It seems to me that a world of fertility and “two-legged wombs” in The Handmaid’s Tale is not so obscure and unlikely as it may seem. Even as a piece of fiction, today’s legislation and current events on abortion and birthing rights takes an extreme approach and leads me to believe that women are essentially these vessels for birth to many conservative pro-life activists. Case in point, the situation with the Nebraska Supreme Court v. Anonymous 5. Anonymous 5 is in fact a real person, a teenage foster child in the midst of a pregnancy who had to go to court to appeal for an abortion — for which she was denied. The reasoning? Because Anon 5 was “not sufficiently mature” to handle an abortion. The judge even went so far as to say that Anon 5 did not provide “sufficient evidence” to prove that she was a victim of abuse.
I get it — maybe this girl should have been more careful in what she had been doing (of course this also includes her sexual partner). But is it really necessary to dictate what she can and can not do with her body? Perhaps she isn’t exactly in the financial position to care for a child, maybe she can’t even care for herself. Even more importantly, whose to decide on her maturity? Likewise, what makes her mature enough to actually have and raise the child.
Everything about this reminds me of The Handmaid’s Tale. This girl is not capable of making her own decisions, she is seen to be inept of taking control of her situation, and, essentially, becomes the two-legged womb (no quotations needed). The government intervenes, believing it knows best and is more qualified to make such a personal decision. It dictates what will happen and basically tells this young girl to be a vessel for the child. No free will, no decision-making, nothing.
Other birth-right events are at this same level of insane. Take for example the shooting of Dr. George Tiller in 2011. Tiller was a man trying to help woman, abiding by the law, and only doing exactly what his patients wanted — by providing abortions. His murder takes this messy state onto another level. Tiller makes me think of the doctors in The Handmaid’s Tale and the person who shot him exactly parallels the role of the Eyes. Tiller was only trying to help these women (just as many of the doctors did) and the murderer only saw these women as carriers of children. To the murderer, Tiller was only impeding such a process and so deserved death.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/31/george-tiller-killed-abor_n_209504.html
In essence, the violence by citizens and decision making by the government surrounding abortion rights is absurd to me. Everything is becoming more and more radical and very well could lead up to the kind of radicalism found in The Handmaid’s Tale. I understand that the government needs to regulate such procedures, but it has no right in the actual decision making of the procedure. Such invasive government laws parallel that of the government of Gilead. It scares me to think that perhaps Margaret Atwood’s novel was not completely fiction, but maybe of premonition.
Hi Emilia! I completely agree with what you have said regarding the case of Nebraska Supreme Court v. Anonymous 5, and the pro-life/pro-choice debate. While the girl does have to take responsibility for her actions, condemning her unborn child to such a difficult life filled with poverty and lack of sufficient care would be as bad as aborting the birth. Further, the life of the young girl should not be ruined for one mistake that she sees she is unable to deal with, and for which there are (in some places) easily accessible medical solutions. Abortion exists for this very circumstance, and should be the choice of the mother rather than the court. I found what you said about Dr. Tiller very interesting, as his murder shows the extreme lengths people will go to to prevent these choices from being made and executed. His murderers would rather kill a doctor, who can and has helped people stay healthy and safe, than allow a fetus to be aborted. Just thinking of the number of people who might become ill or (going tot he extreme) even die because of Dr. Tillman’s murder makes this entire situation seem like a farce; what is more important, a life that has already been established or a life that will most likely end up being miserable due to a lack of sufficient care from a mother who admits that she cannot take care of her child?
I completely agree. If the government is going to intervene in our lives in one way, it can and will also intervene in our other personal choices. There are, of course, people who do try and help, such as the doctors. But seeing the consequences, people hesitate to help. This leaves women, like Offred and many others unable to escape. This leads to a never ending cycle and oppressed citizens. The question is when are we going to stand up and fight for the freedom of choice and decision making?