Women and Their Rights: Abortions.
Written by Gabriella Jarosz on October 4, 2021
Throughout history, women have been subjected to oppression and restrictions on their human rights. Women have fought relentlessly to “take” their rights, which should have been born from birth. They waged the war against misogyny and won with pride. But as time passes, we as humans go back in history.
Today, women’s rights are threatened by discrimination. Abortion is a right that women obtained after 500 years of struggle. Women endured danger During the 1960s, there were no national standards governing abortion, and many states banned it. Feminist groups claim that the illegality has led many women to request abortions on the black market by unlicensed doctors or brutally performing the procedure themselves. In 1973, the Supreme Court heard the case of anonymous Jane Roe, a single mother in Texas, who claimed that the state had violated her constitutional rights by banning the practice. Since ROE V. WADE, a battle line was drawn between abortion rights advocates and abortion rights advocates, who sought to undermine Roe’s decision.
Source 1:
“Abortion Before and After Legalization”
https://www.guttmacher.org/perspectives50/abortion-and-after-legalization
Summary: “Abortion Before and After Legalization” written by journalists of the Guttmacher Institute Organization based off the Perspective Magazine which deals with problems on an international scale. In this article, the author shows how women’s lives are affected before and after the legalization of reproductive rights. They also describe how women risk their lives to have an abortion “women who died as a result of illegal abortions typically were black, were more than 12 weeks pregnant and had self-induced in their own community. The researchers concluded that abortion services need to be improved and available more widely, especially for women at high risk for seeking illegal abortions (…)”
Rhetorical Situation: The purpose this article exist is to show that women deserve the right to have a choice in their reproductive rights. Before the legalization of abortion in 1973, women endured critical and dangerous methods of obtaining abortion, which were criminally prohibited. One method that women commonly used was turning to the unregulated market. And some women were able to find providers who were willing to perform abortions safely but criminally at great risk to their professional careers and at risk of being imprisoned themselves.
Audience: The article was published on the Guttmacher Institute website, date undetermined. On the website it is stated that the article “Abortion Before and After Legalization was written by the Guttmacher Institute expert group of female editors and journalists.” The target audience of this article will be American women, those interested in American history and/or maternal-fetal medicine (MFM), and those interested in the law.
Purpose: The main goal of the author of this article is to inform the audience that the stigma of abortion is a life-threatening topic for women. The author says, “In a 1976 paper, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control looked at three years of national abortion data surrounding decisions and estimated that the number of procedures illegal abortion in the country fell from about 130,000 to 17,000 between 1972. and 1974. The number of deaths related to illegal abortion fell from 39 to five during the same period (…)” From that, I can say that the author wants to inform and clarify that this is a conversation that women must participate in, considering it as a right granted to women to reduce the risk of death.
Genre: The Guttmacher Institute Organization is a pro-choice research organization started in 1968 that works to study, educate, and advance sexual and reproductive health and rights. The organization works mainly in the United States but also focuses on developing countries. They are available strictly digital. Based off the website, their articles resemble science/ medical journalism and news journalism.
Stance: The author wants to persuade the readers to come to the realization that abortions, though stigmatized, are a necessity in women’s lives and pregnancies. They even state “The researchers concluded that abortion services need to be improved and available more widely, especially for women at high risk for seeking illegal abortions, because ‘any actions which impede their access to legal abortion may increase their risk of death.’ More than 40 years later, their words are a potent reminder of the dangers of restricting abortion access.”
Source 2:
“The Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare.”
Summary: “Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare” was written by Johanna Schoen in 2005. In this article, Schoen examines the state’s reproductive policies in both a national and international context. She broadens her scope to include birth control, sterilization, and abortion legislation across the country, demonstrating how each method for preventing unwanted pregnancies has the ability to both increase and limit women’s reproductive options. In this preview of the book it states, “On an international level, the United States has influenced reproductive health policies by, for example, tying foreign aid to the recipients’ compliance with U.S. notions about family planning. The availability of U.S.-funded family planning aid has proved to be a double-edged sword, offering unprecedented opportunities to poor women while subjecting foreign patients to medical experimentation that would be considered unacceptable at home (…)”
Rhetorical Situation: The purpose this book exists is to show that because of a Eugenics Sterilization program that North Carolina offered in August 2003, has hampered women’s reproductive options. Schoen further explains that Class and race, as well as significant shifts in sexual standards, gender roles, and political culture, all play a part in the effort to obtain illegal abortions. These factors played a significant role in determining the availability of illegal abortions, medical views, and criminal prosecutions.
