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Surjit Singh Flora

Rights over a woman’s body and decisions

The freedom to prolong a pregnancy has long been a cause of controversy between feminists and the right-wing movement. The US Supreme Court declared last month that the right to maintain a pregnancy is not a constitutional right.

With this judgment, the Supreme Court reversed 1973’s Roe v. Wade and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey. These previous judgments recognized non-continuation of pregnancy as a woman’s constitutional right. The right not to continue a pregnancy does not come under the right to privacy or the right to freedom guaranteed by Americans. This court judgment does not make abortion illegal nationwide.

The new scenario depends on how the states and their legislatures handle this matter. 26 states will prohibit or restrict abortion, according to reports. Right-wing, conservative, or Republican states are likely to restrict or make abortion illegal. Oklahoma and Mississippi ban abortion. Following this ruling, New York and other states with liberal abortion laws may become abortion centers following this ruling, as women from far-flung states with prohibitions face lengthy delays. You’ll need liberal states.

This Supreme Court ruling was criticized by feminists worldwide. These parties think a woman has the right to make choices about her own body, particularly since the duty of raising children under patriarchy is dumped on women’s shoulders and called “natural.” Every year, millions of educated women throughout the globe must abandon their careers to raise children owing to a shortage of facilities. Many different types of women undergo abortions for various reasons (like extremely poor women, single women, etc.). Feminists say that most choices women make in the present scenario are not made freely but only within the constrained circle of patriarchy. The freedom to terminate a pregnancy shields a woman from many uncomfortable situations.

Body decisions and rights. Biden is a Democrat. He termed it conservative. This ruling is considered the conservative legacy of former Republican President Donald Trump, who chose three conservative Supreme Court members.

By obtaining the right to continue a pregnancy, the American feminist movement took control of a woman’s body and rights from the patriarchal and gave them to her. The Western feminist movement indirectly advanced women’s rights in pre-imperialist third-world nations.

A Jewish state doesn’t imply we dwell in the Middle Ages. They recognize homosexual weddings done overseas, contraception are free, and abortions are lawful.

Until 1977, abortions were forbidden unless in emergencies. In 1977, abortions were legal if approved by a board of physicians who considered social and medical issues. This is not a particularly liberal approach, since a really liberal legislation would allow abortions without medical board investigation and decision, acknowledging women’s bodily rights. About half of petitions are allowed for medical grounds, while the remainder are usually for single women or women claiming the pregnancy did not involve their spouse. I find this fair.

Christianity and Judaism see abortion differently. Having proven that a woman’s life is more valuable than a fetus’, Talmud authorizes murdering the fetus to save the mother. In various places, Talmud emphasizes that a fetus does not have the same status as a newborn. Some sources say embryos aren’t protected until 40 days old. So although Judaism doesn’t allow “abortion on demand,” it’s more flexible than Christian teaching.

A 2019 judgement allowed sexual assault victims the right to an abortion. In another instance this year, a court determined abortion treatment to be a constitutional right, citing Roe. The ruling is being appealed.

The direction of the feminists’ efforts differed from the West. In India, feminists fought to restrict abortion rights. This is due to “sex selective abortion” in Indian culture, which prioritizes males over girls. Here, the right to abortion and its medical techniques and facilities were used to support patriarchy. By establishing the baby’s sex before birth, aborting a female pregnancy reinforced patriarchy. 1994’s Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act helped. Official propaganda and popular usage dubbed it “female foeticide,” whereas feminist philosophers avoided terminology like “unborn girls” and “virgin feticide.” The conservative side opposing abortion calls it murdering fetal life. Feminists say “virgin feticide” is a deceptive phrase that promotes a conservative stance, so “sex-selective abortion” is a better term.

Governments must come up with policies and programs to make it rare. Better sex education; better health support for children; better birth control; better support for single mothers.

In March 2022, a Malindi High Court ruled that abortion treatment is a basic right under the Constitution. The court said abortion availability undermines dignity, autonomy, equality, and physical integrity.

The sad and worse scenario is that abortions are always going to happen, whether they’re legal or not. If they’re not, rich women will simply travel to get one elsewhere, and poor women may risk their lives with a backstreet abortionist.

Right-wing ideology in American culture now refuses to recognise a woman’s right to control her own body by calling abortion an atrocity against human life that must be banned.

The same right-wing elements never oppose the U.S. government’s nationalist military activities across the globe. The world knows about the US atrocities in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a society where weapons are marketed like toys despite daily school shootings, it’s terrible that a woman’s choice regarding her own body is taken away in the name of’ saving human life.’

Today, we must raise a slogan against the loss of fundamental rights for American women, just as feminist women of the West did on a snowy day to demand the right to vote.

About the Author
Surjit has lived in Canada for last 35 years. He has published all around the globe in more than 100 newspapers both in print and online, in addition to being blogger for many sites. HE's also the editor & publisher of Asia Metro News Magazine Toronto Canada
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