Written by Chelsea Mahoney
It’s an election year, which means arguments, debates, smear campaigns and a ton of political ads on TV. Everybody has a problem with everybody else, and nobody likes anybody else because of one single opinion or political attitude. And on top of all that, there’s a bombardment of information being tossed at us from every direction saying that Obama is wrong because of this, Romney is right because he said this, Obama is the best because of whatever and Romney is the spawn of Satan because of blah, blah, blah.
With all of this information being thrown at us, it’s incredibly difficult to decipher what is true, what is just, and what is right. Especially when it comes to our rights as Ladies. So, what does this election mean for the girls in the United States? Or more importantly, what does it mean for our bodies?
Personally, I hate being told what to do. I know that makes me sound like a 12 year old girl (more than I normally do) but it’s true. And with this upcoming election, there are potential members of our government that are going to try and tell me what I can, and cannot do with my uterus and the rest of my body.
In 1969, a woman by the name of Norma L. McCovery found out she was pregnant with her third child, who she was not trying to conceive. In an act of desperation, she told doctors in Dallas, Texas that she had been raped. In Texas in 1969, a medical and “legal” abortion was only approved when a woman was raped, or in the case of incest. Her attempt to obtain an abortion, however, failed because her alleged rape had not been filed with local police. In 1970, two attorneys took Norma’s case and applied the alias Jane Roe to her. Though the district court ruled in favor of the legal merits of the case, they denied her injunction against the abortion laws. Finally in 1973, after the case had gone to the Supreme Court, it was announced by the Supreme Court that abortion is a “fundamental right under the United States constitution, thereby subjecting all laws attempting to restrict it to the standard of strict scrutiny.” The Court claimed that the 14th Amendment (our right to privacy) applied to the situation of abortion. Supreme Court Justice Douglas asserted that:
“Right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the district court determined, in the Ninth Amendment’s reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
It is currently 2012. Mr. Romney wants to take us back to Dallas, Texas circa 1969.
According to Andrea Saul, Romney’s spokeswoman, Romney’s position on abortion is “clear. He opposes abortion except for cases of rape, incest and where the life of the mother is threatened.”
Now, I understand being pro-life. I do. Abortion is a tragic, sad, and heartbreaking occurrence. But I don’t understand being anti-rights. It is my right as a female American citizen to dictate what happens to my body, and inside my body. I hope I am never in a situation where I feel an abortion is necessary. However, if the situation arises I would like to know that I have an option. That’s all I’m asking for. An option. No one is forcing Ann Romney to abort her next child, and no one is going to force a pro-lifer to suffer the tragedy that is abortion. But if I miss my next period, and I don’t know what to do- I would like to know that I am able to go see an OBGYN at my local Planned Parenthood and discuss my options with her. And that I actually have options.
Obama once claimed, “No one is pro-abortion.” I don’t think it could be put in a better way. Though Republicans and many pro-life citizens come down on him for being pro-abortion (whatever that means) he is not. However, he does respect the choice and the privacy of a woman’s body.
Earlier this past year, Republicans tried to cut funding to programs such as Planned Parenthood and National Public Radio- two public, and state funded programs that educate, and assist the public. Especially Planned Parenthood- a program that provides affordable birth control and sexual health advisement to all. Could you imagine how many young men and women would be lost without programs like Planned Parenthood? A place to go to be tested for STD’s, pregnancy, and obtain birth control at reasonable prices? How could anyone want to deprive America’s youth of such a service?
Planned Parenthood exists in order to educate and help create a decline in underage and unwanted pregnancies, not to corrupt our nation’s youth, or enforce anti-Christian ways. They exist to assist us with life’s blunders. And there is such beauty in that. Besides, federal funding does not support abortions performed at any Planned Parenthood. Federal funding is used for other means of education and contraception.
I don’t consider myself to be pro-Obama. I don’t consider myself to be pro-Romney. I don’t really consider myself pro-anything. I know that if Obama is elected, and Obama-care is put into effect that I will have access to FREE birth control. This is something I feel our government should be providing us with already- especially with the high number of teen pregnancies that exist in the United States, and more specifically the Central New York region.
Granted, Obama-care will have its kinks to work out, but for the sake of this word-dump let’s just focus on the aspect of birth control. With accessible and affordable (free) birth control, and access to education in places like Planned Parenthood, I genuinely feel that the only outcomes are positive. If programs such as this are cut, positive outcomes are not even a possibility. The only things we are left with are an uneducated public, without access to information, health assistance, and any free or reduced forms of contraception.
What it comes down to is that Mr. Romney wants to tell me what to do with my body. Specifically, my uterus. And another high-profile Republican made the claim that “legitimate rape” would not impregnate a woman. To be completely straightforward, I don’t think I could affiliate myself with a political party that attracts such stupidity.
Why should we, as women, take ten steps back with a presidential candidate, when there is a candidate who is trying to move us forward? Why should we, as women, endorse a candidate who wants to take away our rights as individuals? Why should we as women, affiliate with a party that uses terms like “legitimate rape?” Why should we as women support a party that has affiliates who voted on policies that took away women’s equality in the workplace?
When you step into the voter’s booth on November 6th remember what it means for your body and your rights as both a woman and a human being. Or don’t. I can’t tell you what to do; I can only present you with my opinion and the facts. So remember it. Okay? Cool.