Just a few days ago, news about changes in reproductive health laws once again made headlines in Turkey. New proposals aiming to limit access to abortion and birth control have sparked heated debates, especially among women, activists, and health professionals. The question many are asking is simple: Why are decisions about women’s bodies still being made without women’s input?
This isn’t just a national issue. From the US to Poland, Iran to India, bodily autonomy is still not guaranteed, and every time it’s questioned, a wave of resistance rises.
One of the loudest voices in that wave is the “My Body, My Choice” movement. It started as a protest chant, but it became a powerful message about freedom over time. It’s not just about abortion. It’s about the right to choose what happens to your body, your future, and your life.
Literature, of course, has never stayed silent on these issues. Novels like The Handmaid’s Tale imagine what happens when women’s bodily autonomy is completely taken away. It might feel like fiction, but some parts don’t seem so far away. Turkish writers, too, have long explored the struggles of women living under cultural pressures and legal limitations.
At its heart, this is not just a legal debate. It’s about who holds control. When a woman loses her say over her own body, it’s not just her health that’s at risk it’s her freedom, her identity, and her place in society.
And as long as laws continue to be written on women’s bodies, stories will keep being written in return louder, sharper, and harder to ignore.
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