Audience: The book “Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare” was written by Johanna Schoen, who is graduated The University of North Carolina with a Ph.D. in 1996. Schoen is also a history, professor at Rutgers’ School of Arts and Sciences. The target audience of this book are those who live in United States, primarily those who live in Southern United States, and those who are interested in Women’s Studies.
Purpose: Schoen wrote this book to educate those on the persistence and interaction between poor and minority women’s reproductive rights and public health and welfare in America, eugenic, economic, sexual, and racial tensions exist. Schoen provides voice to the innumerable women who took steps to regulate their own reproduction, and in the process, she illuminates a slew of concerns that are still relevant today, as she demonstrates in her epilogue. Schoen continually situates her characters in the context of their own lives, never losing sight of the sexual, class, and racial tensions that impacted women’s lives. “Women’s class and race backgrounds controlled their access to health care, their treatment by officials, their encounters with coercion, and their understanding of sexuality and reproduction. The agency of poor and minority women working within the complex system of reproductive health care is at the heart of Schoen’s analysis.”
Genre: The history of women and medicine, the history of reproductive rights, and the history of sexuality are three of Schoen’s main interests. Her study follows the health and reproductive care of women throughout the twentieth century. She spoke with a journalist from the Winston Salem Journal about her research on the history of eugenic sterilization in North Carolina. From the 1920s until the 1970s, North Carolina had a sterilization program that resulted in the sterilization of over 7,000 people. The genre of this book is Health/ Medicine, History of the United States, and Women’s Studies, as determined by her major studies and interests.
Stance: Schoen believes that women have the freedom to do anything they choose with their bodies, and that women were not given the “right” to have abortions, but rather physicians were given the right to conduct them. For women, the situation had remained mostly unchanged: abortion remains a contentious issue when it comes to access to reproductive care.
Source 3:
“History and scientific background on the economics of abortion.”
Summary: In the article originally written by Public Library of Science (Vol. 16, Issue 19) discusses the emergence of a global pandemic into a restrictive abortion environment in many countries around the world makes it critical to conduct research on novel approaches and access to abortion care that will meet the needs of individuals attempting to manage their fertility who are confronted with various structural barriers, political obstacles, and socioeconomic backgrounds. While relatively little evidence speaks in terms of economic values and benefits of abortion, it is feasible to deduce micro-level values and benefits of abortion-related care by looking at people’s reasons for having an abortion. Abortion-related decisions are frequently the consequence of a complicated interplay of variables (wealth, education, status, education, relationship). This can be backed up as it states “Moreover, the interplays between economics and delays to abortion-related care are striking. Across diverse contexts and populations, economic factors influence delays to abortion-related decision-making, attempts to seek care and the receipt of care. By unpacking the points at which economic factors introduce or compound delays to abortion-related care, greater insight into the points at which information and services might be better designed to reduce delays can be achieved.”
Rhetorical Analysis: The objective of this article is to teach their audience about the various factors that can influence abortion rates internationally. It even gives a rundown of the history of abortions. Despite the historical precedence and global popularity of abortion, abortion seekers around the world have drastically different experiences with abortion. Pregnant women in higher-income countries have more access to safe abortions, whereas pregnant women in lower-income countries face greater health risks when seeking abortions due to greater resource-based barriers to care (e.g., funds to get to the point of access), less-equipped healthcare infrastructure, and abortion laws that restrict access to safe abortions.
Audience: This article was written for medical and statistical reasons as it states in the Introduction “(…) These numbers clearly demonstrate the stark differences in access to safe abortion services around the world. Individuals seeking abortion services can face considerable barriers to care, including (but not limited to) long travel distances to facilities, stigma, lack of partner or family support, and limited economic resources.” The target audience are those who are interested in Medical Studies, internationally, and those interest in women’s studies.
Purpose: The article was produced by a group of women with the goal of broadening public perceptions of abortion stigma by integrating history, facts, and worldwide news into the discussion. They brought attention to the absence of abortion treatment and policies, which is a delicate subject. “(…) Using data from a systematic scoping review, we synthesized the literature on the economics of abortion at the microeconomic, mesoeconomic, and mesoeconomic levels and presented the results in a collection of studies. This article describes the history and scientific background for collection, presents the scoping review framework, and discusses the value of this knowledge base.”
