E. Claire Anderson

OR "Why you should vote for Obama regardless of whether you're pro-life or pro-choice"

by Emily Anderson

Earlier this week I sat down and made of list of all the reasons I'm voting for Obama. This is No.1. I've taken a lot of time to properly fact check and source this info, please click through to the many links provided at your leisure. I'm a liberal, but I'm not a liar. 

Mitt Romney has a lot of thoughts about equal pay for women, free contraceptives for women, abortion, and other women’s issues. Unfortunately, most of them have contradicted with each at some point over the course of the last 10 years.   For starters, he wouldn’t have signed the Lilly Ledbetter act. And while his campaign has confirmed that he would not repeal it - the idea that women should have equal pay for equal work gave the man serious pause back in 2009. That should be all you need to know, but there’s tons more fun stuff about Romney’s thoughts on women, their roles in society, and their sovereignty over their own genitalia that I really just have to share. The last few years have been particularly tough on women - and their internal organs. We’re miles away from it now, in this post-“binders full of women” society - but you might remember some of the ridiculous hubbub from the past two years - a GA State Rep trying to pass a law that would criminalize miscarriages, requiring women who miscarried to be subject to a criminal investigation to make sure the miscarriage wasn’t “prenatal murder”, the VA state senate trying to pass legislation that mandated that women be subjected to mandatory vaginal ultrasounds, pre-abortion (whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, you can probably imagine how invasive, unnecessarily uncomfortable and mildly traumatic that would be. And if you’re unfamiliar with a vaginal ultrasound wand, it’s the size of a long, thin dildo, complete with rounded tip.)

There was the GA State Rep who, while trying to pass a law that would require women to carry stillborn fetuses to term, tried to empathize with women by literally comparing them to cows. There was also the Michigan State House Representative who was banned from speaking after she said the word “vagina” - during a debate that was also about abortion. We’re not talking conservatives vs. liberals in this instance - we’re talking about utter ridiculousness. We’re talking about men who make rules that directly involve women’s vaginas being utterly disgusted and offended by the actual word “vagina” - or being unable to comprehend a failed pregnancy in terms outside of the context of animal husbandry. But these were all clear cases of “local yokelism”, right? These were men and women who ran very small campaigns and were elected by very small public bodies, most of whom probably weren’t aware that the candidate they were voting for believed miscarriages should be “punishable by death?” Or that if your teen daughter is raped, and chooses to abort, she also be subjected to vaginal probing? Well sure, but let’s review the last several months in national politics... Here's a rundown of the idiotic proclamations made by idiot politicians running for US Senate or Congress in 2012: I've been told my body won’t let me get pregnant if I’m raped,  that “some girls rape easy” that pregnancies from rape and incest are clearly God’s will, and that abortions performed for the safety of the mother are never really necessary. I’m so tired of these wrinkly white assholes presuming to know the inner workings of the female body inherently, and/or the mind of God. The fact that they have/may soon be awarded the ability to vote on federal laws that directly concern women and their bodies scares the crap out of me. They haven’t earned the right to look at a woman, much less dictate what I do with my own vagina. And the fact that all the aforementioned idiots belong to one prominent political party (Hint: not Obama’s) is extremely damning. Of course, none of that has anything to do with Romney, right? Wrong. He neither rebuked nor censured Todd Akin. In fact, after a little distance, the GOP started pumping money back into his campaign. He didn’t say anything about Roger “some girls rape easy” Rivard - in fact, he did a campaign rally with him in early October, despite the fact that Wisconsin Republicans had already had their fill. (Rivard didn’t make that comment in a cigar room, btw. He said that in a newspaper interview, about an underage teenage girl at a local high school. CLASSY.) Romney continued to openly endorsed Mourdock, in fact, Mourdock is the only senatorial candidate Romney has taped an ad for - and he did so AFTER the “God’s will” kerfuffle. I know abortion is a hot button issue. It’s been a particularly trying issue for Romney, whose own thoughts on the matter have morphed considerably from 2002 to now. Here’s a full rundown on the many viewpoints of Mitt Romney re: abortion. I know there are people who vote election after election solely based on this one issue alone. But I’m asking you - please reconsider. Sentiments about abortion have never been more extreme in the religious right. There are assholes in congress, young and old, who have serious reservations about your rights to have an abortion even in cases of rape, incest, and safety of the mother. VP candidate Paul Ryan’s own proposed “Sanctity of Human Life Act” supported a ban on all abortions, even in cases of rape, incest. This “personhood bill” also supported the ridiculous notion that women that couldn’t conceive should not be permitted to have in vitro fertilization, because, since “personhood” begins at fertilization, the many botched embryos involved with IVF would count as straight up abortions. That doesn’t sound too far off from criminally prosecuting miscarriages, now does it? But what’s even more disconcerting. that Romney’s complicated relationship with Roe Vs. Wade? Romney hates Planned Parenthood. He wants to defund it and leave the welfare of millions of uninsured, low-income families to the discretion of the states. Many conservatives are only familiar with Planned Parenthood as provider of abortions - but abortions only make up 3% of the services they provide. Contraception, prenatal care, cancer screenings, women’s wellness check-ups, and STD and HIV testing comprise the remaining 97%. You can get a full breakdown of Planned Parenthood’s provided services from Fox News, of all places. One could easily draw the conclusion Planned Parenthood prevents exponentially more abortions than they perform. And they provide these much needed services to the uninsured, and low-income families. I myself am currently uninsured, and I got OBGYN exam, a pap smear, a breast exam, and month’s worth of birth control for only $90. I pay $25 a month for my birth control. That’s $15 less than I paid with co-pay when I had insurance 8 years ago. Also, if you’re currently insured, you now get all your birth control, pap smears, women’s wellness check-ups, and cancer screenings for FREE. Thanks again, Obamacare! Recently, Romney’s SUPER intelligent, fellow GOPer Rick Perry tried to boot Planned Parenthood off of Texas’ state bankroll because they provided abortions. Even though that would’ve meant denying access to low-cost healthcare to low-income, uninsured families all over Texas. Fortunately, the Prez pointed out that that was a violation of federal rules. How do you think Romney would’ve handled that sitch? Oh, right - he would’ve already handed power back to the states - making Perry’s dick move incredibly legit! Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, women’s lives, and women’s rights are safer today because abortion is legal, and the severely personal choices of women are not left up “grey-faced men with two dollar haircuts.” Please don’t be naive enough to think that “rape/incest/medical emergency” exceptions to the more commonly embraced pro-life platforms couldn’t one day apply to your own mother, daughter, or wife. Women no longer have to have back alley abortions performed by unlicensed medical professionals - they’re performed by real doctors, in real hospitals, with real anesthetics. And if your reaction to that is why should I concern myself with the welfare of women who get abortions - then you should seriously pray on that. If you’re pro-life, does it make sense to deny women affordable prenatal care, birth control, and cancer screenings, just because other women choose to have abortions? Shouldn’t “pro-life” extend to the care and preservation of all life?