Its about so much more than just abortion...

It wasn't until recently that I began to realize that when I was growing up in the 70's we really we living in a unique and radical time as far as women's rights go. And coming from the land of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas, I am just beginning to realize that I have a pretty unique view of the world. I thought everyone else was as much of a feminist and a liberal.

Moving into the south was a wake up call to me, but what was even more of wake up call was hearing young women talking about the right to choose and not understanding how it is about so much more that just the choice of whether to have a child or not.

The reason that the right to choose is some important is because it is really about the right of women to have a say about their own bodies. It wasn't too long ago that women were considered chattel. That means they were property of the men they married. They were considered the same as land and as cattle that a man owned.

And the laws of this country have not progressed very far from that concept at all. The idea behind the right to choose, is that if women doesn't want to have childern that she should have a right to say no. And that no man, not even her husband should have a right to make her.

Think about this, how many courts in this land are willing to prosecute a husband for marital rape, let alone rape by a stranger? So what protection does a women have against an abusive spouse who insists she continue to have sex and babies, even though her children are being abused? How can she gain control and power in her life, if she has no recourse?

People say she should leave and go away, but think about this. She has children and no job and money to support herself or her children away from her husband. You really think she is going to leave, where would she go with no money and children to feed and what if her spouse is abusive and chases her and or threatens to kill her and the children?

Lets talk about single women. Women carry the child. Men, after they have sex, suffer no other physical consequences. They can choose to walk away of a women becomes pregnant. Women do not have that luxury.

So it was in this enviroment of inequality that feminisim and Roe v Wade and the right to choose came about.

I say the current situation and the current debate is partically our fault as women. After we gained the right to choose, we sat back on or laurels, we did not continue to carry the torch for equality. We have not done the work neseccary to keep our right to choose protected. We also did not finish the job, by ensuring we have equal pay, equal access to health care, and equal time and effort spent on medical research. Did you know that most medical tests for new drugs and new medical procedure are still done on men? Hey did you know that they study and men and using those results they make their best guess from there how women and children will be effected.

Now, contrary to popular beief, because I am a feminist I do not hate men. I just wonder why when we stand up and asked to be treated on par with men- that all of sudden we hate men? All we want is fairness.

Remember the people in the majority often don't think there is a problem. Of course not, they don't have any problems so ther must not be any. GO figure. What even happened to equalilty and fairness? Or does that only apply to men?

So it was in this climate that the women's right to choose became and continues to be such a significant thing for the rights of women and the future of those rights.
It is a tool and I believe what Bill and Hillary say- that abortion should be rare safe and legal. For those women who absolutley have no other alternative.

And one more time- please don't forget George Bush is a born again evangelical Christian who will stop at nothing to over turn our right to choose.