Lauca put together this outfit for today’s “Save Homebirth” rally and I admired her choice. A bag is essential for any rally, but what is she carrying?
Her toy rats.
Homebirth is in real trouble in Australia.
I am not a homebirther, both my children were born in hospitals (the first in a birth centre). I support homebirth because birth rights are reproductive rights.
I am a little surprised that feminists are not taking this issue up more here. Ya know, when an institution dominated by men tries to shut down an institution dominated by women that should prick your little feminist ears up.. and when that institution is all about controlling women’s bodies, more specifically, how and where women push someone out of their vagina, that should especially ring some feminist alarm bells for you.
Did anyone freak about the rats? I love them!
Have you read The Birth Wars by Mary-Rose MacColl? It is about the battle between the medicos and the midwives in Australia. I just finished it and it is very interesting, and easy to read as well.
Yeah a few startled people thought the rats were real.
The Birth Wars is on my reading list.
I don’t get the silence on the issue either, or the assumption that if you want safe and legal homebirth options available to all women, you must have had one/want one yourself. It’s about rights, not preferences.
I agree, it is a serious issue – about women’s rights which is human rights. All people should be concerned. I am worried how this will affect society in the long term.
Lauca looks totally ready for action. Nice protest wear.
I don’t quite understand why there isn’t more concern. Not being directly concerned or wanting/ having one yourself hasn’t stopped feminist agitation for access to abortion, or more general issues such as mandatory detention.
Is home birth seen as so out there, so much a ‘hippy/granola’ and thus illegitimate kind of a thing, that people don’t appreciate it as an issue of concern?
Or maybe people honestly believe homebirths are dangerous and so they are not something that should be supported?
You make seriously cute kids!
Also as a rat fanatic, I need to know where you got the toy rats from. 
Cormac = CLEARLY displeased with the threat to home birth.
I was under the impression that there was a great deal of concern for the demise of homebirth in the feminist community, the Canberra rally was huge! Every feminist I know is aware of and fighting against this, and many of them haven’t had homebirths themselves (I haven’t).
I think 400 people turning up to Rudd’s office is a great turnout, we certainly don’t get that many turning up to pro-choice protests, though there might have been about that many at RTN, I really couldn’t say I’m absolutely terrible at judging crowd numbers, but it seemed like a whole lot of Brisbane women were there.
I think there is little public concern for women and feminist activism in general, but unless I am missing something huge here, there I don’t see feminists being silent on this issue. Of course almost all the feminists I know are also mothers and that might have something to do with my perceptions
Can’t say that there is no support for homebirth from feminists because I have seen the odd post/article written by ‘known feminists’ about this issue, and of course lots of homebirth mothers are feminists too and they’re out there supporting their cause.. but not sure that I have seen broad interest in the topic from feminists in general in Australia.
Ditto to your point on home birth. I chose a hospital setting (with major reservations about any method that didn’t allow the child to be beamed out a la Star Trek) but a planned home birth can be the smarter, more responsible choice for some women.
As to proper attire for a demo? I once went to an anti-fascism rally in Germany wearing a leopard costume. It’s a nice mix of silly and sexy, like all wildcat-themes clothing. People weren’t sure what to make of it, but a little amusement is good for any antifa crowd, at least until the tear gas makes its appearance.