“Now that I have become a mother, I often think back to my abortions,” says Rodante van der Waal. She calls the regret argument for abortion “paternalistic, emotional manipulation.” In reality, according to her, that regret is not too bad, but moralism weighs it more heavily than regret about other life choices. She notes that the abortion debate is not about the protection of life, but about power: “It is about which life is worth protecting.”
According to Van der Waal, women are not yet in charge of their own bodies in maternity care either. She speaks of “institutional violence”, such as “internal examination or a cut without consent”. “One in ten births in the Netherlands is experienced as traumatic,” she says, “not because of natural disasters, but because of communication.”
Do you have questions, suggestions or ideas about our journalism? Send an email to [email protected].
The interview can also be viewed on YouTube.
- Presentation:
- Pieter van der Wielen
- Editing and production:
- Merel van Waalwijk van Doorn
- Mixing:
- Audio chief
- Music:
- Rufus van Baardwijk
- Photo:
- NRC
The journalistic principles of NRC