an open letter to my congressman.
I heard about the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and pretty much wanted to throw up. This bill scares me on so many levels--but it also exhausts me. To further limit a woman's right to do what she wants with her own body and to try to redefine rape speaks to a sexist society, a society that places stock not in victims' rights, but in further victimizing. Pro-choice, pro-life: we should all stand against this bill, one that asks a rape victim who can't afford an abortion to suffer further trauma.
Relieved as I am to hear that the GOP has hastily backtracked and removed the need for the rape to be forcible, it's important to note that they would even seek to add that in the first place. In 2011, they wanted a woman to "prove" that she had suffered the right kind of rape. I'm happy that people spoke out, happy that it wasn't going by unnoticed. It made me feel a little safer to know that the country wasn't going to sit idly by and watch this happen.
On Tuesday, for the first time ever, I wrote a letter to my congressional representative. I've never done it before, so I wasn't sure how to approach it or what to say. I just knew I couldn't stay silent. Not about this. I wanted to share it here with you, because it was a little scary to write, but it also felt good. I doubt my congressman would have supported this bill anyway, judging by his past voting record, but I wanted to be extra sure.
--
Dear Congressman Polis,
My name is Alejandra [lastname], and I am writing to you today about the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, supported by House Speaker John Boehner. I urge you to vote against this bill, which reinforces rape apologism, furthers victim blaming, and is dangerous for women everywhere.
This bill seeks to define rape as "forcible rape," and does not protect taxpayer funded abortion for victims who were intoxicated, drugged, coerced, or simply too young. Furthermore, it only covers incest victims under 18.
Congressman, as I'm sure you know, rape does not just happen in dark alleyways, with a woman held at gunpoint. Rape can happen at college parties, in homes, in the workplace. It can happen to anyone at the hands of anybody. The thing that makes it rape is simply lack of consent--not whether it was "forcible." If a woman did not consent--whether she was unconscious, coerced, thirteen years old, or yes, heavily beaten--then it was rape.
It would be beyond cruel and unusual to force any rape victim who could not afford an abortion to carry her rapist's fetus to term. This bill displays a level of sexism and lack of basic human compassion that frightens and disgusts me, both as a human being and as a young woman living in a college town, where, unfortunately, date rape is not uncommon.
Please, Congressman Polis--vote against this bill. Show your support for the women of your constituency, many of whom have been or will be raped--who may even become pregnant as a horrifying result of that rape. Tell Mr. Boehner that he and his ilk do not get to decide what kind of rape is the "right" kind of rape.
If there comes a time for you to vote on this bill, speak on behalf of us, the women of Colorado's second district. We are your colleagues, your friends, your family, and your constituents--and if this bill passes, it will harm us all.
Thank you for reading this, sir, and thank you for all that you do, and will do.
Sincerely,
Alejandra [lastname]
--
Honestly? This is why I have trouble putting any stock in a Republican candidate. For all the flaws I can find with Democrats, for how often politics in general frustrates me, I feel so much safer as a woman with Democrats having more power. At least I can be reasonably sure they won't tell me what kind of rape justifies an abortion.
ETA: There's no such thing as a rape victim, doncha know.
Wow. Just wow.
Relieved as I am to hear that the GOP has hastily backtracked and removed the need for the rape to be forcible, it's important to note that they would even seek to add that in the first place. In 2011, they wanted a woman to "prove" that she had suffered the right kind of rape. I'm happy that people spoke out, happy that it wasn't going by unnoticed. It made me feel a little safer to know that the country wasn't going to sit idly by and watch this happen.
On Tuesday, for the first time ever, I wrote a letter to my congressional representative. I've never done it before, so I wasn't sure how to approach it or what to say. I just knew I couldn't stay silent. Not about this. I wanted to share it here with you, because it was a little scary to write, but it also felt good. I doubt my congressman would have supported this bill anyway, judging by his past voting record, but I wanted to be extra sure.
--
Dear Congressman Polis,
My name is Alejandra [lastname], and I am writing to you today about the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, supported by House Speaker John Boehner. I urge you to vote against this bill, which reinforces rape apologism, furthers victim blaming, and is dangerous for women everywhere.
This bill seeks to define rape as "forcible rape," and does not protect taxpayer funded abortion for victims who were intoxicated, drugged, coerced, or simply too young. Furthermore, it only covers incest victims under 18.
Congressman, as I'm sure you know, rape does not just happen in dark alleyways, with a woman held at gunpoint. Rape can happen at college parties, in homes, in the workplace. It can happen to anyone at the hands of anybody. The thing that makes it rape is simply lack of consent--not whether it was "forcible." If a woman did not consent--whether she was unconscious, coerced, thirteen years old, or yes, heavily beaten--then it was rape.
It would be beyond cruel and unusual to force any rape victim who could not afford an abortion to carry her rapist's fetus to term. This bill displays a level of sexism and lack of basic human compassion that frightens and disgusts me, both as a human being and as a young woman living in a college town, where, unfortunately, date rape is not uncommon.
Please, Congressman Polis--vote against this bill. Show your support for the women of your constituency, many of whom have been or will be raped--who may even become pregnant as a horrifying result of that rape. Tell Mr. Boehner that he and his ilk do not get to decide what kind of rape is the "right" kind of rape.
If there comes a time for you to vote on this bill, speak on behalf of us, the women of Colorado's second district. We are your colleagues, your friends, your family, and your constituents--and if this bill passes, it will harm us all.
Thank you for reading this, sir, and thank you for all that you do, and will do.
Sincerely,
Alejandra [lastname]
--
Honestly? This is why I have trouble putting any stock in a Republican candidate. For all the flaws I can find with Democrats, for how often politics in general frustrates me, I feel so much safer as a woman with Democrats having more power. At least I can be reasonably sure they won't tell me what kind of rape justifies an abortion.
ETA: There's no such thing as a rape victim, doncha know.
Wow. Just wow.