abortion

Martha McSally: The anti-feminist (video)

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Even feminists own recipe boxes.
Even feminists own recipe boxes.

Republican Congressional candidate Col. Martha McSally says she has been “fighting for women’s rights and women’s equality [her] whole life.”

McSally is well known as the first woman combat pilot and the Air Force officer who fought against a government rule requiring US service women to wear Arab garb when they leave the base. Does this make her a champion for women’s rights?

Let’s look beyond these headlines to answer that question. More on McSally’s stances on choice, women’s health, equal pay, and the War on Women.

Choice

Although McSally bristles when called a “cookie cutter” Republican candidate, her stances on women’s issues are in lock-step with Congressional War on Women stalwarts like Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan and fellow Arizonan Jeff Flake, who is running on the Republican ticket for US Senate against Dr. Richard Carmona.

McSally’s website says she believes in “the sanctity of every human life”. This right-wing code for saying that she agrees with the Republican Party’s anti-abortion platform. Ironically, small-government McSally believes that the government should dictate when American women have children. Not supporting a woman’s right to make decisions governing her own body is a deal breaker for many women.

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Abortion: What happens when a ‘pro-choice’ blogger debates a ‘pro-life’ protester? (video)

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

With the Republican Congress and the state legislatures (including Arizona's) passing anti-woman laws that ranged from the absurd to the vindictive, I can't understand why any woman in the US would vote Republican in this election. 

The impressive War on Women backlash may be one reason why most campaigning Republicans–except Todd "legitimate rape" Akin–are trying to forget anti-woman maddess that swept through their party in the spring. (After all, they don't want to lose all of the women's vote.)

None the less, the War on Women and the assault on women's reproductive rights continue– at least in the religious right wing of the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party's platform includes strong pro-choice language. Consequently, at the recent Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, a small band of anti-abortion protesters demonstrated in front of the convention center daily. Mostly, the demonstrators were old white men (surprise, surprise), but on one particular day a handful of young women joined them (to lend some credibility?).

You might say that "the devil made me do it," but with video rolling, I engaged one of the protesters in a heated, street-level debate about abortion, choice, access to contraception, sex education, "legitimate rape", fetus personhood, the morning after pill, and forcing underage girls to have a rapist's baby. 

Surprisingly, we found some consensus. We both believe…

– Abortion is a very difficult choice.

– Abortion should be a last resort, not a routine birth control method.

– Rape is rape, and there's no such thing as protection from pregnancy when a woman is raped.

– Abstinence only education is "unrealistic." Contraception and sex education should be provided to young girls in order to prevent unwanted pregnancy. She didn't want the contraception to be free, but she was somewhat more enlightened and reasonable than most Congressmen. 

– Vaginal ultrasound should be an option, if the woman wants one. (On the tape, she seems incredulous when I tell her about some of the legislation that has passed.)

Of course, the big differences between us were that:

– I believe every woman should have the right to choose, and she wants the government to dictate what citizens do;

– She believes that a fetus is a person from the moment of contraception, and I don't. She also believes that "right to life" doesn't apply to "criminals". (So, the death penalty is OK, but not abortion.) 

What I came away with is that much of the anti-woman legislation passed by Arizona and other states is too extreme even for a deeply religious woman who is vehemently opposed to abortion.

Watch the video after the jump.

A good day for women…

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Body911-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Tuesday's Arizona primary was a good day for women. 

As we all know, the Arizona Legislature was on the forefront of the War on Women in the spring of 2012. Our legislators passed some of the country's most draconian laws restricting access to contraception, crippling Planned Parenthood, claiming that personhood begins before conception, and forcing women to submit to vaginal ultrasounds against their will. 

Primary day was a good day for women because all eleven of the women candidates backed by the pro-choice group Arizona List won their races. The only way we can change Arizona's reactionary ways is to change our government in Phoenix. We're counting on these women to help us do that.

Candidate list after the jump.

NOW endorses Raul Grijalva & Kyrsten Sinema

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by Pamela Powers Hannley In a year of unprecedented attacks on the rights of women in the US, an endorsement from the National Organization for Women (NOW) carries a lot of weight for us feminists because it tells us who are friends really are and who will stand up for women. As usual, when there … Read more

Money = Choice (video)

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By Pamela Powers Hannley

At the risk of dating myself…

I remember the days when the only place a young, sinlgle woman could buy affordable birth control pills– without being judged or lectured– was Planned Parenthood.

I remember riding the Columbus city bus for an hour and a half each way to go to the near east side clinic– to the ghetto. I remember the dark, dingy waiting room packed with young black women, little kids, and college students like me– all waiting for a free exam and contraception. 

I remember those days before Roe v Wade legalized abortion in the US.

I remember women in my dorm– crying when they found out they were pregnant. Most of them scraped together the money to fly to New York City or drive to Detroit to have abortions because those were the only places in the US where that service was offered. I even drove a friend to Detroit… a somber, desparate journey. 

We don't want to go back to that time

… a time when women had to deal with the circumstances of an unwanted pregnancy without a full aray of choices.

… a time when only wealthy women had the right to choose what is best for themselves, their bodies, and their families.

Here are two eye-opening stories about how choice is being whittled away by political and religious leaders.

As It Was Before Roe, So It Is Again: "Choice" Often Comes Down to Money

The real impact of a 20 week abortion ban

Video after the click…