In my last Political Article Church & State I wrote about my feelings on the new Alabama law that made it criminal to have an Abortion. Other Southern States like Georgia, Missouri, and Mississippi have followed suit with their own version of the controversial restrictions. Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the Federal District in Jackson Mississippi blocked what’s being called the “Heartbeat bill” which makes the abortion of a fetus after it has a heartbeat criminal.
Judge Reeves says The law “threatens immediate harm to women’s rights” and “prevents a woman’s free choice, which is central to personal dignity and autonomy,” and goes on the say “This injury outweighs any interest the state might have in banning abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.” This took courage for him to look at this law as direct attack on the 1973 Roe V. Wade ruling. It is important to note the Reeves is an Obama Appointee as well as a black man in Mississippi. This shows the immense responsibility of the local government that we appoint as well as the importance of our vote. Judge Carlton Reeves is the second African-American appointed as Federal Judge in Mississippi in 2010. In a state that has the deep history with slavery, the Civil War, and Civil rights it is poetic to see this man stone wall a law that impedes the rights of the collective in Mississippi.
Hysterical Men is back for the cover image that shows how Men are the making laws that rule the out come of Women’s bodies. The people who are affected are just caught in the middle.
Below is their opinion on the art piece as well as the issue.
Regarding the “Tug of War” piece: I have been wanting to address abortion for a long time, in my work. But it is such a crucial issue for women that I almost didn’t know where to start. Right now we have these radical, right-wing anti-abortion extremists making such a brutal push to outlaw abortion on a local and national level. But I’ve been thinking about what it means to make art about an issue that is not necessarily a “translation” or illustration of what is happening on a macro level…but an expression of my experience within that. With this piece, and other recent pieces, I am trying to express how the war against women’s bodily autonomy, and the current abortion debate, make me feel. I hope it’s something other women can relate to.
