Roe v. Wade celebrates its 35th birthday. Coat hangers, anyone?
Listen to the conversation:
If the first thing you thought when you saw the coat hangers dotting Sheridan Road on Tuesday was, “Oh God, what is Searle up to now?” don’t fret: They were actually part of an installation by the College Feminists supporting legalized abortion, in honor of the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In the opinion section’s first roundtable podcast, we discuss whether the hangers worked, or if they just made us feel squeamish like that scene from Cider House Rules.
This is the College Feminists’ first annual Choice Week, but when we originally sat down to record our conversation, none of us had any clue who put up the display, since there was no credit taken on the hangers. Co-director Stella Fayman later confirmed that the group was responsible and explained by saying, “The hanger evokes a lot of feelings in people because it represents such a radical means of what a woman might have to go through if abortion was illegal.”
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Instead of a violation of privacy, what if mandated pregnancy was considered forced labor? Last year NU's Students for Life "celebrated" Roe v. Wade their own way with a display of American flags symbolizing aborted fetuses. Or you can return home.
“What kind of an image can you think of that wouldn’t be tasteless, I mean we’re talking about abortion here.”
Such sentiments reveal the very confusing nature of the pro-choice position on abortion.
While an opponent of abortion could easily dream up numerous non-graphic symbols to represent their side (I’m not saying they always do, but we’re dealing abstractly here)—such as an ultrasound image of a very human figure in the womb, the “precious feet” emblem that is well-known throughout pro-life circles, or an American flag to represent an aborted American citizen—the pro-choice field has very few options.
Is a fetal corpse a good thing? Most would agree that it is not, particularly when arguing in favor of keeping abortion legal. The above comments only go to show that no one, not even an ardent supporter of so-called abortion rights, is comfortable with the actual fact of abortion: something is destroyed and discarded. As for what that something is—that is the debate. But something is destroyed and discarded. And that is definitely an inconvenient truth for anyone to bear.
Joe Paolelli
January 23, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Joe,
I couldn’t agree with you more! It really triggers a thought that if one has no arguments to present other than “women have a right to choose” they really don’t have any arguments.
Pictures of devastated little bodies, of tiny feet and hands pulled out of the womb speak for themselves; while a right to choose, a right to choose to deprive an innocent child the right to live in order to ‘improve’ one’s own quality of life, i.e. to get rid of the unwanted ballast leaves me speechless.
Regards.
A.M.T.
Anna T
January 23, 2008 at 5:37 pm
With all the respect, I must say that the speakers of the podcast seemed very immature and forced to discuss issues they themselves don’t quite understand. Smiling and making a very serious issue sound like a fun conversation is unacceptable as far as I am concerned.
A statement such as: “It’s not a government issue. There is a better way to go about it.”
makes me wonder what the speaker actually thinks about the issue. Does she even have an opinion?
The position taken by the host of the commentary who uses phrases such as “Quote on quote deaths,” again seemed very inappropriate.
I can only wish that the next time one wants to participate in a serious discussion one is aware of the various stands taken on the issue and can make an INFORMED choice about which side to take at the same time remaining respectful to other parties.
Best,
Anna T
January 23, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Anna T, maybe I would take your complaint more seriously if instead of simply calling us immature, you called out our actual arguments. (And for what it’s worth, the debate was about the use of clothes hangers, not necessarily whether we believe in abortion.) Aubrey clearly does have an opinion, even if it’s one you don’t like, and yes, my air quotes around baby deaths reveals my pro-choice bias and the fact that I don’t always feel the need to talk about abortion in a grave tone. Is the problem that we’re not serious — or that we don’t talk seriously enough for you? We’re not exactly spokespeople for Planned Parenthood, and this wasn’t a formal debate, so we’re not going to talk like it.
Paul Schrodt
January 23, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Anna,
As one of the speakers, I probably shouldn’t get involved in a debate, but I just would like to clarify that the discussion we were having was about the tastefulness of the coat hangers as an image, not the morality of abortion. Much more could – and would – be said about the latter if that were our topic.
Lana Birbrair
January 23, 2008 at 6:22 pm
seeing that 90% of abortions happen in the first 10-12 weeks. a fetal corpse really is only used for “WAM BAM THANK-YOU MAAM”. college feminists werent looking for shock value. we dont need an 8 month old image when thats not the reality of abortions in america. the reality is when abortion was illegal a coat hanger and a kitchen table were the options. its our symbol because its powerful and it speaks volumes.
nuwhitney
January 24, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Lana, thank you so much for your grounded and educated response to our display. You articulated some of the exact reasons we chose to place the hangers around campus.
The display reminded people about the importance of legalized abortion and how women will resort to extreme, desperate measures to terminate a pregnancy when not given access to safe, legal, and affordable abortion care. Similar to Students for Life’s display last year, the hangers also provoked campus-wide debate around this contentious issue.
Julia
Publicity Chair
College Feminists
Julia
January 28, 2008 at 7:54 pm