“Sorry Ladies…There’s A Baby In There!”

(WARNING: Sensitive Topic)

‘In there’ is where we need to go, for reproductive parts must be under our control

Well not all, just the female kind, because ‘in there’ is where power truly lies

So folks, listen up, since power is in the womb that only ladies possess, that is where in a man’s mind must there be conquest

There is no need to control those little swimmers because that would just be wrong

Men should be given that freedom that is denied to those women, you know, the most strong

We will not stop at their wombs, we have our own agenda, control their sexuality and next their personality

We are coming after all of you that need correction

This world needs balance and must stay under our direction

We fear all that is different and freedoms that allow choice

No, no we must stop this now before those freedoms give them a stronger voice

It’s precisely their voice that must be stopped because we are men so don’t ask us to adopt

Those children might be ours, but the burden of raising them are during after-hours

So don’t look at us, we just make the rules

Those children must be born because ‘in there’ we don’t want to look like fools

Sorry ladies, we hope you don’t mind, so please step aside

We understand that womb is attached to you

But you know there’s a baby ‘in there’, we gotta have a say too!

On the heels of Mother’s Day is a perfect time to address this controversial topic. You might not agree, but give me a chance to explain. Motherhood is a choice that a woman makes most times, more often than not with her partner. Sexual activity between two (or more) consenting adults should be of no concern to governments, religions, or any other institution who wants to claim it. Therefore, the consequences of these acts may result in pregnancy—and the choice to follow through with that pregnancy belongs to the woman within whom that fetus lays in. Stop. Period. End of story.

The title of this poem were words spoken by a Republican representative that spoke to the media regarding turning over the ruling on Roe v. Wade in the U.S. It was aired on the Canadian evening news on Mother’s Day. So, why should we care? Simple, because women’s rights are potentially being set back half a century by our neighbours with whom we share the largest unprotected border in the world. They are not only our neighbours but our sisters and greatest allies.

We speak of freedoms and women’s rights around the world, namely in Third World war-torn countries. What if those ideas start to creep into our North American societies, or worse—our laws!? Would we recognize them? Would we think they must be stopped with the same vigour?

We are all people with the same desires for freedom, but what those freedoms look like and how they are defined could differ. What I’m asking of you as you read this is to see that ‘rights’ are as delicate an issue for us as they are for ‘them’ around the world. We must not take for granted what we so often take for granted. ‘Rights’ of autonomy over our bodies, especially for women, must be a verb—namely actions and voices heard over and above those who want to speak for us. We are them and they are us. Borders are invisible—women’s rights around the world must never be.

Happy Mother’s Day!