The election season is in full swing and the enforced pregnancy groups have decided to use their democratic right to educate us about the evils of abortion in a series of week-long TV advertisements. According to Radio NZ these advertisements are are primarily aimed at convincing young women abortion just isn't right. I don't see how they could possibly think that given that most of the advertisements cast women as evil villains.
First up Right to Life tell us that a city the size of Wellington has been wiped out due to the cumulative number of abortions performed in New Zealand since 1977 in order to increase the perceived number of abortions that take place in New Zealand.
Next up we have some good old women blaming, as apparently the womb is the most dangerous place for a baby to be due to abortions. Evil women, evil women!
But the advertisement I found most offensive as a young(ish) women is the implication that abortion causes cataract operations, hip replacements and cancer treatment waiting lists. Yup them selfish women are clogging up the health system with their urgent need to have abortion. It goes with out saying that abortions need to be performed in a timely manner otherwise you end up with an enforced pregnancy
It also goes without saying that pregnant women tend to require a lot of health resources especially when it comes to the point when they give birth. But nobody chides them for forcing a little old lady to wait longer for that hip operation. I hate the idea that somehow we can pick and choose our who gets healthcare on the basis of personal ideology. Nobody has ever mentioned how evil and selfish idiots like this are who will require far more health resources that a young woman seeking an abortion.
Interestingly though the ones who tend to be the most strident critics of abortion also tend to be the ones who start pointing fingers at DPB mums for being unable to financially care for their children.
That's not right either.
11 comments:
hey nikki, great to see you back online!
Bloody hell.
When you're a grown up, you can look at this and see it as the ludicrous rantings of a tiny but vocal minority.
If you're 17, pregnant and scared, this sort of thing can have a much bigger impact. That, of course, is what they want to happen - but they don't give a rat's arse how much emotional or psychological damage they do to these young women in the process.
I know this is completely not the point, and I'm no fan of population control, but I have to admit that my first thought was where the hell would be put a city the size of Wellington
Although I guess at least there'd be some space freed up by women who died from illegal abortion.
Well *obviously*, anna c, if we hadn't killed all those Precious New Zealand Babies then we wouldn't have had to allow Nasty Foreign Immigration over the years to replace them.
Never ceases to amuse me how often anti-abortion arguments in Western countries are based on racist/nationalist bigotry.
I agree with the substance of this post, but I've got to say I find it somewhat ironic that you conclude an article about how demonising people is wrong by identifying somebody as 'evil' for car-surfing. I don't think the word 'evil' has any place in policy discourse, but even if it did, I would suggest reserving it for a higher level of bad behaviour.
And Anna C, if you're looking for a space to put a city the size of Wellington, have you ever been to Southland?
Actually Hugh, I don't think car surfers are evil just very very stupid. However my point was that they are engaged in very risky behaviour but nobody denys their right to healthcare nor labels them as evil.
Expat, perhaps, but your statement needs to be evaluated of a context in which people who indulge in similar behaviour are often villified as 'evil' by the media.
Complain to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Craig Y
I was wondering about that too Craig Y. I haven't seen the ads on the telly yet, has anyone else? Are they playing much? Personally I think I've probably had my annual tussle with the ASA already this year, with the Lisa Advert stuff, but I'm happy to support anyone else who wants to pursue this one...
Maybe I should contact Margaret Sparrow. I know she laid a complaint (and was successful) for the RtL people's newspaper advert a while back.
I'll follow it up tomorrow. (Goldfish memory permitting)
"Never ceases to amuse me how often anti-abortion arguments in Western countries are based on racist/nationalist bigotry."
Interestingly, while Japan is generally relaxed about abortion, when there has been an anti-abortion movement (during times of war etc when the more people, the better) the same social and racist/nationalist arguments are used.
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