The GOP's War On Women

Over the past few weeks, state Legislatures in Texas, Ohio, and North Carolina have passed some of the most restrictive anti-choice bills in the country. But along with those bills, they've cut off access to low cost family planning services, preventive care services, and a woman’s right to privacy, all in the name of “women’s health”. Fifty years after the historic Roe v. Wade decision, this is the most aggressive, blatant attack on women’s rights we've seen in the United States. 

Republicans like to say that this so called “War on Women” is a phenomena made up by Democrats to scare women into voting for them. I think Texas Senator Kirk Watson said it best in his speech on HB2 during Texas’s second special legislative session: 

“More than one of you have asked over the last few weeks, earnestly and in good faith I might add, why people believe you’re waging a war on women. It’s because the only solutions you’ll consider are the ones that limit women’s options. It’s because women see you driving them back to a dark, painful, terrifying time of unsafe procedures and quiet, shameful, month long exile; a time when abortion was neither safe nor legal. It’s because women are connecting the dots between the decision on this bill and others that have left them with no health care.” 

The GOP’s War on Women is not made up. 

Instead of empowering women with more choices and more education, they shame women for not being able to keep their legs closed. Instead of supporting a woman who had to make a choice between her body and that of a fetus, they call her a baby killer. Instead of thinking that women are capable of making their own health care choices, they tell her where she has to go for a procedure and who she has to talk to about it. Instead of listening to doctors and health care experts, they put their own faulty science and religious beliefs above everything else. Every chance they get, they belittle the rights and choices of women everywhere. No one is pro-abortion. 

We all recognize that it’s a hard and tragic decision for a woman to make. But unlike the misogynistic slut shaming of the Republican Party, the Democrats have put forth logical alternatives to restricting access: don’t cut off the supply for abortions, cut off the demand. Educate teen mothers about birth control and contraceptives so they understand how to protect themselves. Increase funding for low cost clinics so everyone has access to quality health care. Support equal pay for women so they don’t feel that their only option is to terminate a pregnancy. Create an environment of tolerance and acceptance for families who need a little extra help sometimes. 

Regardless of the outcomes of the legislation in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, and every other part of the country, one thing remains true: the voice of the people WILL ring loud and clear. The men and women in the Texas capitol during Senator Wendy Davis’ filibuster were a lesson to us all. Even if things don’t go your way, you should always stand up for what you believe in. Activism is an integral part of the democratic process in this country. Attend a rally, donate to a candidate, check out your local Democratic party. Get involved.

Lots of Love,

Two Liberal Ladies