Bodily autonomy - The left and right only have righteous anger about government intrusion when it aligns with their cause
By Nicole Dorfman
While the ideological divide between right and left seems as deep as the ocean and just as hard to bridge, in terms of personal health care, we all seem to want the same thing. We want respect for our decisions; we want government to stay out of our affairs; and we want to be treated as adults with bodily sovereignty. The divide emerges only when we claim these rights for ourselves while denying them for others. And whether you're on the right or the left, don't kid yourself, your side is also to blame.
Bodily autonomy and freedom of choice were bedrocks of my old alliance to the left. As a college freshman, I marched on Washington, D.C., for a NOW rally with a bus load of students chanting "my body, my choice." I had an abortion at 19 and am grateful for the ease of care I received, which was seamless and without regret. I am devastated for all those young women who, like my little sister, fall prey to older boys, and find themselves pregnant, but now will be denied the choice, respect, and dignity that comes with being the master of our own fate.
Despite my steadfast belief in the right of women to control their own destinies, I have been ostracized by the left for daring to believe in "my body, my choice" unequivocally, and not just as a slogan for certain circumstances. Many in my community are a natural fit with the left, yet we've been demonized and kicked to the curb for demanding those same rights the left has been advocating for all along.
Sensing a promising realignment, the right has embraced our cause, extending a hearty welcome to those abandoned by the left. In California, and across the nation, many on the right have seized the opportunity to grow their ranks by affirming this particular tenant of bodily autonomy, which includes the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, including vaccination. This position fits neatly with their notion of limited government, which sadly stops at the door to the OB/GYN.
The esteemed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg was outspoken about the weakness inherent in the Roe decision, which was based, not on the equal protection clause or on the natural rights of a woman to bodily autonomy, but on a doctor's freedom to practice.
While many on the left rage against the right for challenging and finally overturning that federal decision, they should understand that the left has also been busy digging a grave for the privacy precedent. A case in point is the far-left California Legislature, which is right now pushing bills to weaken that right to medical privacy by creating vaccine registries and mandatory vaccine reporting, and by writing laws to censor and criminalize what a doctor says in private to their patient if it goes against the leftist narrative.
How is it that those people shouting the loudest for bodily autonomy with regard to abortion are often the most strident supporters of vaccine mandates? This position is confused at best, and hypocritical, selfish, and discriminatory at worst. We either have sovereignty over our own bodies or we don't. It's for the "public good," they say, yet even the CDC now acknowledges that COVID-19 injections don't always prevent infection or transmission and are mainly for personal protection. Maybe they believe that people should be coerced to take the injection for their own good. Keep in mind that there are many on the right who believe a ban on abortion is really in the best interests of women. From the perspective of bodily sovereignty, both arguments are self-serving and fail to represent the whole story.
Thanks to the recent SCOTUS decisions, thousands of women will lose access to reproductive health care. Thanks to leaders on the left, thousands of women already have. For the crime of declining a vaccination, they've been denied essential medical services and refused access to loved ones in hospitals across the nation. Thousands more have been fired, kicked out of school, and denied entry to private and public institutions due to personal health care choices. Such treatment is not compassionate, equitable or inclusive—all words the left loves to throw around when it suits their agenda, but are just as ready to abandon when it does not.
At this point, the right and left are two sides of the same coin. Both sides want to restrict somebody else's right to make their own medical decisions. Both sides believe in the moral superiority of their positions. Both believe they are saving lives with their bans and mandates.
Right now, I am joined by a growing crowd of people with a foot on both shores, striving to balance while straddling that huge divide. We feel the righteous anger of the left, many in disbelief that their daughters and granddaughters are losing fundamental rights enjoyed for 50 years. We also stand firm with those on the right who decry the recent obliteration of fundamental human rights enjoyed by generations of Americans for more than a hundred years. These rights include the right to work and support one's family free from government intrusion into private health care decisions, as well the right of equal access to public services and institutions without sharing confidential medical information.
Now imagine if those on the left and right could bridge this divide by supporting bodily sovereignty in all its forms. Not just part time and in some instances, but almost always, for all. It may be uncomfortable to affirm the bodily sovereignty of others when we ourselves would make different choices, but it is essential if we are to continue as free people in a free society.
Just as the old adage goes, "united we stand, divided we fall." United we oust politicians on the right and left who seek to divide us into those with rights and those without. United we stop the assault on fundamental freedoms barreling down on us from both the right and the left. United we are unstoppable. United we win. Δ
Originally published by New Times, San Louis Obispo https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/bodily-autonomy/Content?oid=12657099
The one glaring difference is those who take issue with abortion or “reproductive health care” (as put here) are concerned about the rights of the baby (right to life) in the womb.
We started in the 90s with the goal of the left being abortion legal and rare. Now we have doctors commenting that if a baby is born and mom or dad don’t want the baby they should still be able to “abort” so there is just no line. Our California legislators are putting forth a ballot measure to put forward as a constitutional right abortion up to birth.
I present these things for you to consider when equating the left and right as equally guilty and hypocritical. I for one am not seeing it the same way.
I couldn’t understand how my body my choice didn’t apply to medical interventions. It’s actually the first frontier of my body my choice. I’m an independent (politically) and have been a radical all my life. Where are all the fight the power people? I’ve been in this since Pan’s earlier bills. How can anyone believe that force is the best option?!