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Banning sex-selective abortion is a betrayal of women
I understand why Bruce, an evangelical Christian who is ideologically opposed to abortion, would want to jump at any chance to criminalise the procedure. But for pro-Lifers to do so under the guise of feminism is not just wrong, it’s offensive. It seems to me that there are better ways to tackle the issue of why some women feel they have to terminate otherwise healthy pregnancies; namely, by targeting the communities in which such misogyny is not just tolerated but encouraged, often with threats of violence. It is unacceptable that leaders of these communities go unchallenged, while doctors face court and pregnant women are left with the option of either lying to medical professionals about the reasons for a termination or finding themselves in a back alley with a coat hanger being brandished at them. I’m sorry to be so graphic when you could be eating breakfast, but really, this is something that should make us all furious: that the rights of young girls are being set back fifty years under the auspices of moving them forward.
The issue here is not abortion, though the most simplistic of pro-lifers would like it to be. The real issue is why, in the UK, where we have a supposedly democratic, free and equal society, there are people who think that foetuses deserve not to have a crack at life because they happen to be in possession of two X chromosomes.
To criminalise abortion under the guise of feminism is not just wrong, it's offensive
Why, in 21st-century Britain, do women seek to abort unborn daughters? And not just that. Why, in a capital city that has female politicians and professors and bankers and chief executives, do supposedly 'bright’ girls jump at the chance to skip the country so they can warm the beds of mass murderers in Syria? Why are 20,000 female children in this country at risk of their genitals being mutilated at their behest of their own families? How, in a country that prides itself on its pursuit of personal freedom, are so many women being made to live their lives in cages?
The scandal of Rotherham is still fresh in the public consciousness, not to mention the minds of the 1,400 children abused and exploited by gangs of Asian men, and yet despite our collective horror at that story, a local MP believes young women are still being targeted by paedophiles. “It’s still going on, absolutely,” Labour MP Sarah Champion said in an interview at the weekend, adding that she had recently met with schoolgirls who “all had examples of people where they felt some sort of grooming was going on”. Yet Champion is apparently detested by the local Labour party, and the majority of men responsible for the abuse have so far escaped prosecution. How can anyone say with any certainty that a crime on this scale won’t happen again? The answer is simple. They can’t.
As a Londoner born and bred, I am of the opinion that multiculturalism is a brilliant thing. But women being abused and targeted in the name of religion and 'culture’ makes my blood boil, and I wish that politicians like Fiona Bruce would focus on changing that, rather than trying to alter the law to suit their own religious viewpoints.
The issue here is not abortion, though the most simplistic of pro-lifers would like it to be. The real issue is why, in the UK, where we have a supposedly democratic, free and equal society, there are people who think that foetuses deserve not to have a crack at life because they happen to be in possession of two X chromosomes.
To criminalise abortion under the guise of feminism is not just wrong, it's offensive
Why, in 21st-century Britain, do women seek to abort unborn daughters? And not just that. Why, in a capital city that has female politicians and professors and bankers and chief executives, do supposedly 'bright’ girls jump at the chance to skip the country so they can warm the beds of mass murderers in Syria? Why are 20,000 female children in this country at risk of their genitals being mutilated at their behest of their own families? How, in a country that prides itself on its pursuit of personal freedom, are so many women being made to live their lives in cages?
The scandal of Rotherham is still fresh in the public consciousness, not to mention the minds of the 1,400 children abused and exploited by gangs of Asian men, and yet despite our collective horror at that story, a local MP believes young women are still being targeted by paedophiles. “It’s still going on, absolutely,” Labour MP Sarah Champion said in an interview at the weekend, adding that she had recently met with schoolgirls who “all had examples of people where they felt some sort of grooming was going on”. Yet Champion is apparently detested by the local Labour party, and the majority of men responsible for the abuse have so far escaped prosecution. How can anyone say with any certainty that a crime on this scale won’t happen again? The answer is simple. They can’t.
As a Londoner born and bred, I am of the opinion that multiculturalism is a brilliant thing. But women being abused and targeted in the name of religion and 'culture’ makes my blood boil, and I wish that politicians like Fiona Bruce would focus on changing that, rather than trying to alter the law to suit their own religious viewpoints.
