07/03/2022
This is going TOO Far...
And I Quote:
"Pregnancy may be necessary for the continuation of the species, but it is not a joke. It is a life-threatening event, a parasitic attack on a human body; just one we have romanticized and been desensitized to."
As a mother of two and a fertility and Womens health specialist, I can argue with great conviction, that normal pregnancy is NOT a life threatening event. It is a natural and generally safe human experience. Not doubt intense, but to call it a parasitic attack in seriousness is ridiculous, divisive and ignorant. If in fact it were a parasitic event, it would be medically classified as such (which it is not).
This is not to say that pregnancy cannot be life threatening. There are classifications for such times, specially, high risk pregnancy. I have worked with many such women and it is not to be taken lightly and is quite serious. But, to broadly suggest that people whom choose to procreate are naive and easily manipulated is irresponsible. Frankly is it also disrespectful to the female human body and experience.
I understand that this post was intended to promote a particular agenda. Though I am pro-body autonomy in all forms, there are other means by which to achieve this goal. Fear and general ignorance of the female human body is what got us into this mess.
Dr. Patricia Nichols
I think it's culturally time for us to re-frame how we think about the uterus.
It's not a nurturing organ—it doesn't need to be. A fetus is frighteningly good at getting the resources it needs to nurture itself. If they are implanted anywhere other than the womb (most often the fallopian tube, but also sometimes the bladder, intestine, pelvic muscles and connective tissue, and the liver) placental cells will rip through a body, slaughtering everything in their path as they seek out arteries to slake their hunger for nutrients.
Fetal cells will happily grow in any of these places, digesting and puncturing tissue, paralyzing and enlarging arteries, raising blood pressure to feed itself more, faster; but it will be unable to be ejected. It's no coincidence that genes involved in embryonic development have been implicated in how cancer spreads.
Rather than a soft cozy nest, a womb is a fortress designed to protect the person from the developing cells inside them.
Because of our huge and (metabolically speaking) expensive brains, human fetal development requires unrestricted access to a parent's blood supply, which makes pregnancy (and miscarriage) incredibly dangerous for the carrier. The uterus has evolved to control and restrict whether placental cells can get that access, and to eject it before it develops enough to kill the host. THE FUNCTION OF THE WOMB IS TO PROTECT THE PARENT'S LIFE. The very structure of the womb very firmly prioritizes the life of the parent over the life of the fetus.
Even with modern medical care, at least 800 people die EVERY DAY from pregnancy (and childbirth-related causes). Among developed countries, the United States has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and Texas has one of the highest rates within that. The rate is even higher when viewed among BIPOC only.
Pregnancy may be necessary for the continuation of the species, but it is not a joke. It is a life-threatening event, a parasitic attack on a human body; just one we have romanticized and been desensitized to.
The "miracle" of birth is that we have a protective organ designed to, if all goes well, let us survive it. It doesn't always go well. It is life or death. Someone who chooses to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and carry a fetus to delivery is legitimately choosing to risk their life to do it. Nobody else has the right to make anyone do that, and nobody should be punished or vilified for not wanting to do it. Forcing someone to carry a pregnancy, ANY pregnancy, is attempted murder.
—Anonymous via UniteWomen.org
