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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Abortion decriminalisation ‘undermines feminism’ - Kathleen Stock

241 replies

IwantToRetire · 19/06/2025 00:36

The historic vote has divided public opinion, with many welcoming the “hard-won victory” for women, and others warning that it goes too far.

Kathleen Stock, a former philosophy professor at the University of Sussex, who was forced to quit her job following a row with the institution over her views on gender rights and its transgender policy, was among those criticising the ruling.

“Late-term abortions kill babies,” she said. “Viable babies.”

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, she added: “There is no good case for full decriminalisation as voted for today. And there is no genuine political will for it either, because most people haven’t been slowly boiled in a vat of hyperliberal feminism and progressive technocracy like overheating frogs, until they can’t tell which way is up.

“All this will do is further undermine the legitimacy of <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.is/o/ThZhc/www.telegraph.co.uk/feminism/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">feminism generally (by association, even if some feminists are actually against it) and also undermine public trust in lawmakers (How could this have been decided so quickly without any proper consultation or discussion of a wide range of views? Why wasn’t it in the manifesto, if it is so important?).”

available in full at https://archive.is/ThZhc

Extracts from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/18/abortion-decriminalisation-undermines-feminism/

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lnks · 19/06/2025 00:54

I can’t say I agree with her tbh. It feels a little as if she is presenting it in such a way as to make the reader believe the law has changed in relation to abortion access, which it hasn’t.

Edited to add, I’m not sure how putting a woman first undermines feminism.

IwantToRetire · 19/06/2025 00:59

sorry about funny links in OP

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IwantToRetire · 19/06/2025 01:02

Assuming the Telegraph has correctly quoted her she just sounds a bit unhinged comparing women who do support the change as "unhinged".

It should be more than possible to state why you dont agree with changing the law, without insulting anybody.

Seriously undermines her credibility (IMO)

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TheAutumnCrow · 19/06/2025 01:20

Well, I’ll certainly check it out because her argument / argued stance sounds, erm, intriguing and Doc Stock’s position is presumably worth debating, given her previous CV and body of work.

I’d like to see a legitimate primary source though.

FrothyCothy · 19/06/2025 01:26

TheAutumnCrow · 19/06/2025 01:20

Well, I’ll certainly check it out because her argument / argued stance sounds, erm, intriguing and Doc Stock’s position is presumably worth debating, given her previous CV and body of work.

I’d like to see a legitimate primary source though.

She’s written about the subject before

unherd.com/2023/06/the-perils-of-reproductive-extremism/

IwantToRetire · 19/06/2025 01:30

I haven't found the "unhinged frogs bit" but she has posted this on X

Longish summary of responses to points offered on my timeline for full decriminalisation of abortion, even up to birth, using at-home abortion pills for non-medical reasons (which has just been voted for, absolutely crazily imo, by UK MPs)

a) You may not be able to know or say at what precise point some grains make a heap but you still know unambiguously when you can see a heap. Same goes for cells, and for baby. Late-term abortions kill babies. Viable babies. This position does not require there to have been a baby/human/person there all along. Pushing back on full decriminalisation is not arguing for no abortions ever. (Which obviously could be done, but I'm not doing it).

b) Babies at late term have unambiguous interests of their own. They are not just narcissistic extensions of mother. They are not parasites or invaders. They are human beings. They are dependent human beings and is weird to see feminists who talk about value of care and dependence become psychopathically detached about the value of the life of a dependent, viable baby because the mother doesn't want it. It sounds dementedly callous to try to deny the interests of babies in this sort of issue by defining them out of existence, or just ignoring the fact they do exist at all. If you said "yes, babies have been/ will be killed by use of at-home abortion pills for non-medical reasons, but that is less important than that their mothers don't face the stress of prosecution" I would at least respect the honesty.

c) The law against late-term abortions acts as a deterrent against mothers killing their babies. If you lift it, you will get more deaths. You say it’s only a few - is that really supposed to be an argument? And; If I am not supposed to care about “only a few” baby deaths, why am I supposed to care about only a few prosecutions? Again, if you are reasoning like this, and especially if you are weighing it up only against the mother's alleged right to non-prosecution, then you have your priorities badly skewed, and have conveniently forgotten that deaths of babies are also involved. And while we are at it: how do you know it will only be a few baby deaths in years to come? Do you know what happens when new social norms get embedded around new technology, and other ones – say, around contraception – shift? The use of at-home abortion pills is relatively new, who knows where it will be in ten years time?

d) If you have to excuse the death of a baby by hyperbolically depicting the only sort of women who would ever have a late-term non-medical abortion as "desperate" and otherwise blameless, it's a tell for motivated reasoning. There are many kinds of women in the world, who act for many different kinds of reason. Do you think all infanticides or child murders are only carried out by "desperate" and otherwise blameless women? (If you do, probably stop reading, there is no hope for you.) There are also, of course, men in the world who can get their hands on abortion pills and force women to take them. Your backing of decriminalisation is making that more easy too.

