Woman or State: Who Should Control Pregnancy?

In a world with both in vitro fertilization and abortion, women can become a mother to octuplets, or forego pregnancy all together. These procedures are very controversial on ethical grounds and spark much debate. Pro-choice advocates say that women should have the right to dictate the nature and outcome of their pregnancy. On the other hand, some claim that the government has an obligation to regulate certain aspects of a woman's pregnancy to protect the rights of the living, developing fetus. Does a woman have a right to choose the route of her pregnancy? Or Does society and government have the right to regulate pregnancy for the good of the fetus? This week, I have turned my attention to the blogosphere, where I have found commentary on two pieces of legislation that have intensified this debate. The first blog post is entitled Just Call Me “Tennessee Brood Mare” by Aunt B, at the Tiny Cat Pants blog. This entry comments on a bill proposed to the Tennessee State Congress that would make it mandatory for pregnant women to undergo drug/alcohol testing if they miss prenatal appointments, deliver prematurely, miscarry, or are at risk for miscarriage, among other criteria. The motivation for the bill comes from the fact that Memphis has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country, and lawmakers believe that drug abuse is a large contributor to the problem. The second post is entitled North Dakota House Passes Egg-as-Person Bill by Kay Steiger at the Reproductive Health Reality Check blog. This post looks at a bill proposed to the North Dakota State Congress that would define conception as the beginning of life, virtually banning abortion. Furthermore, the post looks at a similar bill proposed to the Maryland State Congress, and analyzes the viability of both bills based on the distinct political makeup of both state legislatures. My comments to these blog posts can be found below and at the original sites.

Just Call Me “Tennessee Brood Mare”
Comment

Your post very accurately describes many of the imperfections of this bill, and I agree with you on many points. The enormously high premature birth rate and infant mortality rate in Memphis and other parts of Tennessee are truly unfortunate; an infant dies in Shelby County every 43 hours. Steps must be taken to stem this tragedy. However, I agree with you in that this bill unfairly places the “blame solely on mothers” and takes away a woman's right to control their body. I am a researcher that has studied the causes of conditions such as pre-term birth and intrauterine growth restriction. Premature birth and miscarriage cannot be attributed to any singular reason-it stems from a complex interplay of factors such as environment, mental state of the mother, infection, and genetics. It is unfortunate that the writers of this bill fail to understand the complexity of these conditions and instead assume that all women who show such symptoms are guilty of drug use. The state does not and should not have a right to test you for drugs without probable cause; simply presenting with symptoms of miscarriage is not sufficient. Moreover, I agree that this bill would discourage many from seeking perinatal care at all. This law only tends to punish women; it does not actually solve the problem. Doctors are most effective in providing healthcare when they are viewed as allies working in the patient's best interest. It is not their job to police expectant mothers. This bill proposes a huge invasion of privacy and I hope that it does not pass.

I was a bit curious as to whether you think that this bill unfairly targets women of a certain socioeconomic status or race. I feel that the writers of this bill assume that drug users, many of whom are poor and black, are the only contributors to the high infant mortality rate. I find it appalling that other demographics and systemic factors that contribute to the problem have been completely ignored. Also, what do you think would be the best way to reduce infant mortality in that state? Obviously, the proposed bill is flawed and greatly reduces the right of women. But is there any other way?

North Dakota House Passes Egg-as-Person Bill
Comment

I appreciate your post describing the current push in several states to give a fertilized egg the same rights as the individual. I find it very surprising that such a definition has even been proposed. An individual person is separate, autonomous organism that is capable of surviving on its own. Based on this definition, I do not think that a fertilized egg is therefore a living individual, for it cannot survive (read: live) autonomously. The criterion of self-sufficiency to define a living individual is important. Otherwise, what is to stop one from defining a simple skin cell as an individual? It too divides, and is, to use the wording of the bill, an “organism that has the DNA of a homo sapien.” So would one be committing murder, killing an individual, when one scratches an itch and destroys skin cells? Why is it that when a woman's egg is fertilized, the contents of her uterus have the same rights as she does, even though it is physically dependent on her?

