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The very title "The Feminist Case Against Abortion" is an obvious fraud. Serrin M. Foster, the author, is - intentionally or not - falsely claims the mantle of a popular, progressive ideology to support an claim which, at best, has nothing to do with it.
Why can I speak so strongly about this? Because, in the modern U.S. political dialectic, "feminist" and "against abortion" have clearly defined, mutually incompatible meanings.
Let us begin with "feminist".
A feminist is concerned with the rights of women. She or he1 believes that many women are, through legal, social, or other means, denied opportunities, powers, and freedoms that they fairly deserve, and that this situation needs remedying.
That definition in mind, let us consider "against abortion".
Someone is against abortion if they believe that abortions should be prohibited.
I accept that this could be a controversial reading. However, it is the only correct reading in this context. Why? Because almost everyone agrees that abortion is a moral wrong. In fact, almost every pro-choice advocate, when asked, will say that abortion is wrong. What makes it legally permissible in this country is the consensus that abortion is, sometimes, less wrong than the alternative. And, being as we're an independent sort of people and rightly distrustful of governmental power, and being that a fetus is incapable of a moral choice (be it person or not), we give the right to decide whether it is less wrong to the competent moral agent with the most at stake: the mother. We give her all the support we can, but no other method exists for reducing the misery of the horrible situations that make abortion an option.
In light of this, "against abortion" can only be interpreted as "...universally". And, justifying this reading, a ban is what Foster seems to defend.
And, as such a ban reduces the powers and freedoms (and even the opportunities) of a woman - the mother - it cannot by any means be a feminist view. It can only be a view that a feminist may have for other reasons.
And that is why Serrin Foster is perpetrating a deception when she claims a "feminist" case against abortion.
1. I will not dignify with a response those who believe that men cannot be feminists.
Why can I speak so strongly about this? Because, in the modern U.S. political dialectic, "feminist" and "against abortion" have clearly defined, mutually incompatible meanings.
Let us begin with "feminist".
A feminist is concerned with the rights of women. She or he1 believes that many women are, through legal, social, or other means, denied opportunities, powers, and freedoms that they fairly deserve, and that this situation needs remedying.
That definition in mind, let us consider "against abortion".
Someone is against abortion if they believe that abortions should be prohibited.
I accept that this could be a controversial reading. However, it is the only correct reading in this context. Why? Because almost everyone agrees that abortion is a moral wrong. In fact, almost every pro-choice advocate, when asked, will say that abortion is wrong. What makes it legally permissible in this country is the consensus that abortion is, sometimes, less wrong than the alternative. And, being as we're an independent sort of people and rightly distrustful of governmental power, and being that a fetus is incapable of a moral choice (be it person or not), we give the right to decide whether it is less wrong to the competent moral agent with the most at stake: the mother. We give her all the support we can, but no other method exists for reducing the misery of the horrible situations that make abortion an option.
In light of this, "against abortion" can only be interpreted as "...universally". And, justifying this reading, a ban is what Foster seems to defend.
And, as such a ban reduces the powers and freedoms (and even the opportunities) of a woman - the mother - it cannot by any means be a feminist view. It can only be a view that a feminist may have for other reasons.
And that is why Serrin Foster is perpetrating a deception when she claims a "feminist" case against abortion.
1. I will not dignify with a response those who believe that men cannot be feminists.
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