On Wednesday in class someone mentioned a law that requires/encourage women to have an ultrasound before they can ultimately make a decision to have an abortion. This New York Times Article describes a new law implemented in Oklahoma that mandates that women who are seeking an abortion to be given an ultrasound image in addition to a very detailed description of the fetus/embryo. I think that this is a very ridiculous use of reproductive technology because its primary purpose in this instance is to manipulate women/ guilt them by humanizing the fetus and influence them into making a decision that those who implemented the law believe is ethical. By doing so I think they are attempting to strip away a woman's right to make the choice that is best for them. Ironically enough as the article says that most women who see the image produced by their ultrasound say that the picture only reinforced their decision. Also, it shows the dichotomy between technology and humanity. Technology typically removes the human factor in a lot of applications to make them more economical/ efficient. But in this instance they utilize technology to attempt to humanize a fetus or an embryo when they don't really have any identifiable human features.
This video from the onion is a great hyperbole for these new laws and their intended effects by exaggerating the sort of manipulation that is used by mandating sonograms. For instance in the video they discuss the "provision that requires nurses to follow women around with a giant boom box that plays the sound of children's innocent laughter over and over again". This is a very blunt but similar idea to the ultrasound laws because it shows how certain ethical viewpoints are forced onto certain people to coerce them to accept ideas that are contradictory to their own on that ethical issue. Should sonograms be mandated before a woman can undergo an abortion? Where do we draw the line for accessible reproductive technology such as abortions, should we have to name the baby, paint a nursery for it and listen to the sound of children's innocent laughter before we can really make a decision?
Mission to Abort.
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I agree with the onion article. I think these new laws have nothing to do with whether or not a woman is ready or not to have a baby. The idea that a woman has to have an ultrasound in order to make a decision on abortion is insane. An ultra sound only enables the woman to see the baby. this doesn't change any of the reasons why a woman or couple would choose to get an abortion, such as financial issues or unstable home. This makes it clear that the ultrasound has nothing to do with helping a woman make a "better" decision when in fact it has more to do with trying to force personal views on the pregnant woman. I recently found out that one of my friends is pregnant and it was an accident. she was even on birth control so it was a total surprise. i think that her seeing the baby on an ultrasound would change any of the reasons my friend friend had for either keeping or not keeping her baby.
I completely agree that requiring women to get an ultrasound before deciding whether or not to get an abortion is a manipulating tool. After Roe v. Wade, it was determined that a woman should get to choose whether or not she could have an abortion. Ever since that decision, policymakers have been finding ways around the law, even deliberately banning it some states to try to provoke a supreme court decision to overturn the landmark case. My biggest problem with this is that lawmakers are trying to impose a strict moral code on an issue that while may be considered an ethical question, is far from concrete. The motivations for requiring women to get an ultrasound are certainly not to make sure the woman has made up her mind, but to dissuade her from getting an abortion in the first place. I am positive that if a woman really was unsure, she would make the decision herself to have an ultrasound. Furthermore, this requirement marginalizes and shames women who do decide to get an abortion after seeing their baby. It is my opinion that that decision should be exclusively the woman's because she is the one who has control over her body and ability to continue or terminate hr pregnancy.
Thank you for posting that video. I was laughing, but at the same time, I'm very scared that this is the road we are traveling down as a society. I think it raises very interesting points about what exactly the reproductive technologies mentioned in class should be used for. I would hope that the people who develop reproductive technologies do so in the hope that they will improve the health of women, men, mothers, and children. Ultrasounds are supposed to be used to monitor the health of a developing fetus, not to manipulate women into continuing a pregnancy. I've been a volunteer at Planned Parenthood's abortion clinic for over a year and a half now and I can tell you we do have women get an ultrasound before a procedure. However, the ultrasound is not used to force the patient to make a decision. In fact, the patient can decide whether or not she wants to view it. Instead, it is used for the very important purpose of telling the doctor how far along the pregnancy is. Many women are unsure about the date of their last period or when they may have conceived, so it is important that an ultrasound be performed. The ultrasound is used to determine whether or not a pregnancy is too far along for the woman to use a medical abortion or for the doctor to determine which surgical procedure is appropriate. So I disagree with the comments, I think a blanket statement against ultrasounds prior to abortions is not a good idea. However, we must look at how we choose to use reproductive technologies. Ultrasounds should be used to promote the health of the woman, not to attempt to influence her decision.
Further, I think it's interesting that the use of ultrasound pictures reinforce a woman's decision rather than change it. Again, it is a matter of how we choose to use reproductive technologies. People who are anti-choice believe abortion is used to end lives. However, I think those women who are seeing their ultrasounds are seeing the lives they are saving, rather than the "life" they are ending. They choose abortion for their current families and their future families and they do not regret their decision. They are using the reproductive technology of abortion the way it is intended, to end a pregnancy that simply isn't feasible to continue.