As midterm voting is upon us, stories abound about ectopic pregnancies, rape by trusted caretakers, and abuse by domestic partners who, in addition to other egregious acts, prohibit birth control of any kind. No wonder this election is being called “Roe-vember.â€
Article 22, Proposition 5, is just one sentence, but it must be read verbatim to be understood completely in order to protect the liberty and dignity of women: “That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.â€
Liberty and dignity are rights we all expect as Americans, yet those rights are being threatened wherever the right to choose abortion is being threatened — or has already vanished. It is especially galling to see men spouting anti-abortion rhetoric about morals, while not acknowledging their own responsibility in the act of procreation. Like the men portrayed in “The Handmaid’s Tale,†they are proclaiming themselves the supreme deciders of who should be accorded liberty and dignity, and who shall be denied.Â
As many of these so-called “pro-life†bloviators do not in fact possess a scintilla of experience in being a woman or having the body of a woman, I’ll cite my own as a moral Catholic woman who attended Catholic schools and early in my career also taught in them. As a loving wife whose doctors advised that even becoming pregnant, let alone carrying a baby to term, would have been a danger to my physical health. As an analytical person who has researched thoroughly the pros and cons. And, as an intelligent adult grateful for the right to decide against getting pregnant, a decision that — for me — did not necessitate abortion.
Economically disadvantaged women have even more at stake. A study done just three years ago indicated that food insecurity is highest in poverty-level families where one partner insists on strict religious rules that prohibit birth control of any kind. How is it moral to bring even more children into a world where they could go to bed hungry and malnourished?
If Article 22, Proposition 5 is defeated, then the zealots will have succeeded in fusing the lines between church and state for generations to come. While there has been a rise in vasectomies since Dobbs, vasectomies also would be banned if the zealots had their way.
Bottom line is that women still bear the largest responsibility for pregnancy and child-rearing. If Prop 5 is defeated, more women will risk their lives to have reproductive choice, and poor women will be more adversely affected. More women will leave the workforce, and jobs now held by women who are competent, confident and collaborative will be more available to men — many of whom will be relieved that there will be less competition.
The ultimate result: More women will again be forced to focus solely on reproduction, taking care of children full-time, being subservient to spouses, and “keeping house,†as in the 1950s. If that doesn’t sound exactly like the dystopia depicted in “The Handmaid’s Tale,†I don’t know what does.
