The Feasting of Jephthah

This piece is about reactionaries who fight against social progress and women’s bodily autonomy while being blind to the harm caused by their actions, often to those close to them.

This piece was inspired by a tragic account of a teenage girl whose boyfriend abandoned her after getting her pregnant. Texas’s newly introduced heartbeat bill ruled out the option of safe abortion so she took a more dangerous route that resulted in serious medical issues. Faced with danger to her life from a procedure gone wrong and legal threats against her, her parents chose to cut her off, choosing their principled stance at the expense of their daughter.

My own sisters no longer feel safe in this country due to the lack of bodily autonomy. They’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity and resources to move elsewhere. Millions in this country live under threat, often from their own families, of revoked bodily sovereignty and human dignity.