Margaret and Helen

Margaret, the Republicans are trying to get into my vagina again.  I wish I knew what was up there that they find so interesting.  This time it was about sex-selective abortions with a bill sponsored by Trent Franks of Arizona.  In spite of the pressing issues with the economy, Speaker of the House John Boehner justified Congress spending more time worrying about a woman’s womb by saying, “This is an important issue to the American people. This type of sex selection most Americans find pretty repulsive, and our members feel strongly about it. That’s why it is being brought to the floor.”  Am I wearing orange colored glasses or did Boehner just pretend to care about women?

Yes.  It is repulsive. I agree.  But then again so are most of the “Housewives” shows on Bravo, and Congress hasn’t passed any laws about that.

The bill never had a chance.  Once again this was another Republican with an axe to grind  against Planned Parenthood just wasting Congress’s time by forcing a vote to get on record who supports abortion and who doesn’t.  As if we didn’t already know by looking through the gun scope crosshairs on Sarah Palin’s rifle.  The Republican party caring about women?  Margaret, that dog just don’t hunt.

In truth, this is a tricky one.  Of course the idea of preferring a male child over a female child is archaic and sex-selective abortions should be repulsive to most Americans – if not all.  But once again the Republicans missed the point entirely and created a bill that clearly was just another attempt to limit a woman’s right to decide when or if she will bring a child into the world. I wonder how these same men would vote if the law was about sexual preference-selection instead of just gender selection?

The law (which didn’t pass) was purposely written so that a woman’s husband or parents, by merely alleging that an abortion is because of gender, could seek injunctive relief to prevent the doctor from performing abortion procedures, and once again the women finds herself in courst about an incredibly private and personal decision.  Boehner and his group give very little credit to the woman.  Just like waiting-periods, invasive transvaginal sonograms, right-to-know laws, and personhood amendments, they got this one wrong too.

Goodnight can’t we just move on already?  We get it.  Republicans want to make sure that no woman anywhere for any reason can have an abortion.  Some even want a restriction on birth control of any kind.  Well I have a solution.  Republican men should refrain from having sex of any kind.  I bet the number of abortions would drop dramatically.  And on a side note, I imagine many women could finally get a good night’s sleep.

A sex-selective abortion is just the symptom.  The actual problem is a sex-selective society where men like Boehner and other Republican leaders continue to make women second-class citizens.  Many of the bill’s supporters have rejected equal pay for women and have tried to slash funding for programs that serve women and children.

Create a society where women – and all people – truly are equal and this problem goes away.  But that really never was the intent of this bill.  I mean it. Really.

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