The Way It Was Is The Way It Should Be

    The first reading I did for today was the Roe v. Wade ruling. Everything in the decision seemed like it just made sense. Abortion is a private matter. Private matters should not be controlled by the government. After reading the Roe v. Wade decision, I realized that the abortion issue is about so much more than just abortion. This idea was also present in The Way It Was.
     The Way It Was is probably my favorite reading we've done this semester. I was hesitant to read it at first because, in the past, I've noticed that personal accounts are often extraordinarily biased, poorly-written, and rarely present a clear thesis. The Way It Was was unlike any other personal story I've read. It was so excellent that I was absorbed into the reading and I became more passionate about the topic. At the same time, The Way It Was is my least favorite reading from this semester. This is because it is, in my opinion, most revealing about the oppression of women. It struck a chord in me that no other reading has. I was angry, upset, and scared by the article.
     I'm not big on feelings, but I fully believe they really matter here. When people think about abortion, I feel like they think about nothing but the fetus. But what about the woman carrying the fetus? To me, she is more important. She is a life that is already existing, whereas the fetus is not (although this might be debatable). I do not understand why she is not considered first in the issue of abortion. Pregnancy affects the woman's life in more ways that people think. As described by Eleanor Cooney, it is a traumatic experience. She didn't even have to say this explicitly for it to be clear. This piece was published in 2004. Cooney's abortion took place in the 1960s. Cooney has vivid memories of her experience with abortion that are so detailed and precise that it is obvious that it was a traumatic time for her. This, to me, is an extremely important factor in the abortion issue.
     Another important factor is men, which is really not a factor. How are men affected by abortion? They're not. At all. When Cooney went to the creepy doctor with her male friend, this was made very apparent. When the doctor said to have the baby, the friend said, "Hey, I'm not the guy." As such, he was off the hook. Guys have no responsibility in this situation. Pregnancy does not impact a guy's life nearly as much as it impacts a woman's life. So men cannot possibly understand a woman's position. While women are stressed, scared, etc. because of an unwanted pregnancy, a guy can "walk off whistling a jaunty tune" because it is no big deal for them.
     The last thing that really stood out to me was why abortion was made illegal. Cooney says that it was because of business competition. Doctors were competing with midwives and others, and they wanted to win. Abortion was made illegal not because of some moral argument, but as a business move. This is an act of hegemony. Those in power (the AMA) made laws to make abortion illegal so they could stay in power. Over time, because it was illegal, it became immoral.
     The way it was - abortion being a personal matter, not controlled by the law, etc. - is the way it should be. Abortion is obviously not just going to disappear from the law, but it should be legal. It is more dangerous for women and their fetuses for abortion to be illegal. I agree with Cooney when she says that creepy, deranged abortionists are not the ones to blame for abortions gone wrong, but our legal system and our society.


Addition:
Cooney ended her article saying "It's no way to treat a lady." After she spent the entire time talking about how women are oppressed and that it is unfair, I felt that she completely undermined herself by saying this. Unless, she cleverly said it to appeal to and poke fun at those who accept and encourage our society's oppression of women. Those people view women as ladies who should be treated a certain way, but they are not treating them like ladies. I'm hoping she used this ending sentence in the latter way because, otherwise, I'd be really upset because she ruined this excellent article.