The majority of Texans oppose the abortion ban that Wendy Davis is attempting to filibuster today.
A minority do not. A minority do not care that the ban will require, among other things, women to bear their rapist's child. A minority do not care that many states in the US allow rapists to sue for visitation and custody rights in an attempt to further harass and control their victim. A minority do not care that by preventing abortions in the case of rape, they are guaranteeing that many wanted babies will never be born because some Trying To Conceive (TTC) women will decide not to get off their birth control after all.
This minority view wrecks all my shit. I should not, in the year of our fjord 2013, have to justify myself if I do not want to bear my rapist's child. THAT IS BULLSHIT.
This #prolife TX woman will b at state cap tomorrow proudly supporting higher standard of care 4 women & respect 4 life in the womb. #sb5
— Brandy Seago (@brandyseago) June 25, 2013
In all honesty, have you considered that this bill might prevent wanted babies from being born? http://t.co/MZVtrKPi9L @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
@anamardoll We aren't doing anything 2 stop wanted babies from being born. If its an "unwanted" baby that's a diff situation.
— Brandy Seago (@brandyseago) June 25, 2013
The bill will force some Trying To Conceive women (including myself) to STOP for fear of being raped in the interim. @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
The idea that all rape victims are (or should be) on birth control completely ignores the reality of Trying To Conceive women. @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
And the idea that women can know w/in 20-weeks if the fetus is their husband's or their rapist's is highly problematic. @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
So by affected women who are Trying To Conceive, this bill will STOP some wanted babies from being born. @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
@anamardoll The bill will "force" you to decide if the value of that baby's life depends on who it's father is. And #prolife Texans say NO.
— Brandy Seago (@brandyseago) June 25, 2013
@anamardoll I don't believe one should be on BC all the time. If something as horrible as rape happens, don't punish the innocent child.
— Brandy Seago (@brandyseago) June 25, 2013
So, you're okay with the state raping me a second time, and you call that pro-life? Not pro- MY life, I see. @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
Look, let's say I agree with you. I don't, but just for the sake of discussion. (1) @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
If your position is that women who don't want to bear a rapist's child must be on birth control ALL THE TIME, (2) @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
Then you are ensuring that thousands of WANTED babies can never be born, because their mothers don't dare go off BC. (3) @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
And if you're saying that women shouldn't become pregnant if they aren't prepared to die if something goes wrong (4) @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
Then you are again preventing WANTED babies from being conceived by women not willing to gamble their life. (5) @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
So your position might make more rapist's babies. But at the cost of thousands or millions of WANTED babies. (6) @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
And we'll end up with a disposable Birthing Class who dies when pregnancies go wrong. That's not pro-LIFE. (7) @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
You made a choice. I respect that. Not everyone wants to die to bear a child. You're saying they shouldn't breed. @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
Do you understand that some women will stay on BC their whole lives on order to prevent that? Yes or no? @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
If you understand that, then you understand that WANTED babies will not be conceived because of this bill. @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
Agreed. This line of discussion is highly offensive to me as a rape victim. @HelloPoodle @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
But it's great to hear that if he'd gotten me pregnant, I should have been a teen mother! @HelloPoodle @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
I'm sure I would have received nothing but financial help and never any slut-shaming for being a teen mother. @HelloPoodle @brandyseago
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
Honestly, if you value 100s of rapist's babies over 10,000s of wanted babies, we don't have much to talk about. @brandyseago @HelloPoodle
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
And if you think women should be forced to die rather than abort, then you're not pro-life. I'm out. @brandyseago @HelloPoodle
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 25, 2013
And there the conversation pretty much ended. Although I may have missed some tweets because this conversation was hard to compile by virtue of the fact that the user blocked me after this. WHICH IS HER RIGHT TO DO SO. (And I want to emphasize that I don't want anyone harassing her over this twitter discussion. Harassing someone on my account is not good feminism.)
But I find it interesting that someone can simultaneously be baffled why I might not want to raise my rapist's child and might be horrified at the state forcing me to do so, while still obviously understanding the need to end a conversation so badly that they permanently block someone off from all lines of communication. In both cases, consent and autonomy are key. Yet they only seem to recognize that need in one case. I find that interesting and utterly tragic.
To be clear: Women should be allowed to choose to bear their rapist's child. But they should also be allowed to choose not to.
If you have the time and ability, please support Wendy Davis with your words here. And if you're a man and a feminist ally, please don't be silent on this issue, if you have the spoons to speak. As a woman, I need to know that you support us in this fight and that you care -- and other women do, too. Thank you.
"He doesn't mind this, I thought. He doesn't mind it at all. Maybe he even likes it. We are not each other's, anymore. Instead, I am his."
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 24, 2013
That was from THE HANDMAID'S TALE. If you are a progressive Texas man, MIND. CARE about what the #txlege is doing to the women around you.
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 24, 2013
I need to see more progressive men in my tweet steam hollering about this. I need them to MIND that women's bodies are being controlled.
— Ana Mardoll (@anamardoll) June 24, 2013
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