What Abortion Bans Really Mean
I've been out canvassing for my local congressional candidate recently. It's been a very positive experience; something I've never done before; so I haven't had much time online lately. Even when I've been online, I haven't felt much like talking or even reading much. My apologies to anyone who reads me here if I haven't made it to your place in a while. I imagine it's another slump and hope it will pass soon. I sure have missed go go bimbo and You Are Here and Persephone's Box and Amber Rhea and Bitch | Lab (even if her feminist stuff is WAY too out of my league!) and too many others to mention and link. But there's a few...go check them out...AFTER you've voted, ofcourse!
I got in tonight around 12:30 AM after hanging doorknob hanger reminders to vote for my candidate, Rendell for Gov and Casey for Senate (who wouldn't be my ideal choice but look at his opponent) and decided to check out Tennessee Guerilla Women. Things aren't looking so good for the decent candidate, Harold Ford, Jr. there. I empathize with the anxiety all moderate or progressive or liberal voters and activists must be feeling down in the Volunteer state. You have my sympathies. I'm glad I stopped by because I came across this video which plays into something that's been on my mind recently. Egalia at TGW got this from Ann at Feministing.
I heard a news item on NPR recently about the South Dakota abortion ban. They mentioned tht it might get voted down for not allowing for exceptions for rape or incest. State legislators would then have to decide if they wanted to float the bill with those exemptions. What struck me so much, and I am late in developing my feminist sensibilities so this has probably been said before by many others, is that those two instances which might make acceptable exceptions for the "pro-birthers" are two in which the woman is not at all complicit in the act which results in the pregnancy. In other words, women don't choose to have sex in those circumstances.
So it's all about punishing women who opt to have sex. Never mind if the condom breaks or the other contraceptive fails. If you are a woman and you choose to be sexually active with a man and a pregnancy results, you've just got to swallow your bitter syrup and deal with it.
It truly is not about babies. It's about keeping American women from having the freedom to choose if they want to have sex and with whom and under what circumstances. Choose to have sex, pay the price.
It's all about controlling women, period, and it makes me sick!
tags: abortion / anti-choice / feminism / pro-choice / women's rights
posted by Cheryl @ 12:51 AM
2 Comments:
Cheryl~ I do miss your presence, but what you're doing is a little more -if only slightly- important than the craptacular ramblings over at GoGo that will be there forever.
Even faced with the jeopardy of it, I cannot believe that the huge majority of pro-choicers in this country would allow an abortion ban to be enacted. I really need to believe that we are not so apathetic and selfish and lazy that we would just watch this happen.
So far, through 6 years of the travesties the Bush administration has made of our civil liberties, separation of church and state and the Constitution in general, we've remained apathetic, selfish and lazy. Maybe a real attack on Roe will rouse us from our collective stupor. I've been encouraged by the motivating factor the liberal blogosphere has become.
Maybe we just lost our voice for a while. I hope we've found it again and keep it for a while.
Good to see you...I hope to go read you over the weekend now that things have settled down a bit.
I apologize for my obviously skewed sense of priority.
Post a Comment
<< Home