All's Fair In Love And The War On Women's Reproductive Rights

It seems now that not a day is going by without another Republican attempting to crawl up in my uterus and dicktate what it is I can and cannot do with it.

From states signing mandatory, UNNECESSARY ultrasound bills if a woman seeks a first trimester abortion, to laws being on the books which enable a doctor to LIE to his female patient about a possibly compromised pregnancy, to bills submitted which would allow employers to fire a female if she used insured birth control without it being medically necessary - women are under attack.

It is astonishing to me that in 2012, my fears for my daughters are that they live in a country in which a theocracy is being fiercely pursued by Republican presidential candidates, in which religious extremism is crawling out of the churches and into the secular governance, and in which the right to govern their own bodies is being methodically stripped away.

I wrote two weeks ago when the transvaginal ultrasound bill was being presented in several states, that if men believed it was OK to medically rape a woman who was seeking a procedure, then all things being fair, men should be bending over for the same if they pursue Viagra or Cialis to medically intervene with their limp dickedness.

Quite frankly, since the upshot of the whole wanding is to find a heartbeat and shame the woman, it seems to me that if said woman then changes her mind and decides to move forward with the pregnancy, the state then becomes a de facto parental figure, and should be on the hook for the next 18 years for medical care, food, housing, schooling, daycare, clothing - everything it takes to raise a child to the age of 18 when the GOP can then ship them off to die in a war of lies.

Just sayin'...

"Personhood" status is being assigned to zygotes and signed into law.  Again, fair's fair - what about the jiz holocaust that occurs under cover each night across this great nation of ours?  Shouldn't there be equal protection for those precious tadpoles whose sole purpose is to go forth and PROCREATE? 

And what about the boner emporiums of America?  Strip clubs must be shuttered so as to protect the lifegiving splooge that threatens to erupt when breasts and poles unite in dance.

This simply MUST extend to the entire pornography industry as well.  Unless porn is being used under medically supervised conditions in which a man and woman (who is provably ovulating) are only being aroused by visions of buff plumbers Roto Rooting the scantily clad desperate housewife in order to bring forth another God sanctioned babe, pornography must be made illegal.

And now Arizona is considering a bill which would allow employers who provide insurance to their employees to require evidence that a woman is seeking insurance coverage for birth control ONLY out of medical necessity - conditions such as endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome.  Evidence.  Hmmm, here Mr. Bossman, is this clot proof enough?  Oops, sorry about your shoe.

It would also give employers the right to fire a woman found using insured contraceptives to avoid getting pregnant.

OK, fair's fair, right?  Then there had better goddamned well be a provision that fires the man who has sex with the woman who is using the birth control.  Accessory to a slime, as it were.

And what about men who use condoms?  That's birth control, correct?  OH - I get it - men buy that stuff off the backshelf at Walgreens at 2am, so it's ok.  No insurance involved.  But it still involves capturing and suffocating millions of potential personhoods.  So what say you, GOP?

And while I'm asking about fairness, what about nocturnal emissions?  Surely that qualifies as involuntary manslaughter?

What stymies me is this relentless push against both abortion and birth control.  A man and a woman use birth control out of responsibility - because THEY DON'T WANT A BABY.  But Rick Santorum believes birth control should be done away with, that it allows us to use our dirty bits for pleasure.  So without birth control, there are more unwanted pregnancies, ergo, more abortions, correct?  And as for insurance costs?  It's a helluva lot cheaper to cover a birth control pill prescription than it is to cover a full term pregnancy and the baby who is then covered till the age of 23.  And let's not even get started on the cost of a child born compromised.

Seriously, people, how did we end up at this place?  This entire thing would be funny if it weren't ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE.  We actually have bills being submitted daily by "smaller government" Republicans - smaller only so it can fit up in my kootch along with their Bible - that strip a woman of dominion over her own body.  We have presidential candidates intent on getting rid of Planned Parenthood, and intent on inserting their church into our governance.  We have LAWS allowing medically unnecessary procedures in order to obtain a LEGAL procedure.

What the fuck is happening to this country?

Look, if you are religious, bully for you.  Keep your religion where it belongs, IN YOUR CHURCH.  If you don't want an abortion, DON'T HAVE ONE.  If you don't support gay marriage, DON'T MARRY SOMEONE OF THE SAME SEX.  And if you don't believe in birth control, DON'T USE ANY.

Just stay the hell out of our vaginas, GOPers, or were coming for you with something far worse than weapons of ass destruction.  We're going to fuck you senseless with our VOTES.

I mean, fair's fair.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

These Doonesbury cartoons are being censored by papers across the country this week.  I guess the truth just isn't appealing to THOSE WHO ARE WRITING THESE BILLS AND TURNING THEM INTO LAW?

Comments

[Katy]

Once again, thank you for confirming and elliquently articulating what my head's been spinning and eyes have been crossing with respect to these issues. I too am in shock at the archaic thinking of these law makers. No birth control, but no abortion either. And if you have a child and you're not married, then you're a child abuser for not raising the child with two parents, of the opposite sex of course. And what's next? The child MUST be raised to be a Christian.

[Lisa]

I have a 9 yr old daughter and frankly, I am scared to death of what the future holds for her. It's like every single thing the Women's movement did for us is being systimatically undone... As women we are more victimized, more shamed and thought less of than ever before. You should seriously consider writing a parenting book Linda....I know I'm not the only one who is afraid for my little girl and her future. I could certainly use your wisdom on what to do....

