A Rose by Any Other Name

Ah, Valentines day, a day of relaxation and to be close to people you care about. For different relationships, it means different things. In Japan, only the ladies had to worry about making gifts for people they care about(Guys could wait until the 14th of next month also known as White Day). This year I feel melancholy, not for myself, but for a topic we find ourselves deeply entrenched in. Reproductive rights is mostly focused on ending a pregnancy in public forums. But what about the individuals who were fertile and now they are not?

I did expansive research on the topic in high school about things that confused me. Asylums, nursing homes, and sterilizations did not make sense to me. Not because they are unnecessary, some people can benefit from it. Ovarian cancer, issues with the uterus, or even the potentiality of ectopic pregnancy are all valid medical reasons to consider and asses with the patient according to a family planning resource provided by Knowledge 4 Health also known as K4Health. No, what confused me was the fear people had, even with their choice. That is what lead me to learn about eugenics.

We have discussed some of the incidents of atrocities but not much of the repair that has been going on through the years. Reparation and legal action has been a weight off the shoulders of those affected. In 2016, Tajima-Peña interviewed marginalized women in her movie No Mas Bebes. In a interview for ULCA, she mentioned that, “Every time I make a film, it’s because something pissed me off,”. That struck me, because people deserve to be protected from things that could harm them, even if it is someone who is supposed to be protecting them.

I bring it up now because we are here in college to learn, about ourselves, what we care about, what we will be. Our lives are changing, we are bringing light into other people's lives. I text my fiance every day, we talk once a week, we support one another. Being aware of the dangers of the world makes me fiercely protective of him, even if at one point I could have been considered a candidate because of my disability. Perhaps these individuals were thinking they were making a difference, protecting the next generation from something that they beloved make their lives miserable. But a violation of human rights is just as harmful, whatever it is called. After all, "A rose by any other name is just as sweet," right?