QuestionQUESTION: Hi. I am interested on hearing your thoughts on Presidential hopeful John McCain's pick for V.P. Sarah Palin. I thought he was bad, but she is even worse! He picked a woman for one reason and one reason only. To try and appeal to other female voters, and to appeal progressive. But this is a misognist in a skirt! She is awful! I read she wants to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
This REALLY upsets me, because when I was in my early twenties and a college student I was raped by a man I believed to be my friend. I only ever confided in one person, who basically told me it was MY fault because I had agreed to go up to his place for a beer after we took in a movie together. He was my friend for god sakes! I trusted him. Anyway, it was very traumatic and I still haven't gotten over it completely. And I couldn't imagine having to deal with a pregnancy that resulted from that expedrience, and be forced to carry it to term. That would give the rapist more power over his victim. the power to turn her entire life upside down and change the course of her future. I am pro choice regardless of the circumstances, but especially in cases of rape or sexual abuse. The woman never had a choice when it came to having sex, he forced it on her. It just really upsets me.
But I'm rambling. I want to know, do you think that they will be elected? And if so, do you think they will succeed in recriminalizing abortion? Surely they can't get away with this! Women have come too far! And surely most Americans do not agree with this. I mean, even most anti choice folks make exceptions for rape. How can anyone(least of all a woman!) be so indifferent to another woman's pain? She is such a heartless bitch(excuse the language). I don't care that she has a vagina. i wouldn't vote for her for all the money on earth. If they are elected it will be a disaster! I am hoping you can offer me some hope, because I am quite depressed about this. I know that sounds funny, but like I said I can empathize with rape victims and even women who make one mistake and find themselves pregnant. One of my good friends in college was in her third year of medical school when she found out she was pregnant. She decided to have an abortion. I totally supported her decision, as did her boyfriend at the time. Now she is very sucessful and is helping a lot of people(she is a psychiatrist). She is married and decided to have one child(a daughter who she is encouraging to have a career too!) and tells me that she wouldn't be who she was today if she had dropped out and had that child. And she would have resented him/her forever!
Surely the American people realize all of the probelms that will result from abortion being illegal. Never mind what it means for the rights, freedom, health and lives of women. If you force people to have babies, you will see an increase in infanticide and child abuse. There will also be an increase of young girls dropping out of school. And it will be a financial burden as well, because a lot of them will be forced to go on government assistance. And there will no doubt be an increase in crime, because a lot of these children will grown up without love, discipline, guidance and nurturing. It would just be a disaster. I hope that American women will wake up and take action. I'll stop rambling now. I guess I'm just in a state of disbelief. It is the year 2008, and women have made so many strides. I can't imagine that we could go back to a time when women either died trying to abort or were forced to give their children up. And I can't believe the government could get away with interfering with such an intimate and personal decision. If the fetus is considered a person, it will give the government a compelling reason to restrict the rights of pregnant women, or even women in general since we all have the potential to become pregnant. Women will be slaves. What can be done? Thanks.
Angie
ANSWER: Hi Angie :)
McCain's VP choice is insulting to Hillary's supporters and women voters everywhere. Thinking that women voters would rush over to his ticket, thinking they supported Hillary ONLY because of her gender and not her views on vital political matters-that just because Palin is a woman, women would vote for her. Her views are 100% Religious Right.Her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant right now. Her views are completely misogynistic, it's disgusting and insulting.
It's NEVER, EVER, EVER, a rape survivor's fault. Rape wouldn't happen without the rapist. We live in a blame the victim society, adding further fire to the rape culture in which we live in. It's all about controlling women, especially when it comes to things involving her genitalia. It absolutely horrifies me.
For the sake of every American, especially fellow omen: I HOPE NOT. I have my faith with Obama-I believe if America can get him elected, many things will turn around. And we can be assured that an anti-choice extremist won't be added to the Supreme Court. I know McCain/Palin will nominate horrific judges for the Supreme Court. There IS silver lining: if Democrats take over a big enough majority in Congress, they can overturn McCain's nominations. This abortion debate is just blatant misogyny. Not allowing women to control a part of their own bodies!! Sex without birth control happens-there is a horrendous lack of access to it these days, and I believe insurance companies should be required and held accountable for funding it. And sometimes, that birth control can slip up. Of course if it does, there's emergency contraception, but these Republicans are working very hard to block access to it, despite the medical community supporting its over the counter sales to anyone fully. Yep, the situation would have worked badly for your friend and her child, but because of her access to abortion she and her daughter and her husband can lead the lives of their dreams.
People are forgetting what illegalized abortion was like, and too many are taking this valuable right for granted. You're absolutely right-so much bad, no good. We can work hard for our right to choose. What we can do is check out our local chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America, see if there are any petitions to sing, or volunteer activities. As well as for any local Planned Parenthood. Getting involved like this hands-on is extremely effective. See what anti-choice legislation in your state will be on the ballot this November, and if you'd like, see if you can volunteer to educate voters. Talking with people, educating them-very, very crucial. We can do this, and make sure our right to choose is never taken from us.
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QUESTION: Hi again. I hope you don't mind a follow-up question. It is regarding the Supreme Court. Do you know what it looks like right now in terms of how many anti-choice vs pro-choice justices are on the court?
I am quite depressed about all this. I am definitely going to see about getting involved somehow. I have been trying to educate everyone I know about the important of voting. I had this depressing conversation with a friend of mine the other day. She is a pro-choice feminist who wants to see Barack Obama win, but she doesn't believe he will. She thinks that there are a lot of American people who while they won't admit it, do not want to see a black man in power. She also fears that even if he does win the popular vote, he won't get in! She cited what happened with Bush and Gore. Remember that fiasco? EVERYONE knows Gore won.