You bring up an interesting point when comparing legislation proposed in North Dakota and Maryland. It seems clear that legislators are more likely to present bills that are congruent with constituents that make their voice heard. In North Dakota, the strong anti-choice movement has “made being anti-choice legislator worthwhile.” In Maryland, however, anti-choice movements have not taken hold. Is it possible, therefore, that in states such as North Dakota where anti-choice movements are strong, organizing pro-choice lobbies may serve to counter the effect? I feel that one of the reasons that pro-choice lobbies come into play “only when Roe is challenged” is that they are largely defensive, trying to protect the right to choose. On the other hand, anti-choice movements are on the offensive, trying to limit contraception and the implications of Roe v. Wade. Perhaps if pro-choice organizations lobbied to protect other reproductive freedoms and made their presence felt is states such as North Dakota, some anti-choice sentiment would be shot down.

Playboy Playmates vs. Natural Beauty: Portrayals of the Female Form in Media

In this month's Wired magazine, there was an article that compared the Body Mass Index (BMI) values of Playboy Playmates to those of the general population. They plotted the BMI values of every Playboy centerfold from December 1953 to January 2009. Alongside this, they plotted the average BMI of American women age 20-29. An interesting trend emerged. The BMI of American women has been increasing since the 1950s, thanks to McDonald's, childhood obesity, and the like. The BMI of Playboy Playmates, however, has been decreasing over the years. This means too, that the difference in BMI between the average American woman and the Playboy Playmate is at its highest ever. In the 1960s, the difference between the BMI of the average American woman and the Playmates was only 2.8. By 2002, the difference rose more than three-fold to about 8.6. This difference is staggering, and reflects the disparity between what society deems physically attractive and what is actually normal or real. Women in today's society are bigger than they have ever been. But depictions of women's bodies in the media have not reflected this fact. Instead, media depictions have been far out of touch from reality, portraying a thin and curvaceous female form as ideal. This in turn affects society's perceptions of the female body. Women often aspire to a body weight that is unattainable or unhealthy. Men often find unrealistically proportioned women attractive and sexy; body shapes that are not based in reality. Both society and the media have placed great value on a female form that is disparate from what is real and normal. This ought to be a cause for concern, for it is this disparity has contributed immensely to the rise of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. It should be the responsibility of the media, especially companies that profit from these images of unattainable beauty, to understand their impact on women's perceptions of their bodies.

Messages in the media about the ideal body shape and size of women impact girls from an early age. Disney movies, for example, while portraying stories of moral excellence or romantic fantasy, also stand to depict the “perfect” female form. According to Danielle Travall, one can see that “each Disney heroine possesses a petite waistline, perfectly proportioned facial structures, skin-tight, skin-baring garments, and voluptuous curves that attract members of the opposite sex” (see picture right). These Disney Princesses, characters that so many little girls admire and emulate, perpetuate the message that thinner and curvier are perfect. It is unfortunate that Disney animators, in trying to turn a profit, portray such an unattainable and unhealthy body shape as ideal. By creating characters that are "perfectly beautiful," they can sell more merchandise to kids. In addition, it seems such messages seem to have some effect on kids. A study by a University of California professor showed that nearly 80 percent of fourth-grade girls in the Bay Area are watching their weight.

Disney is not the only company that serves to profit from selling and portraying the idealized feminine form. Indeed, the cosmetic and fashion industries also depict the “perfect” female body to help sell its products. In these industries, utilizing models with unrealistic or often unattainable body shapes sends the message “use our cream, wear our dress, and you will be thin, beautiful, and sexy.” Like the trend seen in the Playboy Playmates, models in these industries have also strayed from reality over time. According to the Media Awareness Network, “Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less.” The message is thus clear. Women today are bombarded with images that idealize the thin and curvaceous feminine form. It is these images that are held as the paragon of beauty by society.

