Missouri Republican To Restrict Not Only Abortion Rights, But Also Abortion Research

Missouri Senator Kurt Schaefer is trying to block University of Missouri doctoral student Lindsay Ruhr from researching the impact of a state law that mandates 72-hour waiting periods before women can obtain abortions for her dissertation. Schaefer cited the ban on public funds, which includes money at public universities, being used to help women obtain abortions, but Ruhr has received no grants or scholarships for her research. The conflict in Missouri reflects Republicans’ most recent attempt to censor the dialogue around abortion rights, a method that has pretty much become common practice among conservatives, and one that can have negative global and national consequences, too.

Existing research already indicates some of the effects of waiting periods, and the counseling sessions meant to convince women to not go through with the procedure: an increase in the number of abortions out of state and at a later stage in the pregnancy. Essentially, as the Guardian‘s Jessica Valenti wrote, “Waiting periods don’t stop women from getting abortions; they just make it harder and more dangerous for them.”

On a strictly bipartisan level, scholarly research and discussion overwhelmingly cast doubts about whether or not anti-abortion policies really minimize abortions or do anything besides hurt and shame the women seeking them. So to keep their dream alive, anti-choice Republicans aim to limit both. You really don’t need to look past the most fundamental pieces of their rhetoric to understand this is the case. The term “pro-life” for the most part hinges on the idea that life begins at conception, and censors the fact that conservatives are actually “pro-birth,” overwhelmingly opposing programs that support underprivileged children, post-birth.

A look at the right-wing led controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood from this summer serves as even more telling evidence. Using dishonestly obtained and heavily edited footage of an exchange between medical experts of the women’s health organization and undercover associates of the anti-choice Center for Medical Progress, Republicans waged war on abortion access under the guise of attempting to defund Planned Parenthood. Despite supporting donation of fetal tissue for research, in the context of women having autonomy over their bodies, the same action became tantamount to “selling baby parts.” Ultimately, that Planned Parenthood representatives weren’t even invited to testify at their trial in Congress revealed that Republicans would rather contain the discussion about abortion rights and women’s health within the bounds of their own flawed logic and misogyny.

More proof that Schaefer’s response to research about anti-choice policies is only another case of right-wing censorship also lies in conservatives’ “Global Gag Rule,” which banned global organizations funded by the United States from discussing abortions with international women, regardless of the legality of abortions in their nations. As the Guardian‘s Valenti pointed out, the Gag Rule was in effect at a time when millions of women around the world were having unsafe abortions, and many died from them. Not discussing abortions and the truth about anti-choice policies isn’t just deceitful and self-serving, but can have serious consequences in by, in some not-too-rare cases, indirectly encouraging fatal self-terminations. We often think of self-terminations as a token of the past among poor immigrant women in America, but generations later, they’re still occurring: just, thankfully, in smaller numbers.

As this latest conflict in Missouri demonstrates, limiting serious and intelligent discussion about abortions often serves to protect their anti-choice policies from scrutiny. And by no means is this approach without consequences for women.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

Kylie Cheung is the author of 'The Gaslit Diaries,' a book of essays exploring the gaslighting and politics that underlie American women's everyday experiences in the patriarchy. She writes about reproductive justice, women's/LGBTQ rights, and national politics. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering for political campaigns and re-watching The Office. Learn more about her work at www.kyliecheung.tumblr.com.

Kylie Cheung is the author of the book, 'The Gaslit Diaries,' a series of essays exploring the gaslighting and politics that underlie American women's everyday experiences in the patriarchy.

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