New York (AP) – If Donovan Aterber was thinking about abortion in his youth, he probably had some vague anxiety or he remembers anti -abortion protesters outside the clinic walking down the street toward the park. Baby.
It became a reality for her in 2013 when her boyfriend, who is now married, became pregnant with their first child. She had previously had a healthy pregnancy with her stepmother, but this time genetic testing revealed a fatal chromosomal abnormality in fetal development that could lead to stillbirth and possibly endanger her life during childbirth. .
“As a man, I didn’t know how to calm him down, as he advised me,” recalls Aterber, now 32 years old. I told him I had to choose, would you recommend him. … It is not about believing in abortion or not believing in abortion. I think about his life at that moment. “
She chose to end the pregnancy and “changed my whole outlook … on bodily autonomy and things like that,” Aterbery said.
So she now works as a voting organizer at New Voices for Reproductive Justice, which focuses on the health of black women and girls. With access to abortion Among the areas of interest.
“What I’m trying to convey is a human right for someone to have a choice,” he said.
That Aterber is a man defending abortion rights is not uncommon; According to opinion polls, most American men say they support some level of access to abortion. And history is full of men who have played an active role in promoting abortion, through organizations as legislators and, in the case of Drs. George Tyler, as abortion providers. Era Tyler He was murdered at church by an anti-abortion extremist in Kansas in 2009.
However, there are many other areas that want to speak out and be active in the political battles over access to abortion, Aterber said.
Where men have always played an important role in the adoption and enforcement of abortion restrictions – as lawyers, state -elected officials and ultimately as U.S. Supreme Court justices. Judge Samuel Alito is the author of the bill.Sentence of the Supreme Court This would be overturned 1973 Capriolo v. Wade decision Establishment of the national right to abortion. The blueprint leaked in a press release last month seems to support a majority of the six men in nine courts of justice.
Women have always been at the forefront of the fight to preserve the right to abortion, for obvious reasons: they are the ones giving birth and who, in many cases, are responsible for caring for the children when they are brought to life. world.
No one is asking for a change in that leadership, said David Cohen, a law professor at Drakeley University who specializes in law and gender.
“Men should not be there trying to control the movement or take leadership positions,” he said. “But being a part of it, supporting, listening and being active is all men can and should do.”
This is what Oren Jacobson is trying to do with Men4Choice, an organization he founded in 2015, which aims to force men who claim to support the right to abortion to speak out and do more, such as protest, by casting a vote. . And most of all in talking to other men.
“Everything we do is focused on getting what millions of men get-who are theoretically pro-choice but completely passive when it comes to their voice and energy, and to their fight for the right to abortion and access. in abortion – they came to the borders and entered “As allies,” he said.
This is not the easiest task.
“Abortion” is almost never discussed in groups of men unless it is introduced by someone who, in most cases, is discussing the issue, ”he says.“ Not only that, but … what you are talking about is a very stigmatized issue in society. You talk about sex and sexuality, you talk about anatomy, and none of this is something that men are particularly comfortable talking about.
But that’s what influences them and the culture they lead, says Barbara Risman, a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“Sexuality is integrated into our lives, regardless of whether we are partners or not,” she said. “It has a direct influence on female fertility control – and women do not control fertility in a world where abortion is illegal. Of course, heterosexual sexual freedom depends on the ability to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
Additionally, a society where the state has a say in reproductive decisions could lead to a society where the state controls other decisions that have a more direct impact on men, Cohen says.
“Abortion law isn’t just a precedent in abortion, it’s also about controlling the intimate details of your life,” she said. “So be it your sex life, your family life, the rest of your personal life, medical care, decision making, it’s all involved in abortion law, abortion law and abortion policy,” he said. niya.
Since the Supreme Court draft leaked, Jacobson said he has seen more men talking about access to abortion and showing more interest in his teamwork than in previous years.
What remains to be seen, he said, is “whether alliance catalysis is needed now and, frankly, has long been needed.”
Source: Huffpost
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.