I heard about Palins daughters pregnancy. I also heard she is FORCING her daughter to marry this young man, who apparently does not want to have kids. I don't know how she could get away with that! Surely young people have rights. How can your force someone to marry? We don't have arranged marriages in this country. I don't get that? It's scary how much power the religious right has isn't it?
I feel bad for that poor young woman. Her whole life is ruined! She has absolutely no say in anything. She must be so scared. What a hypocrite Palin is! Apparently the whole abstinence only, sex is bad, women who have it are sluts thing doesn't work, because her daughter did it! Maybe if she had been taught about safe sex and birth control this wouldn't have happened. It's just infuriating! I can't believe honestly that in this day and age ANYONE would even consider voting for those two nuts. I mean their views seem so far fetched to me, and the fact that they DO have so much support is depressing. I think Palin should be charged with child abuse for forcing her daughter into a marriage against her will.
Thanks.
Angie.
ANSWER: I definitely don't mind! I love when someone likes to discuss something or wants to keep talking :)
It's easy to be pessimistic about the upcoming election. Either we will have someone who will protect a woman's right to choose, or someone who will want to make access even harder, and nominate supreme court justices who will be a disaster. A lot is at stake, but it IS possible! I think they'll try and make this election as non-fiasco prone as possible. And I believe Obama's camp will do everything to make sure every vote is counted.
It's unfortunate. She's definitely put in the spotlight because her mother is vehemently anti-choice and pro-abstinence only. I'm sure to make everything seem nice and wholesome they're having the two marry, whether they want to or not. I'm sure the daughter had a tremendous amount of pressure on her, and that's not fair. If she wants to keep the child, then by all means, that's her right! But if she doesn't want to marry or be in the public eye? That should also be left up to her.
It's mind boggling to me how anyone could support those two. Whenever I hear of a mccain supporter, all I can think is "they must really hate women." Not only do these nuts want to outlaw abortion, they also vote to take away prenatal care for low income women, and vote to not give children mandatory health insurance. Where is the logic?! It's this whole if you abort, you're a horrific murderer, but if you keep it and need government assistance, you're sucking away resources. It's really a "women are to blame" situation. Just the fact that people are against abortion shows negativity towards them. In some countries, abortion isn't controversial. And repro rights affect just about every woman, so i don't see how someone who has a woman in their life they care for, or isn't a misogynist can vote republican. it truly, truly mystifies me.
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QUESTION: Hi Danielle. I think you are one hundred percent right. NOBODY who respects or cares about women would vote Republican. I was reading this article(I subscribe to womens e-news) about how a lot of suppossedly "pro choice" "feminist" women within the Republican party are saying that feminists should be thrilled about Palin being chosen by McCain. They are saying that Palin is actually a role model, and someone feminists should be proud of because she has managed to have a successful career in a male dominated field AND is a wife and mother. So she has proven that women don't have to choose between having a family and a career, and that women can still accomplish great things even if they are forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. That because of women like Palin getting pregnant at the wrong time doesn't have to mean a bleak future like it used to mean.
Just curious as to what you thought about that? It is nice to discuss these issues with someone of likemind.
You know what else I heard? That they would like to grant fetuses full human rights, which would mean that certain types of birth control(of course, the most effective and popular methods, including the Pill and Depo Provera would be outlawed or severely restricted!). I don't know about you, but to me that is EVEN SCARIER than outlawing abortion. THen women wouldn't even have the means to protect themselves against pregnancy. What are these wack jobs saying? That a woman shouldn't have sex if she doesn't want to get pregnant? That a woman(not even a woman who is married or otherwise in a committed and loving relationship) should abstain from sex period? It's insane!
I get sick whenever I think about it.
Angie
AnswerJust because she's a woman who's accomplished something SO MANY women already have done and do constantly doesn't mean she should be ogled at by feminists. We can acknowledge that yes, she is working and a mother, and that because she has a special needs child doesn't mean she has to quit what she does. But when it comes to the laws she'd enact, there's MAJOR problems. She's a misogynist. You know, I just came from class about an hour ago where one girl said palin "is against women's rights." I agree-abortion rights ARE women's rights. And this other student goes "no! how could she be against women's rights!" and I turned around to him and said "well SHE IS." Palin says she's one of those "feminists for life" which is an oxymoron. Don't tell me you have an ounce of respect for women yet think they should be prisoners to their body. NO. And I just got off the phone with my mother who told me Palin voted against bills that would have provided help to teenage mothers. I'm so confused when it come's to these people's values. There's a clear absence of logic.
She also has money and time to deal with an unplanned pregnancy.
They basically think sex is for making babies only. And by that, I really mean a white heterosexual married couple who's wealthy. Other than that, especially WOMEN, should not be having sex. When people talk about outlawing birth control, they're targeting hormonal bc, which is also the most effective. I mean, I can't imagine NOT having my birth control. And there's already a HUGE number of women who don't have access to birth control. It's about controlling women's bodies, and it disgusts me so much I get infuriated. Have you heard of crisis pregnancy centers? They masquerade as reproductive health centers, but use manipulation and coercion on women to continue the pregnancy-even if she's made it clear she will continue it, they'll still show her non-factual and ridiculous information. And there are more of those than actual abortion clinics! So republican logic is "don't want a baby? don't have sex."
It amazes me how sex is perceived in American culture. It's made out to be such a secretive, shameful thing. I'm very lucky in that I was raised with a family who's quite liberal, so my mother always used correct terminology for genitalia and is open about birth control. But people are getting such awful messages. I just wish all kids could get the message that "sex is a responsibility, but it's also natural and great, and don't feel ashamed to want it, just as long as both you and your partner give an enthusiastic yes." Instead they get the whole "abstinence." Thanks for talking! If u get a message saying it's one too many follow-ups, always feel free to start a new message, it's so great talking with you!!
