On March 28, 2012 the Cronkite News said: Dozens of women joined Democratic legislators Wednesday to denounce GOP bills on birth control and abortion that they say pander to ultraconservatives during an election year. “There have been attacks across the nation on women and Planned Parenthood trying to … force women back into caves,” said Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, who spoke at a State Capitol rally organized by Planned Parenthood. Participants said they were particularly concerned about a bill authored by Rep. Debbie Lesko that would allow employers and insurance companies to deny contraception coverage for religious reasons. Aboud said some Republicans dislike the bill but face election-year pressures. “Ultra-conservatives are waiting in the wings to defeat anyone not against women’s choice,” she said. Michelle Melchiorre, an A.T. Still University student working toward her master’s degree in public health, told the crowd she had to pay $90 a month when her insurance didn’t cover birth control prescribed to treat fibroid tumors. “That’s my electric bill,” she said. Kat Sabine, the local executive director for NARAL Pro-Choice America, a group advocating for abortion rights, said even if the rally “doesn’t have an impact on crazy laws right now, it will have an impact in November.” “We wouldn’t be talking about it today if the government would just butt out,” Lesko said. “But they haven’t. They’ve chosen to mandate, on all employers, that they have to include abortion-inducing pills, sterilization drugs and contraceptives in their insurance plan, even if it violates their religious beliefs, and that’s just wrong.” Cathi Herrod, president of the conservative advocacy group Center for Arizona Policy, said the defeat of HB 2625 on Wednesday should be a wake-up call for Arizonans. “The bill does not prevent any woman from accessing any drugs,” Herrod said in a telephone interview. “A woman has the right to have contraceptive medicine or abortion medicine but does not have the right to compel anyone, including her employer, to pay for that medication.” Herrod also said the “so-called war on women” is detached from reality. “The majority of Americans take a pro-life stance,” she said. “These hysterical, over-the-top arguments are getting old.” (Okay, I have to comment on this; per Dr. Oz over 80% of women have used birth control pills this means it’s not a pro-life issue.)
On March 28 a Georgia student newspaper on Belmontvision.com had an article written by Autumn Allison, a sophomore journalism major and its Managing Editor that said: Let’s play a game. What do the following words have in common - cow, pig, woman, sheep and goat? If you said mammals, then I guess I have to give you partial credit for knowing basic biology. But according to Georgia State Rep. Terry England, the correct answer is that all of the above choices should be forced to carry a stillborn fetus until the body decides to remove it naturally. England’s remarks went even further while he was stating his support for HB954 a controversial bill that makes it illegal for a woman to obtain an abortion after 20 weeks — shortened from 26 weeks — even if she knows she is carrying a stillborn fetus. “Life gives us many experiences … I’ve had the experience of delivering calves, dead and alive; delivering pigs, dead or alive. It breaks our hearts to see those animals not make it,” England said as he addressed the chamber. By the way, his remarks were quoted widely and are also available in his own voice on YouTube. Besides the demeaning comparisons of females to livestock in England’s speech, the proposal is just downright dangerous mentally and physically for the mother. The issue here is not whether abortion is right or wrong. It’s why the sudden rise in anti- women’s health legislation that is regressive at best and controlling at worst. Georgia’s proposed bill is not an isolated incident. Take Arizona’s HB2625 that would give employers the same rights as churches and faith-based organizations to refuse to allow coverage of prescribed contraceptives on their health insurance plans. Try Tennessee’s latest piece of legislation, HB3808 which requires the publication of abortion data. Arizona’s bill may cross a line on government infringement, but it’s Tennessee’s bill that reminds me a bit of a certain book from AP English, “The Scarlet Letter,” in which a woman was forced to wear a red “A” on her chest after having a baby out of wedlock. By releasing the information of women who get an abortion, prior to an amendment, county-by-county, the bill is essentially branding these women with a metaphoric “A” by using public knowledge as a deterrent. When a government demands the publication of private data like age, race, education and prior abortion history, that’s more than just pushing limits it’s downright scary. So why are so many state governments attempting to exert control over the female body; fear, anger, power grab, Mommy issues? This attempt to turn back the clock on women’s rights, at least in legislation, has taken a turn for the worst. Multiple proposed bills, in multiple states, is not a coincidence, it’s a trend; a trend that personally, I would like to see end. When bills propose subjecting women to medically dangerous situations and possible “abortion shaming,” society loses its civilized traits. As a country that prides itself on “freedom of choice,” these bills are preventing that freedom for the women it would affect. But why would that matter if a woman’s life is valued no more than a cow’s. Hypocritically, those same men that sponsored the proposed legislation have no limitations that affect what they can lawfully do to their body in a medical situation. Those same men can purchase Viagra without being socially ostracized. Because you know, that seems completely fair. Let’s hope that the barnyard is more receptive and appreciative of England’s efforts since this legislation is fit for one place: the slop pail.
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