In March, Indiana governor Mike Pence signed into law, HEA 1337, abortion restrictions related to diagnoses of Down’s syndrome and other disabilities, selective abortion based on race or gender, and on the disposal of fetal remains (they are to be interred or cremated under the new law). At the time, Governor Pence said the new measures were “comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life.”
Because abortions are down nationally and by 20% in Indiana over the past five years and is below the national average, there was some question about what practical benefits the law might have.
One reaction that the law has had is the formation of a trolling campaign called “Periods for Pence” in which women tweet, email, and phone the governor’s office to report on their menstruation cycle and other assorted issues with their vaginas.
One woman invited Gov. Mike Pence to her gynecologist appointment. Another provided an update on her cramps. Another tweeted that she had just changed her tampon.
The social media missives directed to Indiana’s governor this week have been frequent, pointed and unyielding in their descriptions of female physiology. They are part of an unusual campaign on Facebook and Twitter to express outrage at a law that Mr. Pence, a Republican, signed last month that created several new restrictions on abortions.
The protesters often post with the hashtag #periodsforpence and mix anatomical details with a touch of humor.
Here is a local news reports:
Humor is in the eye of the beholder, I guess, but here are some of the tweets under #periodsforpence:
They even sing! Featuring the soon classic line, “Mind your own popsicle and let my ovaries be”:
Little differentiates the pro-life side from pro-choice side quite as starkly as this social media campaign. Whereas the pro-life side is focused on the life of the baby, the pro-abortion side is focused on themselves and, apparently, their reproductive organs. When Governor Pence speaks of “affirming all human life,” he sees the measure as a means of protecting the unborn, but that’s not what the pro-abortion side hears. Judging from this campaign and its focus not on the life of the baby but on their reproductive organs and how they do or do not function, they don’t hear anything about the baby; instead, they hear a general statement about controlling or monitoring women’s bodies.
By sharing graphic information about their periods, the women have said they hope and to hammer home their belief that what they choose to do with their bodies is not the business of the government.
But that’s not how the pro-life side sees the issue of abortion, so both sides are talking at cross-purposes, with neither being heard by the other. It would be more interesting if the trolling campaign were reports on what their aborted baby would be doing now had he or she not been aborted: taking his or her first steps? starting kindergarten? going to the prom? learning how to drive? getting married?
But that’s not going to happen. So opponents of the law will continue to troll the governor, and the governor’s office will continue to respond with dignity and grace.
“We are always willing to take calls from constituents who have questions, concerns or are looking for assistance,” Stephanie Hodgin, Deputy Press Secretary for Gov. Pence, said in an email about the page and calls.
[Featured Image via Rebecca Pattilo Twitter]
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