Throughout Donald Trump’s run for president, he frequently disparaged women who had received abortions, going so far as to suggest they should face some kind of punishment for their actions. If made president, he vowed to overturn Roe v. Wade, commonly recognized as the Supreme Court ruling that gave women the right to an abortion, regardless of circumstance. (Vitali, 2016) Additionally, Trump threatened to end the funding of Planned Parenthood, due to their association with abortion and disregarding all other important services the organization provides. (“Planned Parenthood funding,” 2015) With his triumph and the triumph of many Republicans in the recent election, it’s important for all Americans, but especially American women, to consider …show more content…
The platform states, “Women have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” It continues, “Reproductive rights embrace certain human rights that are already recognized in national laws, international human rights documents… The promotion…of these rights for all people should be the fundamental basis for government- and community-supported policies and programs.” (United Nations, 1995) The UN Declaration of Human Rights also states that one’s general health is a right that all people have. (United Nations, 1948) These two documents are internationally recognized. There are two concepts to take from that recognition: first, that the right to adequate reproductive health is a right everyone is entitled to and second, that the issue of reproductive rights extends far beyond just the United …show more content…
With a Republican controlled House, Senate, and White House, it is clear that feminists are fighting an uphill battle especially in regard to reproductive rights, as those rights have already been frequently challenged by the Trump administration. It is in facing this battle that we must stand strong and in solidarity and I believe that, in looking in the other two examples listed, protest is an excellent way to do that. Wright’s piece on the Mujeres de Negro does well to list the many uncomfortable realities of protest, while still praising it as an effective form of spreading one’s message. This paper previously mentioned that Wright discusses the difficulty of women using their private identities in public protest. (Wright, 2005) This difficulty is arguably intensified in cases like Poland and in the crisis that women in the United States currently face against their reproductive rights. Not only are those women forced to put themselves in a vulnerable public position, but they are also addressing topics of reproduction and sexuality. Even in the seemingly progressive culture of the United States, women’s sexuality is still something very largely taboo. Openly supporting abortion, birth control, sex education, and other things covered under the umbrella of reproductive rights could be seen as a very radical act by the conservatives and moderates