Of course. Of course, the new health care bill was NEVER going to be passed unless the “no federal money for abortions” restriction remained in place. There are too many Stupidpaks in government that would make sure of that. Obama had to sell out some to save the others, and it was never going to be any different at this point. But let us remind everyone what that means, the bottom line: that sexually-active women of reproductive age have fewer legal rights than others in the United States. That’s a whole lot of disrespected citizens. Yet, it is accepted, and the ramifications are profound.
Pro-lifers don’t want their tax dollars financing abortions. Just why it should be an issue is moot to me – after all, abortion is a legal medical procedure here, and we as citizens are not allowed to withhold tax money because we don’t like the school system or don’t want a new highway or whatever, right? Gee, I would rather not have MY tax dollars go to those who spend their lives smoking, abusing all kinds of substances like alcohol, drugs, or food, knowingly compromising their current and future health, yet are totally able to access government funds for their inevitable treatment if they financially qualify. But again, that’s not up to me. I don’t have control over the choices other people make, and I don’t expect to. Them’s the breaks, and it is my duty as a citizen to accept that.
But with abortion…ah, we have the religious input and the ethical dilemma and the difficulty, for many on any side of the issue, about when human life begins, how the right to privacy plays out, and who decides the fate of a woman and something that could be a clump of dividing cells to one person and a divine gift to another. And none of that should matter when it comes to the government divvying out health care access. As long as abortion is a LEGAL MEDICAL PROCEDURE, there is absolutely NO credible basis to deny it to any woman for any reason. None. Strong pro-life FEELINGS should not be able to infiltrate into government, morphing into the bullying nightmare that has resulted in the fact that in 2010, women are still second-class citizens, especially those who are saddled with the double burden of being poor and female.
If you keep going back and back and back into the pro-life logic, it comes down to control and fear of sexuality. Worried about not being able to pay for an abortion, sweetie? DON’T HAVE UNPROTECTED SEX UNLESS YOU WANT KIDS! Of course this only affects you, sweetie; your boyfriend or husband or hook-up doesn’t have to sweat it at all. Only YOU, you bad bad girl. Shame on you. Shame on you for being poor and having sex and making a mistake and not wanting to bring an unwanted child into the world! SHAME! The righteous pro-life folks seem to have difficulty accepting that abortion has been around since people have been around – just more women die from it when denied access to clean, safe, and legal avenues for the procedure. But those gals DESERVE to die or be damaged for their SIN, right? Who cares?
It’s insanity. You can’t say on one hand the something is legal and then say, unlike any other medical procedure, that if you are a poor woman you are shit out of luck from the government who was supposed to protect your rights and give you the same level of treatment as any other citizen.
But who will fight? The poor women? Will they all form a grass-roots collective to oust the lawmakers who deny them? Nope. They are all too busy collecting welfare and getting high and trying to figure out new ways to upset the moral compass of our nation, uh huh.
The politics of hate, ignorance, and intolerance are a stain on our country, and make us a joke to the civilized world.
© Copyright 2008- Marianne Spellman