Posted by Bel. The time is 3.17pm here in Wellington NZ. Reblogged from I Am Offended Because... by Ally
Eff You Peter Carlisle
by Ally of I Am Offended Because...
But mostly, I'd like to go to the rally to say a big 'fuck you' to Peter Carlisle. I don't know who Peter Carlisle is, but he posted this on the Facebook event page for the No More Jumping Through Hoops Abortion Rights Protest and I instantly hated him:
Needless to say, I am more than a little offended by the dismissive, misogynist, homophobic, slut-shaming and inaccurate Peter Carlisle. So were a whole lot of other open legged lesbians on the event page. Nicola made this brilliant point:
Astute, although I often wish that we didn't have to use extreme situations like rape or incest to suggest that a woman should be entitled full control of her body. Hannah casually pointed out Peter's apparent lack of basic biological knowledge:
My friend Izzy, a she-wolf if there ever was one, eloquently put Peter in his place:
But Tessa possibly had the best argument of all:
And just quietly, Peter Carlisle is not only poorly informed about basic biology but also about the meaning of the word contraception. He should possibly get his facts right before posting on a Facebook event filled with slutty lesbians who also happen to be pedants. Contraception is something that is used to prevent conception, so I am guessing that most women who request abortion are a little past that point. And if Peter means that women are using abortion as a method of birth control, perhaps he should go and read this awesome blog post at the Curvature. Here is a snippet:
"Because do you understand the actual words you are speaking? Do you know what birth control is? It’s right there, in the name. It is something you use to control whether or not you give birth. That’s it. Ta-da. The end. When someone says “lots of women use abortion as a form of birth control!” what they mean is “lots of women use abortion.” The extra words are unnecessary. How the hell else are you going to use it?"
I would love to go to that protest to shove it to Peter Carlisle. I would like to shove it to all of the Peter Carlisles of the world; men who think they ought to have a say in what women do with their bodies. I would love to go because full equality depends upon women having full control over their fertility. I would love to show my support for Steve Chadwick's bill, because often it is not abortion that causes mental distress, it is the obstacles that women face. I would love to shove it to Peter Carlisle for suggesting that women who have abortions are sexually promiscuous and for even thinking that the amount of sex a woman has is something that can be used as an insult. It would be great to ask him about a pile of things, like why he thinks that my being a lesbian (or at least a woman who is in a same sex relationship) somehow seems to undermine my stance on reproductive rights or why he seems to think that women are solely responsible for planning when to have kids. I would like to take him up on why he thinks it is appropriate to tell another human being to just shut their legs. I would like to tell him about how no contraceptive is 100% effective and about how nobody is perfect and about the many women who have died in back alley procedures as a consequence of limited access to safe and legal abortion . I would like to tie him to a chair and make him watch Vera Drake. I would like to ask him why he feels so comfortable with the idea of forcing his moral beliefs onto others. I would like to politely suggest that if Peter Carlisle doesn't like abortions then maybe he doesn't have to get one, but he shouldn't rob others of their personal choice.
But I can't go to the protest. I will be sitting at my desk at work devoting eight hours of my day to typing, mediocrity and capitalism. But maybe you can. Go. Shove it to Peter Carlisle.
If you live in Wellington and you want to stick it to Peter Carlisle you should go to the No More Jumping Through Hoops: Abortion Rights Protest at the Court of Appeal tomorrow, on the 5th of October. Make a stand against Right to Life is taking the Abortion Supervisory Committee to court, to try and further restrict women's access to abortion in New Zealand.Meet on the corner of Aitken and Molesworth Street at 12.30pm and wear something red. I understand that organisers are also looking for volunteers to hand out fliers this afternoon at the train station and on Tuesday morning they need help blowing up balloons.
Email actionforabortionrights [at] gmail.com for more information or go to the Facebook event page.
Reblogged from I Am Offended Because... by Ally
As someone whose had a termination of pregnancy, and escorted several friends through the process, I'd just like to point out a couple of things - it's the doctors jumping through hoops, not the women. Abortions are on request. No one has to make any claims regarding mental health or what have you. You simply say you want an abortion, and you will get one. In terms of seeing several consultants, those are five minute consultations which occur on the day of the procedure and involve a doctor checking that you consent and that's about it. Terminations occur several times per week in many town centres, not just Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch, and are free at the local public hospital.
Yes, the legislation should be changed because it doesn't reflect what doctors are currently doing. But obtaining an abortion is currently quite simple and a change in legislation to reflect current practice would have little effect on women. It would just make more sense from a documentation/legislation perspective and to bring the law into line with practice.
Hi - thank you for your comment and your perspective.
It's great that your experience and of your friends has been relatively "simple" in terms of the logistics. For a lot of women in New Zealand, it is not this easy.
I agree that it is the doctors and nurses making things less difficult for the patients here. I have spoken with a clinician who was concerned that one reason why conservative/fundamentalist groups were gaining ground on this issue is because young people are not aware of the legal red tape behind accessing an abortion - thanks to the care and consideration medical professionals take.
The legislation needs to be changed for the reason you state, but also because a medical procedure should not come under the Crimes Act. ALRANZ has a good summary (Abortion Law Reform Assoc. NZ).
Also, accessibilty is still a big issue in NZ. On average, women in some areas have to travel for nearly five hours to receive a procedure. For example, if she lives in Invercargill, Christchurch is the 'nearest' location.
Hi Anonymous! It is Ally, who wrote the original post. I myself have had an abortion in Christchurch when I was 19, so I would fully agree with you about the wonderful work that doctors and nurses and family planning staffers do to make jumping through the hoops as easy as possible.
The way our current system runs is similar to abortion on demand, apart from one key fact - it isn't. Even though often you are given an abortion when you request one, you and your doctor will both have to declare the detriment to your mental or physical health that carrying the pregnancy to term will have. Personally, I can remember answering all of the questions and being guided to say the right answers and tick the right boxes so I could go through with the procedure.
For me, a major part of writing the post was the problem I have with abortion being criminalised and with needing to see two different doctors. Yes, this is currently made easy when you go to FPA, but it is still a chore, for doctors and for women. I feel like changing the laws would be best for women and for doctors.
Just wanted to send out a high-five to Ally and the eloquent women whose facebook retorts she quotes (especially the "your face" one, hee hee), and to all of the women and men who will attend the rally tomorrow, and to each and every other person involved in fighting for the fundamental right of a woman to control her body without being dependent on the sympathy of medical staff.
As the USA's turn towards oppression of a woman's rights has shown, it is a dangerous thing to have abortion sitting in the system as being a criminal act as it leaves us vulnerable to whims and fancies of other people's opinions on what we can and can't do with our own bodies.
Termination of pregnancy isn't always that simple. Like when you go to see the second doctor, who turns out to be a locum, who turns out to refuse on personal grounds to write the necessary letter, but doesn't tell you at the start that that's what she's going to do, no, she asks all sorts of pointed and moralistic type questions, designed to get you feeling ashamed.... and then she slams you with the "no" so you have to waste more time getting another doctor... gutted I missed this protest. Termination would have been way less psychologically damaging if those hoops weren't there to jump through.
Thanks for your comment, Valleygurl. If you're keen to get involved or keep up to date, request to join the group on Facebook, Action For Abortion Rights.
Unsupportive or undermining doctors are a big issue... Unfortunately there some out there who just don't trust women. Even getting the ECP (or "morning after pill") get be impossible if you are unlucky to get the wrong person!