American Politicians: Stripping Women of Our Rights

For years, things like abortion have been debated (or more accurately, fought over). Now, basic health precautions are under debate, and some people would like to take those away as well.

• Abortions; to save lives and to terminate involuntary insemination (Read: Pregnancy by Rape).
• Birth Control; to prevent unwanted pregnancies, regulate our hormones, and alleviate cramps and acne.

The problems are going deeper than these issues as well. In Arizona, as many of you know, politicians are trying to get a bill passed that would allow companies to fire women for using birth control to prevent pregnancy (only allowing it if they are using it for other reasons).

Women throughout the country are also in danger of losing their jobs because they ARE pregnant.

Further disturbing is the possibility of women being forced to carry a stillborn or dying fetus to term, or until “natural labor” has occurred, even when carrying the fetus may cause the death of the mother or twin. Rep. Terry England even went so far as to compare women to livestock.

While there are a great many men that are appalled at these bills (and please, DO encourage the men in your life to stand up for the women in theirs), these are women’s issues, and as women, we need to stand and fight; together. A unified front against these violations against our right to have control of our own bodies.

Speaking of body autonomy, some Republican individuals are apparently trying to ensure that the Violence Against Women Act is not reauthorized, or changed so that illegal immigrants can be deported for reporting a crime, such as domestic abuse; members of the LGBT would likewise not be protected and offered services/shelter in the event of abuse.

There will be no White Knight, ladies. We may not be shot at, or thrown in jail, and we still have our rights… For now. Our country is moving towards making we women property again - a state of existence most women in America have not, and SHOULD not experience. Stand up, or be tied down. When making your choice to join hands and fight back, or to sit down and keep quiet, think of this: Do you want your daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends to have their rights stripped from them? To have no choice in matters of their own bodies?