e) It is fascinating that some of you think both of these things are true at the same time: a) “women should never be prosecuted for carrying out their own late-term abortions, even for non-medical reasons ’ and b) “people providing assistance for late-term abortions for non-medical abortions should still be prosecuted” (as they will continue to be). So you do think there is something wrong with these abortions then, do you? What? Could it be that a baby dies?

f) The idea that it is really important we repeal this law because of the possibility of false prosecution of women is bizarre (and again, the histrionic depiction focusing on "women who have suffered miscarriages being dragged away from their children in police vans in the middle of the night" etc is a tell, like you have to amp up the drama to make the point. Also, how interesting: suddenly it's ok to care about the interests of young dependent children again, is it? But I digress…) Anyway, let's apply this logic to rape law. We must repeal rape laws because falsely accused men are being dragged away from their children in the night.. um, no? The law has a point, it has a deterrent function, and that point is more important than the inevitable possibility of false prosecution given the existence of any law in the first place. f) Those telling me that academics and NGOs have done all the thinking on this already and I should just outsource my brain to them are really having a laugh. I've looked at their arguments and do you know, it's really weird, but they don't talk about the baby's interests, even in late-term abortion for non-medical reasons. They just act like that issue isn't there. And it is.

g) The UK is not the US. With best will in the world, Americans reading their own issues into the UK situation is unhelpful.

There is no good case for full decriminalisation as voted for today. And there is no genuine political will for it either, because most people haven’t been slowly boiled in a vat of hyperliberal feminism and progressive technocracy like overheating frogs, until they can't tell which way is up. All this will do is further undermine the legitimacy of feminism generally (by association, even if some feminists are actually against it) and also undermine public trust in lawmakers (How could this have been decided so quickly without any proper consultation or discussion of a wide range of views? Why wasn’t it in the manifesto, if it is so important?).

https://x.com/Docstockk/status/1935104281989849563

https://x.com/Docstockk/status/1935104281989849563

OP posts:
Willowkins · 19/06/2025 01:39

Regardless of the view on abortion, late term or otherwise, I think this change to the law will protect future women who have miscarriages or stillbirth from being accused of murder, at a time when they're grieving and vulnerable. That's a good thing right?

NumberTheory · 19/06/2025 01:42

Agree Stock’s rhetoric here is disappointing and lacks any real argument. Her “because most people haven’t been slowly boiled in a vat of hyperliberal feminism and progressive technocracy like overheating frogs, until they can’t tell which way is up.” is particularly pathetic. And agree she talks about it as though the basis for provision of abortion had changed in a pretty disingenuous way

But I think she makes a somewhat valid point (badly) about the abortion debate undermining feminism. I do think both sides of the debate can engage in rhetoric that is unhelpful to coming to a consensus or really engaging the public in the issues. And I think the feminist movement on the whole has been fairly puritanical about insisting that choice must mean as early as possible as late as necessary and that any other position is anti-feminist.

Personally I’m very pro-abortion. I’d like to see abortion be the default that people turn to for any unplanned or unwanted pregnancy and I don’t think fetal viability is of any importance in the matter, though there are a heap of reasons for pushing for as early as possible. But I think that’s a pretty extreme position and while I’ll happily advocate for it, I don’t think that people who don’t agree with me are anti-feminist or anti-choice.

IwantToRetire · 19/06/2025 01:44

Without saying this necessarily applies here but there is always a danger when a woman bravely stands up for herself and her rights (and in some cases wins) that they are then claimed as feminist.

Its not that anyone owns feminism, but we shouldn't let our wanting to appreciate a woman who is brave to then see her as a feminist role model.

It probably says more about us that we pass the responsibility for thinking things through for ourself and instead wait for our "heroines" to guide our thoughts.

And on a personal level, but not personal to KS, have never been sure that philosphers are the best guide to confronting imbedded patriarchal privilege.

ie having a theoritical idea about something, rather than reaching a conclusion based on the real experience of women who are abortion providers and people in the legal profession who have defended women who have been prosecuted, probably have more relevant things to say.

Not sure that philosophy any more than religion are the best guide in a personal emergency situation.

Confused
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MagicMichaeICaine · 19/06/2025 02:04

I'm not sure I entirely agree with her but she has some points. Certainly, you won't ever hear people admitting that it's more convenient for a baby to die than for them to have it, but in some cases this will be the truth.

Britneyfan · 19/06/2025 02:18

Well honestly I’m glad someone is saying this. I broadly agree with her position here though not sure whether I’m convinced it undermines feminism generally. I would agree that it all seems a bit mad and I am definitely shocked at how little recent consultation there has been over it all before this was voted on. And that so many MPs are in favour.

