer-reviewed study that shows conclusive proof that POP or combination pills do not have any affect on implantation of a fertilized egg. Thanks!
First, my understanding has always been that, because women naturally expel 50-80% of fertilized eggs, there is no way to prove, with any certainty, that the pill does not have an effect on implantation. Researchers and scientists have observed that the pill causes thinning of the uterine lining. It is theorized that this reduced uterine lining can inhibit implantation of fertilized eggs. Is there 100% proof that all women on the pill expel fertilized eggs solely due to the pill? No. But there’s no proof that the pill DOESN’T impede implantation. Essentially, it is unprovable, either way. Therefor, it has to be stated that it’s possible that the pill stops implantation of fertilized eggs. If scientists and researchers can’t prove that it doesn’t happen, they can’t SAY it doesn’t happen.
Here are a few links that describe how the pill works.
http://womenshealth.about.com/od/thepill/f/howpillworks.htm
http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/birth-control-pills
Second, the attitudes of “oh, stop yer whining, Roe v. Wade will never be overturned” and “that’s just crazy to think that BC would ever be outlawed” directly contribute to these things becoming more possible. When people are complacent and dismiss the goals of groups like Personhood USA and their ilk, it creates an environment where radical conservative voices are the only voices heard. If nothing else, the onslaught of anti-choice, anti-reproductive healthcare bills that are popping up all over the country are a bright neon sign that the radical right feels the climate is good for these types of extreme measures.
So, we’ll “stop the frickin BS” when there’s no more frickin BS to fight.
If releasing seed outside the womb is considered murder then I have slaughtered billions in my time.
That post release remorse must come from somewhere. Now the batshit mental right wing anti-woman movement has made me understand that the remorse I felt every time I’ve taken matters in hand was subconscious guilt over committing genocide…
“Women naturally expel 50-80% of fertilized eggs.”
How does anyone know this?
There is no proof that the pill prevents impedes implantation of a fertilized egg-I dont know how to link but I’ve checked out the ProLife Physicians website and the conclusion that they’ve come to is that there is not enough evidence, and that women (like myself) who believe that life begins at fertilization have no reason to be concerned taking the pill, as it does not appear to have abortifacient properties. (I know there are folks who disagree, but I feel any medication that prevents implantation is abortifacient, but that the birth control Pill is not)
Hi Robin – long time no “see.” Thanks for sharing that info from the ProLife Physicians group. Good to hear that not everyone is opposed to birth control.
Hi Serena! Yes I found that info refreshing as well-I actually had a “debate” with Abby Johnson on her facebook page with this-and while she’s opposed to the Pill (she believes “breakthrough fertilization” can occur and has concerns with side effects) she DID point out that there are other methods of birth control and spacing children….better at least than being totally opposed to any birth control….
Did you visit the ProLife Physicians website btw? And if so, thoughts…or a post from a pro-choice perspective??
Hi Robin, I have looked at their site and would be happy to talk about it via e-mail. But I don’t want to hijack the comments thread on this post.
send me an email then-i dont have your guy’s address…also the site is called Physicians for Life. ProLife physicians is a registry of some sort I believe and I dont know if the two are affiliated or not.
What you have to understand is that these people want to control everyone. It goes beyond women. They want to control everyone’s sex lives. The best way to control people is to ensure that they have a bunch of children. This goes beyond sex. It’s controlling you financially as well. You have noticed there is a war on Middle Class America and this is part of that war. Keep people poor by ensuring that people have a bunch of kids. It’s so much more than well if you want to prevent abortions then use birth control. It’s about total control. I think people need to wake up. They don’t see women as people and they don’t see people as anything but slaves. It’s so much more.
This is an eg of why “viability” is a trap: antis jump straight to fertilization first chance they get.
But why stop at fertilization?
How about a Senate bill where every time a man spills his seed (I call it that because, fuck, isn’t that how they refer to it?) he is fined per spermatozoa. I wonder if that would pass with a bipartisan vote.
So many of the anti-choice bills seem like “stunt legislation” that you might think would be dismissed as fetishized overreach. Might be nice to see some stunt legislation from the pro-rights side, if only to help drive home that these people are dangerous.
I appreciate all the science / medical websites. The personhood organization has said different things in different states, but that’s all kind of irrelevant. But let’s be clear – this isn’t about science really. The bottom line is that if one of these so-called “personhood” initiatives passes it will give just about anyone the legal standing to sue or charge a woman with murder.
In every state, maybe every court, you could get a different result. Very easy for people to say “no this won’t impact birth control” … but how many women are in a position to go to court to litigate it out? Could churches now sue pharmacists to prevent them from prescribing birth control (based on their own theory)? Or could scout groups take on in vitro fertilization centers to earn their morality badges (I’m making that up)?