If you are a woman or a man who loves a woman (wife, mother,
daughter, sister, niece, friend, etc.) and you believe that the Republicans are
waging a war on women, you are being duped. The war on women is a ruse, created entirely by those would
prefer to see Obama in office.
According to the Obama Campaign, Romney has little regard
for women. Apparently, the latest
evidence of this is Romney’s “binders full of women” comment during this week’s
debate. In response to a question
about equal pay for women, Romney stated that he had few female applicants for
his cabinet positions when he first took office as Governor of MA. As a result, Romney reached out to
women’s groups, seeking referrals of qualified female candidates. He was given “binders full of
women.” It was an inarticulate way
of proving, from past practices, his desire to include women in the workforce and
at the very highest levels.
I’ve heard a lot about this war on women since the campaign
started. I just can’t grasp how
the Republican Party is the party waging the war.
ABORTION
Romney does not believe in abortion. Some people do and some people
don’t. Romney believes that it is
up to the Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
He is also aware that an amendment banning abortion is not an option as
long as the majority of the population believes it is okay.
I heard an Obama campaign official say that Romney is in
favor of legislation that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Yet, there is no such thing as legislation that would overturn
any United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision. Only a constitutional amendment could do that.
On a personal level, Romney opposes abortion. As a leader he knows (as do you and I)
that a constitutional amendment on this issue is just not feasible. The amount of popular support needed to
pass a constitutional amendment is enormous. Three-quarters of BOTH houses would have to pass a bill. Then, it has to be ratified by
three-quarters of all states. The
process is daunting and rarely used.
There is just too much popular support for abortion to even consider it
a reality. Why, then, do Obama
supporters talk so much about it?
It’s a nonissue.
Romney is against public funding for abortion. Abortion should be paid for in 1 of 2
ways. It should be funded out-of-pocket
by patients who can afford it, or it should be funded by charity.
There is no issue as divisive as abortion. There is no compromise on this issue –
you either believe it’s about women’s rights or you believe it’s about the
rights of the unborn. There are
people who firmly believe that forcing a woman to complete an unwanted
pregnancy is akin to slavery.
Others firmly believe that abortion is murder.
By using tax dollars to provide financial aid to women who
can’t afford abortions, government forces people to pay for what they believe
is murder.
Instead, supporters of a woman’s right to choose could make
charitable donations to organizations that provide financial assistance for
abortions.
Under this system, we take government out of the
equation. We allow choice for
all. Women can choose to have or
not to have an abortion. Citizens
can choose to fund or not to fund abortion.
BIRTH CONTROL
Birth control is, apparently, another battle in the war against
women. The notion that Romney is
trying to limit women’s access to birth control is ludicrous. Remember a few months back when Obama
tried to force Catholic organizations and schools to provide birth control to
employees and students? Luckily,
we have a 1st amendment that protects against government telling
churches what to do.
I saw a YouTube video, posted on FB, by Women for
Obama. It was an Obama campaign ad
talking about all of the horrible things Romney/Ryan would do to women. They talked about how Romney backed a
bill that would allow employers to deny women access to birth control. It was based on quotes from back in
February when the Catholic Church thing was in full swing. It is downright untrue. It is also really insulting, as a
women, to be fed such crap. Romney
is not against access to birth control, he in favor of religious freedom. At no point during the ad did I hear
anyone talking about personal accountability and personal choice.
Our Constitution provides individuals with a right to access
to birth control, but not a right to the provision of birth control by our
employers. Women have so very many
choices. We can pay for it
out-of-pocket. Or, we can work for
an employer that chooses to provide it as part of health care coverage. We could rely on one of the many public
programs that make it accessible and affordable. What we should not do is force employers to provide it. This is especially true when the
employer is the Catholic Church.
This is not about the teachings of the Catholic Church and
it is not about the rights of women to procure birth control. This is about the 1st
Amendment/Freedom of Religion, and personal accountability. The thought of government being able to
force a religious organization to provide a medical treatment that goes against
one of the very basic tenets of that religious organization is a very scary
thought indeed.
THE MANIPULATION
Life is about choices.
Government should not be responsible for the choices made by
individuals.
This whole discussion is incredibly demeaning to women. Women are smart. We are resourceful. We are perfectly capable of weighing
and measuring our employment and benefit options and making the decisions that
are best for each of us, individually.
Using government to pass laws protecting women from their own choices is
downright insulting to all of us.
I have to say that I often feel like I am at war with my
President and his party. They seem
to think that we are fragile, docile creatures in need of the protection of
government to get things likes educations, jobs, and birth control. I have a higher opinion of myself and
the rest of the women in this country.
We don’t need special laws or special considerations. We just need to work hard to get
ahead. We just need to make good choices
and take responsibility for the choices that are not-so-good. It’s as if my President believes I am
incapable of success without his help.
So, he “helps” by passing laws.
Every time government passes laws, they are taking a choice away from
you. As such, every time
government passes laws, they are restricting your freedom.
We need to see through the manipulation and not fall for the
trickery. We are just too smart to
be so blatantly misled! We need to
focus on what matters in this country right now. We need economic reform and we need it now.