I will admit to being generally more on the pro-life side of things though I think it’s a nuanced issue with shades of grey and can see both sides to a degree.

She has very logically argued exactly what I have been thinking about this especially that it seems pretty illogical to argue that late term foetuses have no rights to live over and above a woman’s right to choose for absolutely any reason she likes (including gender selection etc), and that it’s ok for woman to carry out their own terminations at this stage right up to birth, but yet still have it illegal for medical staff to do it for them… I mean I wouldn’t like to see that become legal personally, but it would at least be a legally logical and coherent position. It also needs to be considered in context in that we have some of the most generous abortion laws in the world already and significantly more than most EU countries, in terms of how late you can legally terminate.

And also she makes the very valid point which I think is a very genuine concern that really all that this will mean is that male domestic abusers will be more enabled to pile the pressure on for women to terminate at home right up to birth.

Yes a handful of women who have been prosecuted recently for such issues will no longer be and I’m sure those women believe this is a good thing. Having looked in detail at the handful of big recent cases sparking a lot of this discussion off, this sort of issue largely became a problem due to the “pills by post” scheme during the pandemic, which relied on women not deliberately lying about their dates. At least one woman has openly admitted lying to get the pills even though she knew she was very far along with her pregnancy.

I know there are those that claim to be completely innocent as to their dates themselves, but I am yet to be personally convinced from the evidence publically available in terms of their internet searches etc. And I don’t think we actually live in the dystopian world described by articles about this topic, which as she states hyperbolically and dramatically seem to very much imply that women up and down the country are being arrested day in day out for everyday miscarriages and stillbirths with no good reason for concern etc. We don’t live in the USA where I think there is a lot more evidence that women’s rights to termination have become suddenly exceptionally restricted in recent years compared to here, and where this sort of thing does actually seem to be regularly happening.

I personally think this is a mad amendment and there was no real need for it, except to keep the people who profit from “pills by post” schemes to continue making money.

NumberTheory · 19/06/2025 03:46

I would have thought that Stock, given her academic background, would actually have some evidence of the claims she has made.

She fears that without criminal sanctions hanging over women’s heads, they will have late term abortions for non serious conditions. But as far as I’ve seen that doesn’t seem to play out in places where there aren’t consequences.

If you compare Massachusetts (where abortion is available without any caveats at any stage) with California (where abortion is legal in similar situations to the UK), Massachusetts has a lower percentage of late term abortions at 0.5% compared to 1% in California.

It doesn’t seem like on demand access (which isn’t even what the UK law change creates) to late term abortion means that women end up aborting when they otherwise wouldn’t. Stock needs to provide the evidence for why she thinks otherwise instead of just hand waving.

TooSquaretobehip · 19/06/2025 04:56

Late term abortions aren't even a thing so what is this all about? Do people like Stock genuinely believe a woman risk her health with weight gain, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, non-stop nausea and vomiting, back aches, preeclampsia, pelvic pain etc etc etc etc and let it go until say 37 weeks and then say 'nah, not bothering with it anymore'? I mean, it does not happen! Any abortions at that age is because the foetus has a severe non-survivable abnormality. And mother has to go through labor to get it out anyway.

This isn't even an issue. No abortions ever happen that late.

Sausagenbacon · 19/06/2025 05:57

I think she's absolutely correct.
It's unbelievable that such important legislation was rushed through in less than an hour.

NumberTheory · 19/06/2025 06:09

TooSquaretobehip · 19/06/2025 04:56

Late term abortions aren't even a thing so what is this all about? Do people like Stock genuinely believe a woman risk her health with weight gain, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, non-stop nausea and vomiting, back aches, preeclampsia, pelvic pain etc etc etc etc and let it go until say 37 weeks and then say 'nah, not bothering with it anymore'? I mean, it does not happen! Any abortions at that age is because the foetus has a severe non-survivable abnormality. And mother has to go through labor to get it out anyway.

This isn't even an issue. No abortions ever happen that late.

Edited

Late term abortion is a thing. It doesn’t just mean abortion at 37 weeks, despite the rhetoric comparing it to infanticide of newborns. Most of the concerns for those that oppose the law change are really around women lying to get abortion pills to attempt an abortion at 24-28 weeks.

GlamOrc · 19/06/2025 06:12

Late term medical abortions were always possible and available to those that needed them.

My concerns with this very rushed and unecessarily broad legislation is that it might have the 'trans effect' for feminism.

It does protect all women who have late stage miscarriages or stillbirth from having an investigation as to why. This is good for some innocent women, but has the potential to have some shocking and harrowing headlines showing up around the time of the next election and when right wing politics is growing momentum.

I'm not a scholar so I don't have evidence to back these thoughts up, it's just a feeling, like the one i got around the trans issues. Mainly because the same thing is starting to happen, I'm hearing murmors of discomfort from those who are usually fully supportive of abortion.

