One of the reasons we love Hector Bellerin is his refusal to shy away from sensitive issues that affect real people in the real world and he’s at it again.
While other footballers fail to use their platform to exact any sort of meaningful social change, Bellerin, at times, acts as if that is his reason for existing.
It is brilliant.
As is him recently highlighting the draconian anti-abortion laws being brought in in some US states.
I wanted to see if anyone from our industry would speak out about the abortion bill, but I guess people are too scared. This isn't just an issue for women, it's one for every human being. We fight for equality and this is something men should fight for and not hide away from.
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin) May 17, 2019
There are so many lies around the issue of abortion and one of the biggest is that it is a ‘woman’s issue’.
As Bellerin rightly points out, this is a human issue. Women, non-binary people and trans men seeking abortions aren’t getting pregnant on their own. Every unwanted pregnancy is caused by someone being careless, at best, with their sperm. Every. Single. One. Yet they are absolved of any responsibility completely in this ‘debate’.
What is also true is that if men could get pregnant, we would have drive-through abortion clinics on every street corner.
This isn’t about protecting a bunch of cells that can’t exist outside the womb, it’s about controlling women (non-binary people and trans men who can also get pregnant are not even so much as an afterthought).
It’s also worth mentioning at this point to all those from the UK who are outraged at what is happening in America that here in Northern Ireland – right on your doorstep with the same government as England, Scotland and Wales – the abortion laws are even stricter than those causing worldwide uproar this week.