While I can appreciate your post on the risks involved in pregnancy, because it makes good points, may I just point out that you framed it in an INCREDIBLY alarmist & exaggerated way? Your last sentence alone, saying that it's ALWAYS life-threatening. That is flat-out wrong. A wild exaggeration, at the very least. Not to mention that most of the complications you listed fall into one of the following categories: Temporary, Manageable, Wildly Uncommon, and Potentially Serious But Treatable.
I’m sorry it came off that way. This was brought up in the notes as well, so I’ll address that concern here.
I think it should be obvious (but I guess maybe not) that the intent of the post wasn’t to vilify pregnancy but rather vilify the antichoice rhetoric, misogyny, and male privilege that was dripping off the original tweet as a basis for claiming that pregnancy is just “inconvenient”. This argument is being used in the context of taking away my constitutional right to an abortion due to the poster’s assumption that 9 months of pregnancy is no big deal and that I have no basis for my concerns. Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to end with a footnote that “yay, pregnancy is actually awesome” because my prochoice stance should make it clear that pregnancy is always an option for those willing to do it. I even said in a follow up post that I fully support pregnancy as a reproductive choice.
The point of the post is to cut through the bullshit of the antichoice rhetoric that cis men like to spew. The fact of the matter is that every pregnancy is potentially life-threatening (a point I will never cede) and that alone elevates the state of pregnancy above a “mere inconvenience.” I don’t really think it’s relevant that *some* of the complications are rare (at least in developing countries) because every pregnancy has the potential to take a turn for the worst, and almost half of all pregnancies experience complications. While they might be temporary, manageable, or even wildly uncommon I fail to see why they should be reduced to mere “inconveniences” especially since the pregnant person is the only one capable of deciding if those are risks they are willing to take. As a trans* person who never wants to be pregnant, pregnancy let alone even mild side effects or complications would make me suicidal. So you can see how that would be offensive to be dismissed as “alarmist” or an “inconvenience.”
With 358,000 pregnant people DYING yearly due to pregnancy or complications I think it’s highly suspect when people, especially cis men, take the view that pregnancy is no big deal, and that the unwilling incubator should just deal with it as such rather than make the right decision for themselves and their bodies. Pregnancy isn’t the problem here, nor are the people who choose it. It’s the people who feel compelled to be glib about the inherent dangers of pregnancy, and the dangers people subject themselves to in order to bring children into the world. Because of that, I feel the need to call out bullshit like this tweet because some of us would rather get hit by a bus than deal with the easiest, most uncomplicated, risk-free pregnancy let alone die from one.
Hope that clears that up.
- Anonymous
