Learned about Senator Chris McDaniel (R) from Mississippi. He fearlessly posts misogynistic messages on his Facebook page, which he clearly uses as a bully pulpit. Example:
Why post this here? Because I don’t want this to get lost. It needs to be visible, and it needs to be remembered.
Senator Chris McDaniel is clearly Pro-Life. That’s wonderful. It’s not a problem for me. I understand the passion that people who take a Pro-Life stance have about the unborn child.
I am a mother. I have been pregnant. I have gone through infertility, so both of my children were desperately wanted, and I cannot imagine ever having wanted to have an abortion.
But I am not every woman. I am a white woman, raised in an upper middle class family. I have always known that had I gotten pregnant as a teen and chosen to continue my pregnancy, I would have had the support of my family, even if they had been embarrassed or disappointed. They would have continued to love me and love my child, and they would not have allowed either of us to go hungry.
But not every woman is as lucky as I am.
Not every woman wants to become pregnant. This is what birth control is for. Preventing pregnancy is a healthcare issue. A woman has no need to face the choice of abortion if she is not pregnant.
Not every woman has a support system. Many are viewed with disdain when they become pregnant. Some face physical harm from family members; some face the possibility of being thrown out of their homes. Even the members of their churches, supposedly good, Christian organizations, often stand in judgment of them. A woman who is not slut-shamed and has a safe home environment is less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman can afford prenatal care. Planned Parenthood provides prenatal care services to women who need them. The Affordable Care Act ensures that more women have insurance, and therefore access to prenatal care. Women with access to prenatal care are less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman has insurance to cover the delivery of her child. The Affordable Care Act ensures that more women have insurance, and therefore can afford the cost of delivering a child. Women who can afford the medical procedure are less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman can take time off of work to deliver and care for her child. The Family Leave Act protects a woman’s job for up to 12 weeks, but does not guarantee her pay. A woman who cannot pay her bills cannot take time off. A woman who is not desperate about how to pay her bills is less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman has the resources to feed and clothe her child. Even a single mother with a great job still only has one income and is at a great disadvantage financially. Women with financial resources are less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman can come home from work and feed and play with her child, read to him or her, and tuck him or her into bed, to wake up with a smile the next day and be able to take the time to make breakfast and get her child to school. Some women must work more than one job, and often long hours to ensure they can make ends meet, at great sacrifice to their children. Women who have the ability to spend time at home with their children are less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman is pregnant from consensual sex with the father of her baby. Some women are raped, whether by a stranger, someone they know, or even their husband. Each of these situations is equally horrific. A woman who is not raped is less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman who is pregnant has been educated about her body and how and when she can become pregnant. Many religious activists have lobbied strongly against providing critical information about the biology of the human body and how our reproductive organs work to our fertile teenagers. A woman who understands how her body works and when she is fertile is more likely to be able to prevent pregnancy and less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Not every woman who is pregnant has an ongoing relationship with the father of her child. But she is usually blamed for this, while the man who has shared her body can choose not to share the outcome of their encounter and can simply walk away. Women who will share parenting with the father of their child are less likely to have to face the choice of abortion.
Yet, it seems to be men who are insisting on making all of the decisions about providing birth control, insurance, healthcare services, public assistance, and education.
And then they wonder why we march.
You express my concerns so well! Thank you