On June 24th, Texas, USA bore witness to two major decisions revolving around a women’s right to have an abortion. The United States supreme court overturned two landmark decisions—Roe v. wade and planned parenthood v. Casey. Under these changes of legislation, women in Texas, with the potential of many states to follow, will not be allowed to legally terminate a pregnancy—a terrifying prospect for women all over the world whose equality is still being fought for.
In the UK, the Abortion act of 1967 defines the terms under which women may terminate a pregnancy, stating that two registered practitioners have formed the opinion that either; the pregnancy would have greater risk to the woman, existing children or the child itself, than the termination. Which means that for women in the UK, they may still legally terminate a pregnancy, however for the newer generations, the idea that a woman’s right to autonomy of her body is over shadowed by the ever imperious patriarchal society, feels like a step in the wrong direction.
The prevalence of the young woman’s voice has truly come to fruition since the birth of social media presences, influencers, and the ability to self-publish. This is particularly prominent in popular feminist books that have sometimes been classed as a form of self-help, where women are encouraged to self-evaluate or explore their worth as a solution to injustice, rather than working towards political and social change. Women such as Florence Given are writing books that are designed to encourage this form of self-exploration in an exuberant way that has become trendy for young women and the LGBTQ+ community. However, the subject of autonomy seems to be lightly frosted in a layer of garish optimism that many young women are not privileged enough, to view the world through this lens.
Bodily autonomy is typically defined as ‘the right to governance over one’s own body’, and this may appear in many different forms. Typically, as a woman we are taught that consent, body image and the unapologetic muliebrity of our voice, are the ways in which we can express autonomy and subsequently our feminist presence. This makes the fact that our right to abortion has been recently questioned, extremely ironic. Tory MP Danny Kruger, representing the constituency of Devizes in Wiltshire stated that he believed that women did not have an absolute right to bodily autonomy over the matter of abortion. This seems an equally outdated and unfashionable opinion in 2022, especially seeing as women are tasked with enduring numerous forms of contraception, while battling the undeniable fear of rape.
I spoke to two female student graduate lawyers about their opinions on contraception and whether they felt comfortable about men in parliament making decisions over their right to abortion:
As students in their 20s, the young female students reflected on the necessity of contraception if they wanted to remain sexually active throughout their university experiences, which appeared sensible on the surface. However, as our discussions deepened, they also highlighted the continual issue of safety, side effects and the fear of rape in everyday life. To young women at university, contraception is deemed as not only protection from merely pregnancy, but also the preventative of consequences from extremely monstrous act.
“I do take contraception, but I do it solely to protect me… with past experiences of being taken advantage of, I feel the need to take it as I can’t trust men to not take advantage”
In this instance, the first female student that I spoke to disclosed some of her most personal experiences with contraception and the risk of unwanted pregnancy. Her opinion really hit home where the glamourised version of self-help autonomy neglected to mention the fear and discomfort of the breaching of women’s rights. The desperately sad reasons for the necessity of contraception really questions the extent of women’s already established autonomy over their bodies. When contraception methods such as the pill are only 99% effective, if abortion was illegal, how could a government justify the birth of a child out of tragic circumstances, and the constant reminder of a traumatic incident?
In a recent podcast episode of BBC4’s women’s hour, Anita Rami talked to women who were forced to give up their babies for adoption because they were unmarried in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, coupled with the guilt, shame and emotion that they have carried with them. In this instance, the women were faced with an awful experience wherein they were forced to give up their children and are now asking for a formal apology to be issues by the government. For these women abortion was not an option and they and their children have suffered with the consequences of these unwanted pregnancies for a lifetime. They are evidence that a conscious choice to abort or keep a baby should be solely the responsibility of a single mother.
The second student noted the side effects of contraception and her aversion to taking any form of this. Not only did her opinion revolve around the time and procedures that would be undergone to prevent pregnancy, but also the unspoken imbalance between men and women over the responsibility of contraception.
“I am not saying that women shouldn’t have to use contraception, but I think that it would be important for men to become more responsible”
This student suggested that there should be more contraceptive methods introduced, and that societal attitudes towards male contraception needs to change. Her opinion posed the idea that women feel a pressure to be responsible for preventing pregnancy, and begs the question—do men rely on women for this also?
There are currently only two forms of contraception for men: condoms or a vasectomy—a minor, normally permanent, surgical procedure. Yet it seems that every woman has experienced the phrase “it doesn’t feel as good”, when asking a man to wear a condom. An article in Women’s Health even released an article with suggestions of best ‘one liners’ to make their male counterpart wear a condom, when they refuse. This article highlighted women’s transgression to the position of gate keepers of sexual health, while men would happily absent all responsibility. Therefore, the subsequent invalidation of women’s bodily autonomy regarding abortion seems absurd, when a man in leu of coitus relinquished all responsibility to prevent unwanted pregnancy or STIs.
One of the male students at Oxford Brookes, refreshingly notes that “contraception should be a two-way street, men should be taking an equal share of the burden”. He later stated that if there was a readily accessible ‘pill’ for men, he would happily take it.
The final conversation that I shared with all three interviewees was whether they felt that a man should have any influence over the autonomy of a woman’s body and whether a woman is entitled to an abortion.
“Women’s autonomy is the most important right that we can fight for… if men were forced to get vasectomies to prevent abortions, there would be riots, but women don’t have the same voice”
The resounding outlook from both the female law students and the male student concluded that women were the most qualified to make decisions surrounding their bodies. As a woman would have to carry a baby to term, and endure potential post-natal aftermath, the presiding resolution should be dedicated to a woman, with the only exception being the case of a supportive partner sharing the decision.
Where women have been entrusted with voting, working, raising families and so much more, the women I spoke to believed that the right to make decisions for their own bodies should also be widely accepted. The issue of patriarchy was also inferred, with power as an incentive to control an element that men have little participation in.
Ultimately, a man’s position in female autonomy should be limited or extradited for several reasons. Firstly, a lack of empathy or personal experience with the everyday bodily functions of women such as periods or the 9 months stretch of pregnancy. Secondly, as mentioned by the women interviewed, this breach of female autonomy feels comparable to an uncomfortable encounter without consent. Although we cannot ignore a father’s relation to an unborn child, this exception does not create the rule for all unwanted, unplanned, or threatening pregnancies.