(Brownmiller 470) Hemorrhaging blood, Brownmiller was afraid -- but her fear did not make her question her choice.
Of course, pro-life activists like Dew would argue that no matter how desperately women might want abortions, they have no right to end another human being's life, regardless of their circumstances. But Dew's line of argumentation raises serious questions about the ethics of forcing another human being to subject their bodies to the rigors of pregnancy (which has far greater risks than a legal abortion) and to harbor another human being within their body against their will. Of course, a woman might choose to have sex -- but the ability of a young girl to fully understand the implications of her decision to have intercourse, and the fact that the male in question does not have to endure a pregnancy, suggests that the 'fairness' of outlawing abortion, regardless of the status of personhood of the fetus, is questionable at best. Also, one cannot ignore the social implications of outlawing abortion. Increased medical costs from botched illegal abortions, increased psychological trauma inflicted upon girls who are forced to carry pregnancies to term, and even overpopulation would be the result.
Brownmiller's argument is more persuasive because she offers her argument in a religiously neutral fashion. She is not against children or childbirth, merely against forcing women to make decisions they do not want to make. Dew says she supports the right to life for the sake of 'the children' but often frightened, pregnant girls are children themselves. Controlling one's reproductive destiny is an important part of being a fully-fledged member of a
Lesbian Health Care Lesbian Health Issues in a Heterosexual Society The additional burdens placed on the lives of minorities as a result of social exclusion can lead to health disparities. Social exclusion theory has been used in previous research to investigate the health disparities that exist between socioeconomic classes and individuals of different ethnic backgrounds living in the United States, but it has not yet been applied to another important minority group:
Room of Her Own," feminist author Virginia Woolf decries the lack of true women litterateurs in modern society. (Lewis, 2003) This essay however, will not be a diatribe against society or members of the male gender, but a true assessment of gender identity of women as their lives evolve from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. Gender identity involves not only sexuality and sexual proclivities -- as in the establishment of
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