bodily autonomy

Debate vs Inquiry and “Reasonable Debate” as a silencing tactic

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Debate is not inquiry. Argument is not skepticism. Fetishizing debate makes us less knowledgeable as a culture and even as a movement, not more.

<okay, sure, we’ve been having these debates for decades now. But let’s dredge it up again. Let’s treat the basic bodily autonomy of people with uteruses** as a subject that’s up for discussion, a subject that reasonable people can disagree about. And let’s be calm and reasonable about it.

A woman standing in front of the US Capitol building holds up a sign displaying a stylised uterus and reading 'Is this mine yet?'

Reproductive rights round-up: NSW, Vic, SA, Tas

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Fetal personhood legislation progressing through parliament in NSW while failing in South Australia. Tasmania adopts Victoria-like access to legal abortion, but the campaign to repeal part of Victoria’s abortion access heats up. And the USA demonstrates the uses to which fetal personhood can be put.

A woman standing in front of the US Capitol building holds up a sign displaying a stylised uterus and reading 'Is this mine yet?'

Fetal personhood (“Zoe’s Law”) before NSW Parliament

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The stated intent of Zoe’s Law is to allow separate prosecution of injury to a fetus, following the death of Zoe Donegan (stillborn at 32 weeks gestation) in 2009 after Zoe’s mother Brodie was hit by a van. However, the bill has been introduced by an anti-abortion politician, and there are grave concerns about its potential interpretation, particularly “an unborn child is taken to be a living person”. Coalition and ALP members have been granted a conscience vote on Zoe’s law.