[Robin in NM]

Thank you! Well said!! I'm posting a link (I hope) on my facebook page

[RBlues]

"Fuck them senseless with our votes" . . . I LOVE this!

[Chicky (Kathy)]

I do so love it when someone pisses you off enough to get this kind of classic post (I love it that you wrote it, not that you are pissed off). This is eloquent and slams the point home - I am posting links all over FB, this needs to go viral.

[Debbie0116 To Linda]

You are my hero.

[Shawn in Lakewood Ca]

Ditto what Debbie said.

[Nikki]

November can't come soon enough...

Vote, women, vote.

[audreyf]

Brilliantly stated!

[Chicky (Kathy)]

After posting this on my FB feed...this is what one of my college friends said:

"none of this stuff will ever pass. so stop whining about it. people won't let it."

I.Am.Outraged.

Those of you who are friends with me on FB, please feel free to slam the ball back in her court.

http://www.facebook.com/ChickyChick

[Linda S to Chicky]

Perhaps your friend needs to pay attention to the fact that these things ARE passing.

This is not "whining" - this is outrage. Every one of these bills being presented and turned into law is a personal attack and affront to women.

The Texas ultrasound LAW went into effect February 6. As of March 1st, SEVEN states had LAWS mandating ultrasounds prior to abortions. Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia signed their bill into LAW on March 7th.

Oklahoma has a LAW allowing that a doctor may withhold information, mislead or even blatantly lie to a pregnant woman and her partner about the health of their baby if the doctor so much as thinks that fetal test results would cause a woman to consider abortion.

The same type bill is quickly moving through the Kansas legislature today on its way to becoming a LAW.

The we-may-fire-you birth control bill has passed the Arizona House and is moving to the Senate for a full vote where it is expected to pass and then be signed into a LAW by Jan Brewer.

Your "friend" is woefully uninformed.

[Kerry]

I am so horrified by all of this that I can't even continue to try to have reasonable discussions about it, because it is all "unreasonable." I disagree with Chicky's friend on a granular level, but I do know what he/she was trying to say on a broad level - they still are on the side that assumes reason will prevail, as we all hope and pray it does.

Since our leaders seem to have totally lost their ability to listen to/do the will of the people, then we only have one thing we can do at this point, and that's ROCK THE VOTE!

Also, regarding Arizona's "non-medically necessary BC law" and an employer's ability to FIRE an employee if they are found to be using it for BC? I can't see how for a minute this will stand up legally. You can't hire or fire anyone based on their personal life (i.e. unwed motherhood, divorce, sexual orientation) or even medical condition, provided none of it intereferes with the employee doing their job. You cannot even inquire about it. Even fights about medical coverage/drug coverage issues are taken up at the insurance company level. It never gets detailed to the actual employer for decisions on what is covered. Yet they want the employee to justify their need for this one drug to their employer directly to make a person decision on?

If the employer doesn't want to cover birth control at all, then that's their choice I guess. But to make an employee crawl and beg for treatment at someone's personal whim is discrimination.

And it's interesting to see what the doctors will do in all of this. These are people who obviously believe in the benefits and access to BC. I foresee a whole lot of "cramps" diagnosis' suddenly.

[Chrissy]

My husband does not follow politics at all. He watched one of the Republican debates and said that he thought Rick Santorum was pretty reasonable. I set him straight quick enough. But even a guy like him who really doesn't pay attention to much except sports said to me,completely out of the blue, "Why aren't women marching in the streets yet? And when you do, I'll go with you". The fact that this outrage has trickled down to someone like him gives me the slightest bit of hope.

And what really sucks is that the Arizona law was proposed BY A WOMAN!

[Maxiecapers]

As a grandmother, I can't believe what these Republicans are trying to pull! Our generation, (and many preceding) fought hard to be on equal terms with these men. We are proud your generation is fighting-you must carry the torch. Try to mirror this decade like the 60's-70's; we were able to make great strides. Marching and protesting work! Thanks mm

[Chicky to Linda]

Thanks Linda - I copied and pasted your response. My head is about to explode (again)

[Linda Sharp to Chicky]

Don't hold your breath. Facts mean nothing to people who want them to mean nothing.

[Kerry]

There are so many people that are turned off by the issue because right now it is sp they don't think it affects them - they are men or older women who don't need birth control, an abortion, etc. Or they don't personally believe in either, or they are so anti-Obama healthcare initiative that they are blinded by anything and everything that is related.

In order to really get the message across, we need to start speaking to people in terms they can understand.....This is a scary precedent in government being able to dictate your healthcare choices. EVERYONE'S healthcare choices.

What's next? If you're a smoker or overweight, and your employer finds that morally objectionable, can your employer chose to not cover drugs or treatments for those conditions? I work for a dermatologist...if I develop skin cancer because of my sun-tanning history, and they find that objectionable, they don't have to cover treatment for it?

This is just the start.....

[Chrissy to Kerry]

Kerry you're so right. Here's a Bible quote:

"Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent." (1 Tim 2:11-12)

So what if next week the Pope decides that women can't hold administrative positions over men? Will they bitch and moan about how women in executive positions at their schools and hospitals violates their morality and demand to be excused from labor laws?

[Tracy D]

How can this be happening? What the hell is wrong with these...well I just don't know what to call them. I am so afraid of what kind of world my 9 year old daughter is going to come of age in. Surely the majority of Republican women are not for all of this garbage. I am posting a link in facebook, maybe more people need to be aware of the challenges and attacks on womens rights that are becoming the norm.