From one room to another

A poem invoked by the words of Australian politician, Barnaby Joyce, in relation to the Abortion bill for nsw: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/barnaby-joyces-argument-against-decriminalising-abortion-in-nsw-slammed-by-critics/news-story/26dbcdd8904845d072a7e4643377a488

“…he was part of this world for some time and was merely passing from one room to another,”

Is how politician, Barnaby Joyce , described birth and the role of the mother.

More than a vessel, but still not a person, nothing more than a room,

Is the value of a woman to be based on the contents of her womb?

His argument, “His duty”, is as voice to the unborn,

But the rights of women he’ll scorn,

They can not be autonomous self determined, deciders,

Their humanity dissolves when there are insiders,

Women can not be trusted to know what is right

Leaving BJ to “fight the hard fight”

This debate, for the right to lifers, like the argument that “all that matters is a healthy baby”, ignores the importance of mental health.  It dismisses the need for support.  It renders women invisible and incapable and yet burdens them with responsibility and commitment.

It assumes that men such as Barnaby Joyce are the ones best placed to make the decisions for families.