Where Are My Rights?!

            Meet Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, amateur protester.  She is here protesting to bring attention to a problem that she feels strongly about.  In America today, there are many social issues brought up which many people protest for or against.  Unfortunately, some of these issues are ongoing and finding solutions seems to be a problem.  The issue that my protester is concerned with is women’s issues, particularly reproductive rights.  Women’s issues should concern everyone, regardless of gender, as women’s rights, alongside men’s rights, are simply human rights.

            Reproductive rights have been debated and argued over history, being introduced in 1960 when birth control pills gave women a choice to deter pregnancy, continued through 1973 with the historic Roe v. Wade case (ushistory.org, 2013) and is still ongoing, about the same issue.  Reproductive rights issues generally come down to pro-choice and pro-life.  Before getting into pro-life vs. pro-choice, abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus (Merriam-Webster, 2013).  Pro-choice is defined as believing that pregnant women should have the right to choose to have an abortion, or simply, favoring the legalization of abortion (Merriam-Webster, 2013).  Pro-life is defined as being opposed to abortion (Merriam-Webster, 2013).  This ongoing debate is complicated because there are moral and religious implications, and most people are very adamant about their stance.  However, if abortion is illegal, people who still want abortions will have to regress and use unsafe, methods as in the past with higher mortality rate for mothers as well as infants (Tietze, 1986).  There are many proponents for reproductive rights, such as Senator Wendy Davis from Texas, who became known overnight due to her 11-hour filibuster rallying against a controversial bill banning most abortions and imposing new restrictions (Weiner, 2013).

            Daenerys Targaryen is a character in the series A Song of Ice and Fire created by George R.R. Martin.  I chose her to be my protestor for multiple reasons, her character is very strong-willed and outspoken, and she would not let people take away what is hers.  She is holding up two signs, “Where are my rights?!” and “My body my choices”.  The first is an homage to a line the character says in the series, “Where are my dragons?” (Taylor, 2012).  “Where are my rights?” relates to the issue of reproductive rights, as a woman wondering where her rights are, lost in a sea of politics.  The second sign my protestor is holding states “My body my choices”.  This slogan is simple, yet gets the point across.  My view is that each woman is responsible for her own body and what choices she makes.  My idea is that pro-choice just means having a choice to do what you want with your body, and not force your ideas on others. 

References:

Martin, George R.R. Game of Thrones. A Song of Ice and Fire Series.  Bantam Spectra: 1996.

"Abortion." Merriam-Webster.com. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abortion>. 2013.

"Pro-choice." Merriam-Webster.com. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pro-choice>. 2013.

"Pro-life." Merriam-Webster.com. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pro-life>. 2013.

Taylor, Vanessa. The Old Gods and the New.  Game of Thrones.  May 6, 2012.

Tietze C, Henshaw SK. Induced Abortion: A World Review, 1986. New York: The Guttmacher Institute, 1986.

Ushistory.org. “The Fight for Reproductive Rights” U.S. History Online Textbook, <http://www.ushistory.org/us/57b.asp>. 2013.
Weiner, Rachel. “6 Key Moments from Wendy Davis’ filibuster”. The Washington Post. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/06/26/key-moments-from-wendy-daviss-11-hour-filibuster/>. June 26, 2013.