And that is where the problem arises. Ultimately, these images of idealized beauty are often unattainable by normal women without extreme dieting and exercise. In fact, pictures of women in magazines are oftentimes airbrushed to appear thinner and more curvaceous, such that our concept of the perfect body isn't a real body at all; its a computer altered image. Studies have shown that exposure to these images of unattainable beauty “is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.” Anorexia and Bulimia are pervasive problems that have had increased incidence over the years, and most often affect women in Western countries. The messages that the media disseminates do not operate in a vacuum. Although industries profit from associating their products with thin feminine forms, they are in a sense setting up women to try to achieve a body shape that is impossible. Women thus resort to unhealthy measures, such as starvation and vomiting to live up to impossible standards.

The situation, however, is not all bad. One company, Dove, has embarked on an advertising campaign that completely goes against the notion of unattainable beauty as ideal beauty (see figure top left). They call it The Campaign for Real Beauty Worldwide. According to their site, the campaign is meant to “help free us....from beauty stereotypes.” In addition, they have started a self-esteem fund that supports self-esteem building workshops around the country. Although an advertising model that goes so counter to the establishment is difficult for many companies to pull off, Dove's move represents a marked shift in the industry; it recognizes the fact that beauty stereotypes exist. Disney, too, has come a long way. In a recent film Lilo and Stitch, the main character Lilo is not shown as thin and sexy, but of normal weight, wearing a hawaiian shirt and flip flops.

Although it is impossible to change all messages in the media to present a more realistic depiction of beauty, there are some steps that have been taken in the right direction. Some may argue that removing idealized forms of beauty, especially in advertising campaigns and movies, would hurt profits. This may be true. But the unseen cost is that such media messages perpetuate the idea that normal body shape isn't good enough. Dove, for one, has shown that it is possible to turn a profit while still breaking stereotypes of beauty. Perhaps other companies and forms of media will follow.

An Emerging Advocate for Women's Health: A Male Blogger's Perspective

My interest in the field of women's health developed during my undergraduate years as a result of working on several research projects. Our lab studied the impact of stress on preterm birth and other perinatal conditions. As a result of this work, I was fortunate enough to attend the conferences of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation and the Preterm Birth International Collaborative. It was here that I was exposed to the larger field of women's health and its many facets, which include ovarian and breast cancers, perinatolgy, menopause, and so on. Although I am a male and thus do not have first hand familiarity with many women's health issues, I recognize the importance of the field.

To gain a more firm understanding of this field, I scoured the internet to find reliable and relevant resources that would aid in my scholarly investigations. I have compiled and placed these resources in the linkroll on the right. My hope is that these links will not only keep me up-to-date in the field of women's health, but also be a valuable resource to visitors that want to delve further into the subject. To find these links, I utilized various web tools. I started with a very broad Google search, but also found pertinent blogs through the Technorati search tool. In addition, I found directory resources, such as the Librarians' Internet Index, USA.gov, and Google Directories to be very helpful in locating organizations and government institutions that are involved in the field of women's health. All in all, I located several blogs that comment on current news stories relevant to this field (Women's Health News, Our Bodies Our Blog); private organizations that fundraise for and promote research (The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Society for Women's Health Research); groups that advocate for women's health (American Medical Women's Association) and women's rights (Association for Women's Rights in Development); sites which serve to act as an educational resource for women (Childbirth Connection, Center for Young Women's Health); and various government-affiliated organizations that provide information about women's health and related programs (National Institutes of Health: Office of Research on Women's Health, World Health Organization: Women's Health). In choosing these web-based resources, I wanted to make sure that my choices were of the highest caliber. I employed the Webby Awards criteria to evaluate the quality of websites. According to this criteria, a website's content, navigation, visual design, functionality, and interactivity all contribute to the overall effectiveness. The websites that I have selected meet these criteria; they contain strong substance that is supported by appealing design and well-planned structure. The picture to the right shows the effective visual design and structured layout of the United Nation's Population Fund website. To evaluate weblogs, I utilized the IMSA criteria. According to this criteria, it is important to keep in mind whether the blog is active and influential, whether sources are reliable and cited, and whether the blogger is open about their identity.

I hope that the resources that I have collected will help me create a voice for myself in the field of women's health and look forward to becoming a regular member of the blogosphere.