In an effort to shed light on another side of the issue, the Women’s Studies Program, the Peace and Justice Studies Program, and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology will host a lecture this week on the implications of these “personhood” measures for pregnant women overall.
“Separate and Unequal: How ‘Personhood’ Initiatives Create a Second-Class Citizenship for Pregnant Women”
Thursday, March 8
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Flom Auditorium, Walsh Library, Rose Hill campus
Thursday, March 8
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Flom Auditorium, Walsh Library, Rose Hill campus
Farah Diaz-Tello, a staff attorney for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, will explain what personhood measures are and how they would play out for pregnant women.
For instance, Mississippi Ballot Initiative 26, if passed, would have severed the legal bond between a pregnant woman and the baby she carries, Diaz-Tello said. As a class distinct from fetuses, pregnant women could be denied rights such as bodily integrity and the power of making informed medical decisions.
“This discussion is important because it will show through case examples from around the country that laws that create separate legal status for fetuses affect all pregnant women, not only those who wish to prevent or end a pregnancy,” Diaz-Tello said.
“Whether or not people identify as pro-life or support abortion rights, ‘personhood’ legislation is overly broad and can result in the criminalization of women who want to carry their pregnancies to term.”
A dedicated birth activist, Diaz-Tello also serves on the board of Backline, an organization that offers support for women regarding issues of pregnancy, parenting, adoption, and abortion. In addition, while a student at CUNY School of Law, she worked to prepare expert testimony with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Mexico’s responsibility to address the femicide in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
-- Joanna Klimaski
1 comment:
How could a pregnant woman, in any case, be considered a "second-class" citizen? That argument is absurd in any sense.
"As a class distinct from fetuses, pregnant women could be denied rights such as bodily integrity and the power of making informed medical decisions."
Fetuses were never asked to be conceived. And their bodily integrity is being violated when the mother decides it's okay to terminate the life of the baby.
Plus, if the mother's life is being absolutely threatened, then the termination of the child (without intent in ending his/her life) is acceptable.
It's not like the fetus is seen as more important than the woman.
If you acknowledge that the fetus is a human life, then you acknowledge that a human life has inherent rights.
By the way, I'll be attending Fordham Lincoln Center this fall. I'm extremely excited and happy.
So, I hope this comment wasn't taken harshly. I just figured i'd clear the air a bit.
Thanks!
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