There has been much written on the upcomming South Dakota abortion ban. Honestly, I think I have been avoiding reading much about it, but last night I read a few editorials and thought I might express some thoughts on this.
As a researcher who studies reproductive rights from an intersectional angle, I sometimes become frustrated with the abortion debates on both sides. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in choice all the way. However, what frustrates me based on my research is that there is often a side of reproductive rights that gets overlooked. That is women who are pressured not to have children and as you can imagine this is mainly minority women (wether we are talking about race, class, ethncity, or nationality and global inequalities). Some scholars have talked about this neglect. Ones that come to mind are Dorothy Roberts, Betsy Hartman, and Gwendolyn Mink.
But in thinking about abortion rights in this country and reading more about the South Dakota ban, an argument comes to mind that I do not remember where I read or heard it (it might even been on the HBO series “If these Walls Could Talk”) because of my new status as a mother. Babies are work. I love my child more than anything. And I am married, both of us have jobs, and all those other great indicators of a “good life.” But it’s still work and challenging. You have to ensure this child is under care 24 hours a day. This means little sleep, figuring out your work situation, finding childcare, and getting little sleep yourself. This means feeding the child (and even though breast feeding may be cheaper if you take this option, this doesn’t always mean it is easy) getting them medical care, and dealing with a whole new set of roles and emotions. My point is that I do not think it is easy. So what is the arugment I am getting at? It is that you can provide money, diapers, and maybe even counseling, but parenting is a role that lasts (or at least should ) for more than the infant and toddler years. And doesn’t the research show how important attachment and good parenting is for children’s development? I am not trying to make a class argument here as I think everyone should have the choice to be a parent (unless they abuse or cannot take care of their kids and we know these factors cut across all lines such as class, race, etc).
There are many arugements that could be made on both sides of the abortion debate that do have validity. But as I think about my own child, two things come to mind. One is I think of children who don’t have parents or another person to love and support them and it makes me incredibly sad. So, as a social scientist looking at the abortion debate in terms of a children’s view, it seems as a society we need a different structrual solution to children who do not have homes, love, or suffer abuse. I honestly do not know much about the child development lit, but I do have somewhat of an inclination to think that the current solutions of foster care and to the extreme, institutions, do not adequately work.
And from more of a feminist view, I want my own daughter to have reproductive choice in her life.