I hope I'm wrong.

TooSquaretobehip · 19/06/2025 06:13

NumberTheory · 19/06/2025 06:09

Late term abortion is a thing. It doesn’t just mean abortion at 37 weeks, despite the rhetoric comparing it to infanticide of newborns. Most of the concerns for those that oppose the law change are really around women lying to get abortion pills to attempt an abortion at 24-28 weeks.

Edited

Again, no woman waits and goes through all that to get an abortion at 24+ weeks. It's not an issue that exists.

TeenagersAngst · 19/06/2025 06:18

I do agree with her on one point which is that this feels like legislation through the back door. Not helped by the fact there were two amendments on the table and the speaker chose the one that would pass more easily. Do we know what public opinion is on this? Has any polling been done at the very least?

Ohthatsabitshit · 19/06/2025 06:57

I don’t think I fully understand the thinking behind this proposed change at all. Is it to see what the appetite for reproductive control is? How does it protect anyone to introduce it? Surely if you remove scrutiny of how an unborn child came(foetus? Please excuse terminology I’m not trying to offend) to die you open the door to coercion?

Britneyfan · 19/06/2025 07:01

@TooSquaretobehip I agree it’s not the norm (and it was illegal in the U.K. after 24 weeks, with certain very specific exception eg if the mother’s life is seriously in danger if the pregnancy continues, but what this change means is that women having abortions or suspected abortions at home using hormone pills after 24 weeks will no longer be prosecuted or so I understand it).

But it’s literally a thing that has happened since the pills were available by post at home without going in person to a clinic for them (started during the pandemic). That’s basically exactly why this whole amendment has happened. A handful of cases only yes, and I agree most women would not want to consider it, but it has happened. This is a really long summary of the details of probably the most infamous case in the UK, where the woman lied about how far along she was to get the abortion polls posted out to her during the early stages of the pandemic (she was thought to be about 8 weeks pregnant from the information she gave whereas a post mortem of the baby that was then delivered stillborn shortly after she took them, was estimated to be 32-34 weeks, and by her own admission she was definitely known to be more than 28 weeks pregnant at the time.

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20231018-R-v-FOSTER-final-approved-1.pdf

JumpingPumpkin · 19/06/2025 07:04

I must admit I do wonder what the knock on effects of this will be. The combination of controlling men, knowing the sex of the baby, access to abortion medication to use at home and no risk of prosecution for the woman could lead to some pretty unpleasant outcomes.

There does seem to be a bit of a “it never happens” alongside “this change was needed” being argued which doesn’t quite make sense to me. Happy to have this clarified as to why this rule change was needed.

Viviennemary · 19/06/2025 07:05

I absolutely disagree with the policy change but her arguments are plain bonkers. It's horrific that a full term baby can now be killed by the mother by misuse of the abortion pills and no prosecution.

RareGoalsVerge · 19/06/2025 07:11

The decriminalisation applies only to the woman herself who seeks a termination that may turn out to be outside the current rules. The actual rules haven't changed, so someone who enacts or facilitates an abortion that doesn't fit the rules is still committing a crime. The decriminalisation means that a woman who suffers the tragedy of a stillbirth will not be investigated as a potential criminal in case she did something that caused her baby to die. This is a good thing.

NumberTheory · 19/06/2025 07:15

TooSquaretobehip · 19/06/2025 06:13

Again, no woman waits and goes through all that to get an abortion at 24+ weeks. It's not an issue that exists.

I dont know how plausible the scenario is. As I posted up thread, two US states, one with similar laws to the UK and one with no restrictions, and it’s the similar to the UK state that has more late term abortions. Nevertheless I see the possibility of that sort of use. Or even of lying in order to get pills at 22 weeks instead of surgical. Especially given how difficult it can be to get timely care in the UK at the moment.

Merrymouse · 19/06/2025 07:15

TooSquaretobehip · 19/06/2025 04:56

Late term abortions aren't even a thing so what is this all about? Do people like Stock genuinely believe a woman risk her health with weight gain, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, non-stop nausea and vomiting, back aches, preeclampsia, pelvic pain etc etc etc etc and let it go until say 37 weeks and then say 'nah, not bothering with it anymore'? I mean, it does not happen! Any abortions at that age is because the foetus has a severe non-survivable abnormality. And mother has to go through labor to get it out anyway.

This isn't even an issue. No abortions ever happen that late.

Edited

www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/12/appeal-jail-term-woman-aborted-baby-40-weeks

Apparently some women do.

For those who supported the law change, I don’t know whether the argument would be that this was a miscarriage of justice, or that this happens so rarely that the protection of women like Nicola Packer takes priority.

However I think it is important to at least acknowledge a case like this.

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