Posts Tagged ‘Trust Women’

Candidate for CO Senate seat, Ken Buck, is a great example of how anti-choice extremism won't get you ahead in the polls.

In many cases the answer is no. So says Amanda Marcotte of RH Reality Check who puts her argument so much better than I ever could and manages to deliver some good news to us just about week before Election Day!

It seems that the Tea Party candidates and other very socially conservative, anti-choice politicians have not gotten the memo that misogyny and extremist views on women’s rights are a turn-off to most voters. Maybe they’ve forgotten that women make up over half of this country’s population?

Many of the candidates that we’ve heard so much about this election such as Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell hold extreme views on reproductive choice, the Civil Rights Act, social security, and (most infamously in O’Donnell’s case) masturbation. In these races, among others that Marcotte highlights, the pro-choice candidates are running ads to educate voters on the extreme views their anti-choice opponents hold on reproductive rights. Much to the Tea Party’s chagrin I’m sure (and possibly to their surprise) voters are listening and polls are reflecting their change of heart as would-be Republican blow-outs become tight races with no clear front-runner. 

In some cases it seems like the candidate should have thought twice before ever opening his mouth on any issue pertaining to women, their rights, or their role in society. Would-be Colorado Senator Ken Buck is held up as a shining example of this. After declaring that abortion should be illegal in all cases (NO exceptions), sounding off about his lack of sympathy for rape victims (he basically accused her of having “buyer’s remorse”) and making “jokes” that imply women are unfit to hold public office is it any wonder that mainstream voters are running the other way?

 Marcotte’s article is somewhat long but worth reading. Her take home message for anti-choice extremists is clear: What will get you elected in the primary just will not fly in a general election where you have to do more than pander to a small, very conservative base.

The more important take home message for voters is that learning about your candidates’ views on reproductive rights is well worth your time. Would you want to cast your ballot for someone who doesn’t trust you (or your sister, partner, daughter, etc.) to make fundamental childbearing decisions? In many cases, candidates who don’t trust women to make the decision of when and if to become a parent also don’t trust them to, say, hold elected office. Sadly, even in 2010, misogyny is a common theme in this election.

So, do your homework! Vote for candidates that share your pro-choice values. You only get this one vote in 2010. And (to borrow a phrase from Ken Buck) you don’t want to have buyer’s remorse after your ballot is cast.

Fortunately it isn’t as hard as it sounds! The Planned Parenthood Action Fund has done a lot of the work for you. Check out our endorsed candidates tobe sure that your vote for your legislators are going candidates who share your values and will stand up for women’s health in the General Assembly!

In Monday’s N&O, seventeen year old Jessica Williford’s op-ed claimed that Republican women will finally prove themselves the real decedents of our nation’s feminist forebears.

She cited all sorts of quotes from our founding mothers, which seem to support Jessica’s own clearly anti-choice views. Of course, it’s easy to pull quotes out of context and even easier to judge yesterday’s comments or actions by today’s standards.

For example, one could debate whether Thomas Jefferson really believed “all men were created equal” since he owned slaves when he penned our nation’s Declaration of Independence. I digress.

Jessica’s op-ed suggests that opposition to abortion is the one position unifying all of these Republican women. How interesting when there are so many challenges facing America’s women and their families today. Unemployment, the economy, rising child care and college costs just to name a few.

But Jessica’s Republican women would have us focus on denying women reproductive freedom.

There is no decision more fundamental than a woman’s right to choose whether or not to be a mother. No decision will affect her life more intimately or her destiny more profoundly.

Real feminists know this, which is why they trust other women to make childbearing decisions. Too bad some of our real founding mothers aren’t around to set the record straight.

I am pro-choice because there is no decision more profound than deciding to bring a child into this world.

I trust a woman to know when she is prepared to love, support and care for a child. I trust the more than 60% of women who have abortions who are already mothers and know well the all consuming love and responsibility involved.

I trust young women who know their life and their future has meaning beyond giving birth as a teenager. I trust these young women to know that one day they will make a fabulous, loving parent but not today.

I trust women whose birth control has failed to know they did not desire to be pregnant. I trust women who failed to use birth control to know that bringing a child into the world should never be punishment for a mistake.

I trust women who decide that they are ready to love, nurture and care for a child with all of their heart, energy and passion.

I trust women.

The Onion recently did a parody of anti-choice bills disguised as bills to help inform women.  The faux AR bill in the Onion piece would require a woman to name her fetus and clear out and paint a nursery.  All this in the name of “supporting women through the process.”

New Law Requires Women To Name Baby, Paint Nursery Before Getting Abortion

“Common sense tells us that viewing an ultrasound, naming the fetus, and painting the nursery gives women the information they need to make sure they’re making the right decision.” – The Onion reporter

“All of these are common-sense measures aimed at protecting the women and children of North Carolina from the physical, emotional and psychological harm associated with abortion and promoting a culture of life.” – NC Family Policy Council in reference to waiting periods and informed consent.

The sad fact is that 24 states actually do require a waiting period for women to access abortion care. Most of these require a 24 hour waiting period between the mandatory counseling and the abortion procedure. This is especially hard when women have traveled a long distance to access the counseling and the care.  Then they must incur additional expenses to stay overnight in the area or travel back and forth.

What does a mandatory waiting period say? It certainly does not acknowledge the fact that women know what is best for them and their families. It doesn’t appreciate the fact that women, from the moment they realize they are pregnant, are determining the best choice they can make in that situation.

You know what it does say, it says “We don’t trust Women.”  Who is the we?  Lawmakers in 24 states and so called pro-life advocates like the NC Family Policy Council who insist on putting roadblocks between women and the medical care they seek.

Planned Parenthood trusts women.  We believe a woman facing an unintended pregnancy deserves compassionate care, the full support of her doctor, family, and friends, and access to information to assist her in making her decision.  We believe that woman knows her circumstances better than anyone else and is the person most equipped to make a decision about her future.  WE TRUST WOMEN.