SOSC 1350 Lecture Notes - Therapeutic Abortion, Douche, Antifeminism
14 Apr 2014
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Document Summary
Making abortion illegal neither eliminated the need for abortion nor prevented its practice women who are determined not to carry an unwanted pregnancy have always found some way to try to abort. All too often, they have resorted to dangerous, sometimes deadly methods, such as inserting knitting needles or coat hangers into the vagina and uterus, douching with dangerous solutions like lye, or swallowing strong drugs or chemicals. The coat hanger has become a symbol of the desperation of millions of women who have risked death to end a pregnancy. I would suggest that we reevaluate the adversarial and individualistic perspective that pits the fetus against the pregnant woman and makes the physician or the father or the state the fetus"s advocate. We need to step back from the isolationist picture that fails to understand the social context in which women gestate and deliver their babies.