Genre: Because it incorporates case studies and international history around abortions, the title “History and scientific background on the economics of abortion” can speak for the genre. Though there is very little writing and research on medical research articles in terms of genre analysis. To me, the genre, summarized, would be considered Women’s Studies, History, Medicine. According to the internet it would be considered “Medical Non- Fiction” or Medical/ Science Journalism.
Stance: The author(s) believe that there are various factors that can influence abortion rates internationally. Furthermore, the interactions between finances and abortion-related treatment delays are apparent. Economic variables impact abortion-related decision-making attempts to seek treatment, and care receipt in a variety of situations and groups.
Source 4:
“Reflections about abortion limitation/ Reflexões sobre a limitação do aborto.”
Summary: Abortion will always be a contentious ethical and legal issue. Nonetheless, there are some unalienable rights for which politics and science must constantly battle. One of these rights is women’s self-determination, which is frequently called into question by religious and/or social beliefs. It may be essential to decide scientifically whilst a fetus can be seemed a man or women with the proper to existence so that you can deal with moral worries surrounding abortion. In the absence of a systematic solution, it could be said that ladies are the handiest people worried withinside the scientific exercise of abortion.
Rhetorical Analysis: Women’s rights are undermined when it comes to abortions. When it comes to sexual relations, those who are “dancing the tango” should be the only ones involved in the decision making of the future of the pregnancy. Before prohibiting a human right, pre-cautions should be implemented to prevent unwanted pregnancies. “(…)it is essential to implement sexual education programmes in schools in order to raise awareness among young women and men (…) problems related to sexually transmitted diseases associated with unprotected sexual practices (…) policies aimed at increasing the use of contraceptives would be very useful (…)” Counseling on pregnancy alternatives, early gestational ultrasonography, and other health measures are also desired. Finally, it is critical to ensure that all women, regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or age, have access to abortion, which should be deemed a necessary health service.
Audience: This article, originally written by Ciência & Saúde Coletiva (Vol. 26, Issue S2) published by Associacao Brasileira de Pos-Graduacao em Saude Coletiva – ABRASCO, was to inform the general public of the debate on abortions. Their target audience are which, where this article was written, was the general public of Portugal/ Brazil.
Purpose: The goal of this article is to enlighten and educate the general people on the science and logic behind abortions before outlawing and judging them as a whole. Due to economic issue in certain parts of the whole, health facilities are difficult to access, which results in high rates of unsafe abortions. The author (s) further explain the risks of unsafe abortions as it could lead to critical genital trauma, infection, and sepsis. Another risk is death. So, by restricting access to abortions, it is putting women’s health and lives at risk.
Genre: “Reflections about abortion limitation/ Reflexões sobre a limitação do aborto.” is a women’s studies article supported with scientific proof and economic studies.
Stance: The author (s) believe that the choice of abortion is women’s right and is ultimately a decision to be made by the one carrying the child. “On the basis of the right to self-determination and the right to health, it can be stated that women have the right to abortion if they so wish. It could be said that the management of the uterus, being an organ in the woman’s organism, belongs to the patient and not to third persons.” The author (s) also believe that before abortion’s become prohibited criminally, that it is necessary to implement policies that aim to prevent unwanted pregnancies. “(…)it is essential to implement sexual education programmes in schools in order to raise awareness among young women and men (…) problems related to sexually transmitted diseases associated with unprotected sexual practices (…) policies aimed at increasing the use of contraceptives would be very useful (…)”
Reflection: In all of the publications, the authors have expressed their opinions on abortion by stating that it is a right that women have earned through years of struggle. To support their arguments, the authors offer personal experiences and case studies from throughout the world. The sources serve diverse functions since they offer light on different elements of abortions, but they all share the same viewpoint and do not veer from it. These materials all have one thing in common: they were all authored, edited, and published by women. Each source belongs to the same Women Studies genre as the issue at hand, which is a topic regarding WOMEN. The authors establish the necessity of sexual education programs in schools to promote awareness among young women and men not just about abortion, but also about the difficulties connected with sexually transmitted illnesses caused by unsafe sexual activities. These ladies are disseminating information and educating the public in an attempt to de-stigmatize abortions, which many women have experienced for years.
Works Cited:
https://www.guttmacher.org/perspectives50/abortion-and-after-legalization
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