BENGALURU: Rebecca Hillman has been in Bengaluru for 12 years but she is keenly watching the
goings-on in the United States of America, her home country. The debate on the Abortion Bill is something she has been following closely. As thousands are rallying and debating the abortion rights across the US, a displeased Hillman, who hails from Massachusetts, says, “As women, we have the Constitutional right to privacy, and the choices of our body. If men have those, why can’t women?”
Nicholas Tomkins feels strongly about this debate since he feels anti-abortion sentiments are driven primarily by religious viewpoints. “The US Constitution clearly separates the church and the state. I don’t think there are any negatives associated with women wanting to do what they want. It is especially important in case of rape and incest,” says Tomkins.
Agrees Augustine Colebrook, an expert in maternity care and a nationally-certified professional midwife. “I have been counselling pregnant women for 25 years and I can speak for patients I cared about for years. Abortion is health care and health care is a human right. The new conflict we are in is a truly human rights violation,” says Colebrook, who has been in the city for over a year.
According to Colebrook (45), who hails from Colorado, one has to understand American politics closely to know the reason behind the defeat of the bill. “When Trump took charge, he was the head of the Republican party which has long opposed abortion,” says Colebrook, adding, “During (Donald) Trump’s reign, he pushed as hard as he could to appoint three justices who are conservative. Even if we are in the (Joe) Biden era of presidency, we are seeing the effect of the previous regime. This move is going to affect marginalised communities.”