The Anatomy of my Autonomy
There are many parts to the issue on women’s control over their own bodies but it does not bode well for anyone if it includes the Catholic guilt, and the government.
By Iyana Mundo (Toronto, Canada)
February 27, 2023
Let’s be clear, abortion rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.
The reversal of federal abortion rights by the U.S. Supreme Court enraged my whole being, and I’m not even from the U.S. I’m from the Philippines, a country where abortion has always been illegal.
In June last year, the news of the U.S. Supreme Court’s vote to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade landmark decision to grant protections of abortion rights to anyone who needs it, shook every Planned Parenthood and left many of us grappling for instructions on what to do next. Abortion rights mean that individuals who have the ability to get pregnant have a choice over their own bodies and that includes those that grow inside of them, regardless of who they may become in the future. Roe v. Wade did not guarantee abortion rights but it is a 50-year precedent for all abortion cases in the United States.
“The Philippines is a widely Catholic country, whose teachings of the church have always dictated that killing someone is a sin. Those who preach it have also always been men who stood in front of altars.”
I’m from the Philippines, where neither an encompassing law nor a precedent on abortion issues exists, and yet, it still persists. Here is why abortion and the Philippines are not a great mix.
The Philippines is a widely Catholic country, whose teachings of the church have always dictated that killing someone is a sin. Those who preach it have also always been men who stood in front of altars. All my life I’ve been in Catholic institutions, attending Catholic schools that required studying religious and values-based books. These institutions teach us that it is wrong to kill, but it also teaches us to fight injustices.
Being raised in the Philippines, I’ve also witnessed how poverty continues to wallow in every family and how difficult it is to survive it. Many impoverished families were a result of teenage pregnancies, where young girls are often left with no choice because of the very teachings of the church and the failure of the government to give them a choice. As a result, not only a child will be born and raised in poverty, but the young mother will also be robbed of the opportunity of being a child and a woman.
Right now in the Philippines, it is a crime for women to have a choice, but it is lawful to raise a child in the endless cycle of poverty.
As Filipinos, we are raised to stay mum on issues that either shake the religious bubble we are in, challenge the status quo, or the issues that don't affect us firsthand. However, as a society, we have to understand that it takes each and all of us to protect the choices we make for our own bodies.
It is enraging that after many decades of championing women’s rights, the United States has yet to pass legislation protecting its people’s right to choose. Reversing a 50-year-old landmark decision as if it’s another coin to flip–as if it will not affect any lives at all.
Abortion provides survivors of sexual assault and impregnated at young ages options to make an informed decision on the basis of how they want to move forward with their futures. No one should ever have to choose between prioritizing themselves over what is “morally right” when the morally right thing do was to not violate anyone’s autonomy over their own bodies in the first place.
In Octavia Butler’s 1993 dystopian novel The Parable of the Sower, where mid-2020 is perceived as the future is talked about–the author warned us about surviving without a choice. In the book, a character named Tracy Dunn was raped by her uncle at age 12 and left her to raise a child on her own. Later on, in a chaotic 2026 California, her three-year-old child was shot dead because she was left unattended. It’s not that Tracy Dunn didn’t love her child, it’s that she was a child herself. I cannot help but think that maybe Butler’s version of the future is what we’re making right now; leaving everyone with no choice but to live with the consequences that other people have made.
“No one should ever have to choose between prioritizing themselves over what is “morally right” when the morally right thing do was to not violate anyone’s autonomy over their own bodies in the first place.”
I am Tracy Dunn. At age 12, I was raped by my uncle in my own home. I’m among the fortunate ones who didn’t get pregnant, but if I were, would I be able to have a choice about my future? Would I experience the opportunities that I currently have? The answer is and will always be no.
If I got impregnated by my rapist and raised his child, would the child be left unloved and uncared for? With the way that I was raised, I highly doubt it, but would I be forced to throw away my dreams and goals for the sake of raising that child? Most certainly.
“At the end of the day, we revert to the days when throw ourselves down the stairs, use hangers, and drink questionable liquids just to get control back.”
The problem with the lack of abortion laws is that not only does it robs us of our autonomy over our own body, but will also leave trails of what-could-have-been. I want to reiterate that more than anything, and certainly not those who have chosen to inflict pain on us, this will only affect us, and people like us.
With that being said, abortion bans do not eradicate abortion, it makes abortion unsafe. It makes it dangerous to seek medical help. At the end of the day, we revert to the days when throw ourselves down the stairs, use hangers, and drink questionable liquids just to get control back.
The World Health Organization claims that 22,800 women die each year because of unsafe abortions and at maximum, 13.2% of maternal deaths is attributed to unsafe abortions. When the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned, it is perceived to account for 20% more maternal deaths in the states where the ruling is outlawed.
Unsafe abortions are a norm in developing countries where access to safe services is impossible to find. Accordingly, 97% of all unsafe abortions happen in developing countries like the Philippines. This means that it is acceptable for governments like the Philippine government to not provide access to basic human rights even if it means it kills their own people.
But then again, are we really all that surprised?
Corrupt governments will do what corrupt governments do: Prioritize self-greed over funding for better healthcare.
Capitalist governments will do what capitalist governments do: Prioritize the interest of corporations over the interest of their people.
It’s high time for these governments to do right by their people. We have to remind these politicians we helped elect that abortion rights are human rights. Having a choice is a human right. Deciding what goes on in our bodies is a human right. Deciding whether or not to raise children is a human right. Deciding about our futures is a human right. Let no one tell you otherwise.
If you or anyone you know in North America need advice on abortion care, the National Abortion Federation has the largest national, toll-free, multi-lingual National Abortion Hotline. Call them at 1-800-772-9100 or visit www.prochoice.org.
We encourage you to join the campaign to urge lawmakers to pass the proposed bill to decriminalize abortions in the Philippines. Learn more about the fight here: https://decriminalizeabortion.ph/
