Follow-Up: Responding to Rachel's Post 11/9/10

In Judith Arcana's chapter, titled "Abortion Is a Motherhood Issue", she illustrates the strong relationship between motherhood and abortion through the lens of politics. Arcana uses her experience to analyze how women choose to have abortions, and approaches the argument from different viewpoints. All in all, I thought this chapter seemed pointless, and like she was ranting about abortion issues that weren't as important as some other aspects of this decision. When Arcana said that, "choosing to abort a child is like choosing to send it to one school and not another... choosing whether or not to send it to Hebrew school, to catechism, to Quaker meeting" (226), I thought these examples were very irrelevant and not at all equal to the magnitude that choosing life or death has for a baby. Although I did not believe her argument to be so strong, I did believe that her conclusion was good. I agree that: "We need to speak of our abortions, not in the atmosphere of guilt and shame created by the spiritual and emotional terrorism of the contemporary abortion movement, but in open recognition of our joy or sadness, our regret or relief--in conscious acceptance of the responsibility for our choice" (Arcana 227).

The other article that sparked my interest the most and I found I could relate to in my life right now was "Abortion, Vacuum Cleaners, and the Power Within", a chapter in Listen Up, which is edited by Barbara Findlen but written by Inga Muscio. The vivid imagery and clever writing style of this piece made it an easy read which I could get absorbed into and actually enjoy. Although the topic of this chapter was definitely not light, Findlen used humor and metaphors to make the topic more relatable. She also used her personal experiences and vivid imagery to get the reader to feel like they're there, such as "I still remember the ugly swirl designs and water marks on the ceiling" (Findlen 113). I thought one of the most relevant discussions that Findlen provided was when she decided she didn't need the abortion vacuum and instead turned to more natural methods such as getting massages, talking to friends, finding recipes, and being confident without a trace of doubt. This reminded me of the movie our class watched last night, titled "Orgasm Inc." This movie also discussed the notion that you don't always have to resort to medical treatment and bend to a patriarchal society. The old woman in the movie who desired orgasms through normal intercourse first wanted a tube inserted into her spine to create stimulation, but finally realized that she could attain the desired result through natural, more normal tactics. Women don't have to be pressured to submit to the system, and as Findlen would say, "The real fight for human rights is inside each and every individual on this earth" (Findlen 117).