More anti-woman batshit fuckery

[veronica_rich]

I have a friend who tries very hard to get me to be reasonable about the GOP, who means well and tries to convince me that people are not their parties and that being a particular party member does not indicate what kind of person one is. She may be right - after all, there are Democrats who agree with the measure the GOP initially proposed to redefine what it means to be raped in this country - but considering I see more Republicans behind bullshit such as this, I really have a difficult time remaining objective.

(Incidentally, I wrote to my Congressman about H.R. 3, explaining that "forcible rape" has always been tough to define under law - that's why it hasn't been thus far - and that rape victims already have a hard time proving their allegations even with visible bruises and injuries sometimes. I got a canned reply that was politely phrased but might as well have said "I don't care. Eat shit and die, woman.")

Their newest shiny anti-woman proposal (phrasing courtesy of Daily Kos, I can't take credit - it's also called it the "Let Women Die Bill," which admittedly has more zing) is H.R. 358, a measure pushing to make it legal for doctors to let pregnant women die rather than administering an abortion or referring them to a doctor who has no moral objections to performing one. Frankly, I don't know many physicians who would refuse to perform an abortion to save a dying woman - it's just part of their oath and their mindset to NOT let the more viable patient die - but all it would take is one.

I am getting really tired of living in a nation ruled by mythology (not to mention romanticism and unrealistic expectations of parenthood and gender roles). We're no better than ancient people who cowered every time lightning struck, that they had angered Zeus or offended Thor in some manner.

Comments

[xenafox.livejournal.com]

I don't have much comment except I'm fucking sickened. And actually surprised, even if I shouldn't be. :/

[slayitalldown.livejournal.com]

Most of the internet media I sift through for fun is American. What can I say, you guys are noisy!

And fascinating.

I can only say I'm stunned and mortified by this. Sometimes I wonder if Australia is bad, given certain situations but when I do my homework... no, we're not. We're a giant twenty million strong family of truly modern proportions, you don't have to be related to us for us to fight with you over a beer about slight nuances of opinion or drag your ass out of a burning fire and give you a beer and a blanky and a hug, mostly so six months down the track when we're all good again we can argue with each other another day.

Rape and abortion aren't talked about in the media here all that often because the law is simple: you were raped if you said no, at any point, and were forced against your will and it has impacted negatively on your life. If you want an abortion it must be proved that a termination is in the best interests of the mother, emotional, physical, whatever, if she says she can't have a child then its not in her best interest to continue with the pregnancy and a termination is up to her discretion - to an extent. After 18 weeks I believe that the fetus is recognised as 'human pending birth' as in, whatever happens to it, it is protected by the law and recognised to exist. A case not so long ago involved a pregnant woman in a car accident who lost her 25 week pregnancy and the driver responsible for the crash was charged with manslaughter for the fetus's death. All this was decided politely and quietly a long time ago by our pollies and when we see a big stink in America we get a few pro-life/pro-choice mumblings but that's about it, so when I read this, I'm mortified. Australia's population is exceeded by LA's, how many women will this affect? Its ridiculously unfair that you have such loud shiny ways to send great messages and then once the curtain comes down "no abortion for you, murderer, Jesus rules or we hate you and P.S. - WE will decide if you were raped, not you."

Don't be quiet about it. I'm ruthless when I want answers and happily ruin the lunch/day/career of people not listening to me when I find them in the wrong. This is wrong. Its not just women vs. the power of the world, its anyone who needs to make a tough choice or going through a horrific time when their choices were taken needing protection, and no one should have to wait until that day. Isn't the motto legal, safe and rare? The law should be saying that to the people who's lives it guards.

Shame on you, politians, open your eyes. Everyone is different. Stop putting lumps of people in little boxes and making laws to keep them out, people are people, their very personal lives are none of your damn business, just serve and protect them no matter who they make themselves, man or woman, children and adults, each individual should have the same rights and choices. Drop all this same sex discrimination and support the PEOPLE. Stop taking choices from women about their future and their bodies. And for f**k's sake, don't you DARE tell ANYONE who has been abused, attacked or had their choices stolen from them what YOU think their situation should be classed as. If you're not out there preventing the problems then shut the f**k up and let us decide for ourselves how to deal with them when WE are the victims and make DAMN SURE resources are available. Yeah, it costs money, so like I said... abortion should be legal safe and rare, rape should be rare, illegal and unforgivable and marriage should be a choice between two people how they live their lives if they're going to do it together.

And seriously, religion should be the most silent part of the argument, below lifestyle. If you're religious, bloody good on you, we all need a hobby so, in you're own time mate, but bring it anywhere near the law and you'll have the damn book you're waving about crammed up your ass.

At this rate, you can call it rape and try to abort it back out but no bastard is going to be allowed to help you.

Oh yeah, we know, its wrong. Problem? FIX IT THEN.

Sigh. Politicians should have to face a tribunal every five years and justify their right to exist, votes or no - its not a popularity contest, its a job.

[philosophercat.livejournal.com]

Hey, the Greeks came up with the Hippocratic oath. Cut them some slack, wouldja? :P

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

Well, you're preaching to THIS choir. I am in a perpetual state of nausea these days as I cannot escape the tributes to Ronald Reagan. And if this is the ultimate evidence of why I abhor the Republican party I don't know what is. Fortunately, Salon is running nearly daily articles refuting the whitewashing of Reagan's terms as governor and president. He wasn't an evil man so much as a stupid man. And I mean someone with the I.Q. of a brick. But like George Bush, he was the puppet of some very smart men. Now he is the torch bearer for all that is Republican these days. A man who closed the mental hospitals here in California, ignored AIDS, supported Ollie North's machinations in Central America, I could go on but I won't.

I think that the Republicans are being foolish politically. They are pandering to the super rightwing of their party in response to Obama shifting to the center. They are alienating their centrist base with these proposals. Hey, you know what? Most people are finding out that they like not getting bumped from their medical plans for pre-existing conditions. Most people like being able to keep their kids on their medical plans. Small businesses find that because of the tax break they can offer their employees medical insurance. Which means they keep people and have happier employees. WAKE UP, ASSHOLES!

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

Long post that LJ just ate up. Sigh. Anyway, you know you're preaching to the choir. I will say that I think that they are committing political suicide because Obama is moving even more firmly to the center. As the rightwing end of the Republican party controls the agenda, they are only pushing the moderate voter into the Democratic camp. They foolishing think that their sweep in November was related to people's dislike of the Democratic agenda. It was not. It was related to jobs.

[venusinchains.livejournal.com]

A stupid, scary, heartless, and stridently misogynistic world is implied in these measures. It makes me think that one day Margaret Atwood's "A Handmaiden's Tale" will read like historical fiction.

[gryphons-lair.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I just reposted a very well-written screed from xinef's account, with the intro slightly edited, in my own LJ. (It's apparently originally from suricattus.)

It says pretty much everything I'd say, only better, so I'm letting it speak for me.

[beldar.livejournal.com]

If Republicans can call the Health Care Reform bill "Job Killing" in the repeal measure title, they can officially call the new proposal the "Let Women Die Bill" -- probably more honest than that "job-klling" bit.