@persephonemag / persephonemag.tumblr.com
Happy Friday, everyone. Bit of a short roundup this week because I am currently on a whirlwind NW book tour/vacation and am poaching some Wi-Fi. I mean… I’m nicely borrowing it for a few minutes. So let’s get right to it.
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This Week in Misogyny 2: Abortion Boogaloo
It’s been an abortion-palooza across America! Let’s take this one shitty state at a time. (Trigger…
Gay marriage was already illegal in North Carolina, so not only did the amendment make it double illegal (if only a double negative could be a positive), but it also served to outlaw all (read: heterosexual) civil unions. I won’t go into the vast implications of this because I feel like I can safely assume Persephoneers are well-informed and like-minded enough on this topic and I’d be preaching to the choir. I also do not wish to defend this amendment in any way, shape or form. It is an abhorrent, poorly written piece of legislation, and I hope it hears a strange noise and subsequently steps on a Lego in the dark every night until it’s overturned. That being said, I do wish to come to the defense of my state and my people, whom I love unconditionally.
From the article:
Elaine Riddick is one of those survivors, as well as one of the first sterilization victims to not only come forward and speak on what had been done to her, but also to sue the state of North Carolina ( a case she lost). At 14, Riddick was sterilized without her knowledge after she had given birth to her only son when she became pregnant after a neighbor raped her. It wasn’t until 1971 that Riddick, who was then married and looking to have another child, was told that she had been sterilized after being deemed “unfit” and “promiscuous” by the North Carolina Eugenics Board. However, with the most recent decision by the task force panel, Riddick and other victims are finally seeing results after a drawn out reconciliation meeting that at one point had suggested that victims should only be awarded $20,000. The number was deemed insulting, and after much back and forth, the panel officially decided on $50,000 earlier in the week.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
