It was a Good Week for Choice
Not only was Barack Obama elected to be the 44th president of the United States, but women also get to keep their reproductive rights in three, specific states.
For the second time, an anti-choice ballot initiative appeared on the ballot in South Dakota. This initiative called to prohibit abortions except in cases where the mother’s life or health is at a substantial and irreversible risk and also in cases of reported rape and incest. It would have also put doctors who perform abortions at risk for a 10 year jail sentence. Luckily this initiative was again defeated, 55% to 45%.
I’m the kind of person who starts debates with people (basically any Republican I know) on very “touchy” subjects people seem to be most passionate about; such as the many reasons Republicans suck, 9/11 being an inside job started by the American government, past wars and the American government’s not so innocent or heroic part in them, and of course, abortion. Through the years, I have noticed one, very key part of most people’s “pro-choice-ness” and that is in cases of reported rape or incest. Now here’s the kicker. Over 80% of rape cases and even more incest cases are never reported. Why? Fear, (of not being believed, of their abuser, of someone with a relationship to their abuser, having to testify, etc.) trauma-induced mental illness and the biggest one of all, victim-shaming. So while it’s all well and good that most of you pro-choice folks out there believe that abortion is “okay” in cases of rape and incest, how are we to know which women in particular are victims? Most of them are not going to come out and tell you. Most of them are not going to go to a hospital the moment after it happens to get a rape kit performed. In most cases, no one will know a woman has been raped until years after it happened and that person has been living with that burden since; in some cases, no one will ever know a woman they know was raped or a victim of incest at all. So say it with me here–In order to truly protect women who are survivors of rape and incest from having to carry and give birth to a child who was literally forced upon her, is to make abortion accessible and available to all women, everywhere.
Moving on…
In Colorado, a ballot initiative called “fetal personhood” went down in a massive 73% to 27% defeat. This initiative called to define the term “person” to include any human being from the moment of fertilization.
In California, a ballot initiative which would require a waiting period of 48 hours after parental notification before allowing a minor to terminate a pregnancy was defeated for the third time, 52.4% to 47.6%.
Trust me when I tell you that these ballot initiatives are merely the beginning. The beginning of even more and more severe and limiting ballot initiatives. The beginning of overturning the US Supreme Court’s decision of the 1973 Roe v. Wade. The beginning of women, once again, being treated like second class citizens who are not trusted to make their own decisions to do what is best for them. While November 4, 2008 brought us a historic day for choice, electing the first African American president and pro-choice administration as well as anti-choice legislature being defeated, it is not over. Since the moment Roe v. Wade was passed there have been people trying to overturn it and we cannot give up, ever.
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Sex-Positivity
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Out Campaign
The OUT Campaign allows individuals to let others know they are not alone. It can also be a nice way of opening a conversation and help to demolish the negative stereotypes of atheists. Let the world know that we are not about to go away and that we are not going to allow those that would condemn us to push us into the shadows.
i was delighted, and a little amazed, that we managed to defeat prop 4. it was such an insidious little thing, you know, the first step in a campaign to relegate women to the role of fetal hosts. the “personhood” one was the most frightening – you can imagine women being denied things like cancer treatment if it might cause harm to the pregnancy.
i will continue to fight for this, and i have renewed my commitment to fight for gay rights, since by about the same margin as prop 4 failed, somehow, prop 8 passed.
why is it so hard for some humans to grant rights to other humans? i don't understand the mentality. but there is a lot of it.
Proposition 4 was voted down, yet Proposition 8 passed? I'll never understand California.
I don't know why people are so caught up in this abortion nonsense. It's already been settled. In my opinion, it's a woman's body and she can do what she wants with it. It's her right. I am sure the opponents wouldn't like having someone tell them what they can or cant' do with their body.
I don't know why people are so caught up in this abortion nonsense. It's already been settled. In my opinion, it's a woman's body and she can do what she wants with it. It's her right. I am sure the opponents wouldn't like having someone tell them what they can or cant' do with their body.