the War on Women October 12, 2011
Originally posted by tammypierce at the War on Women October 12, 2100
I'm not going to say a great deal about these entries, because they make me so angry I'm afraid I'll start to speak in tongues. I used to think the line "the War on Women" was hyperbole, meant to make us sit up, be scared, and send our book money to NOW or NARAL. Today? Today I hear bullets in the shape of vicious legislation flying. Bad people want to strip us of our rights, folks. What's next: women can only work in the home? I
Amendment 26. This is . . . truly frightening. In the Mississippi legislature a movement is afoot to make life a legal construct that begins at--fertilization. This is not a joke. I spent a good chunk of today searching the Intertubes because I was positive it had to be a foolie, in part because I could find no mention of it on the main pages for NOW and NARAL. The whole subject is operating under the radar, which is nervous-making, because the people who support this say they have petitions ready for a lot of other states. Because they say they had 30,000 signatures more than they needed to get this on the fall ballot. Because they say they can use this to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Because it is mid-October and the rest of us are just now hearing about it.
If this passes, no one will be able to get an abortion, ever. It would be murder. Never mind if the cops were able to take your rapist's fingerprints off your eyeballs while he stood right there telling them what he did while his attorney took notes--you don't get to abort that child. If you are dying of complications pre-birth while there's still time, too bad. No abortion for you. Suffer, you daughter of Eve. That's life within you, don't you understand that? Fresh life, as opposed to your sin-addled, wrinkly, stale life. It counts more. You could win a Nobel Prize and three Olympic Gold Medals, and under this law, should it pass, a 6-week-old fetus that can't grasp the meaning of "too hot" is more important.
There are several ways to help down the page in the Daily Kos article: donate to Wake Up Mississippi and/or sign their petition. Contact the National Democratic Party and ask them to do something since the state Democratic Party is actually supporting this crap. Like the Wake Up Mississippi Facebook page, and keep in touch for ways to help. And boost the signal by posting about this on your lj/blog/whatever and e-mailing family and friends. Please do! If this Amendment 26 virus spreads to other states, I know there will be more ways to help.
They're jokingly calling it the "Let Women Die" law. HR (House Resolution) 358 is being debated this week. If passed, it will prevent a woman from getting an abortion at a federally funded hospital if the facility opposes abortions, even if it would save her life. In other words, if a woman is brought into a Catholic hospital that gets federal funds dying from complications due to her pregnancy, the hospital would be able to refuse the abortion, even at the risk of the woman's life. It also plans to forbid any federal funds from going to health plans that cover abortion services. And, it allows funds to go to health organizations that don't block abortion rights (even though abortion is the law of the land). There are links in the article directing you to further discussion and ways to reach out to your congress person and register how you want him/her to vote. This--do I have to say it--is REALLY--important. Our bodies are ours, and the decisions with regard to the fate of our bodies must be ours.
But wait! There's more! The city of Topeka, Kansas decided this week to repeal their ordinance against misdemeanor domestic violence. In other words, partner beaters, feel free. But today, the D.A. said he will review each domestic violence incident on a case-by-case basis, even though he said last month he would no longer pursue such cases. He says he'll do it with less staff, and less resources, and I don't know how this heroic crusader for victims will manage if the cops aren't arresting anyone on misdemeanor charges, but there you have it.
The excuse? No money. I wonder what money the city council makes? What their pensions are?
21 beaters have been released from jail so far. 35 cases have been reported since September and not pursued. This is because the majority of domestic violence victims are women and kids, and they don't count.
This week sucks, in our nation and at home. I'd like to carve me some reactionary roast and feed it to sharks. No, wait--I like sharks. Maybe lamprey eels. They don't seem that nice.
I'm not going to say a great deal about these entries, because they make me so angry I'm afraid I'll start to speak in tongues. I used to think the line "the War on Women" was hyperbole, meant to make us sit up, be scared, and send our book money to NOW or NARAL. Today? Today I hear bullets in the shape of vicious legislation flying. Bad people want to strip us of our rights, folks. What's next: women can only work in the home? I
Amendment 26. This is . . . truly frightening. In the Mississippi legislature a movement is afoot to make life a legal construct that begins at--fertilization. This is not a joke. I spent a good chunk of today searching the Intertubes because I was positive it had to be a foolie, in part because I could find no mention of it on the main pages for NOW and NARAL. The whole subject is operating under the radar, which is nervous-making, because the people who support this say they have petitions ready for a lot of other states. Because they say they had 30,000 signatures more than they needed to get this on the fall ballot. Because they say they can use this to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Because it is mid-October and the rest of us are just now hearing about it.
If this passes, no one will be able to get an abortion, ever. It would be murder. Never mind if the cops were able to take your rapist's fingerprints off your eyeballs while he stood right there telling them what he did while his attorney took notes--you don't get to abort that child. If you are dying of complications pre-birth while there's still time, too bad. No abortion for you. Suffer, you daughter of Eve. That's life within you, don't you understand that? Fresh life, as opposed to your sin-addled, wrinkly, stale life. It counts more. You could win a Nobel Prize and three Olympic Gold Medals, and under this law, should it pass, a 6-week-old fetus that can't grasp the meaning of "too hot" is more important.
There are several ways to help down the page in the Daily Kos article: donate to Wake Up Mississippi and/or sign their petition. Contact the National Democratic Party and ask them to do something since the state Democratic Party is actually supporting this crap. Like the Wake Up Mississippi Facebook page, and keep in touch for ways to help. And boost the signal by posting about this on your lj/blog/whatever and e-mailing family and friends. Please do! If this Amendment 26 virus spreads to other states, I know there will be more ways to help.
They're jokingly calling it the "Let Women Die" law. HR (House Resolution) 358 is being debated this week. If passed, it will prevent a woman from getting an abortion at a federally funded hospital if the facility opposes abortions, even if it would save her life. In other words, if a woman is brought into a Catholic hospital that gets federal funds dying from complications due to her pregnancy, the hospital would be able to refuse the abortion, even at the risk of the woman's life. It also plans to forbid any federal funds from going to health plans that cover abortion services. And, it allows funds to go to health organizations that don't block abortion rights (even though abortion is the law of the land). There are links in the article directing you to further discussion and ways to reach out to your congress person and register how you want him/her to vote. This--do I have to say it--is REALLY--important. Our bodies are ours, and the decisions with regard to the fate of our bodies must be ours.
But wait! There's more! The city of Topeka, Kansas decided this week to repeal their ordinance against misdemeanor domestic violence. In other words, partner beaters, feel free. But today, the D.A. said he will review each domestic violence incident on a case-by-case basis, even though he said last month he would no longer pursue such cases. He says he'll do it with less staff, and less resources, and I don't know how this heroic crusader for victims will manage if the cops aren't arresting anyone on misdemeanor charges, but there you have it.
The excuse? No money. I wonder what money the city council makes? What their pensions are?
21 beaters have been released from jail so far. 35 cases have been reported since September and not pursued. This is because the majority of domestic violence victims are women and kids, and they don't count.
This week sucks, in our nation and at home. I'd like to carve me some reactionary roast and feed it to sharks. No, wait--I like sharks. Maybe lamprey eels. They don't seem that nice.