Today is the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade--34 years of a woman's right to choose! I want to be clear--I'm not celebrating abortion, I'm celebrating that I get the final say on what happens to my body. As my husband and I start thinking about starting a family eventually, it's comforting to know, that, God forbid something should awful should happen, I have the freedom to decide what is best for my family.
We all know that right is in danger. But that's not what I want to talk about. Another right may soon be in danger.
Head on over to Planned Parenthood Activists of Virginia and check out their 2007 bill chart. Pay special attention to HB 2221:
Birth Control Protection Act: Codifies the definition of birth control using the FDA definition. Also prevents birth control from being regulated by Virginia's abortion laws (mandatory 24-hour delay, state-scripted counseling, refusal clause and parental consent).
Will someone tell me why every pro-life legislator in Virginia isn't signing on to this bill? If you are against abortion (a viewpoint with which I disagree, but can understand), why on earth would you not use every resource at your disposal to prevent unwanted pregnancies?
The cold hard fact is if you take away a woman's right to decide when and if she has children, you take away women's rights. Tie a woman in the chains of her own body, and everything else becomes moot. Understand that I am not talking about fourteen year old girls, but about adult women. In my own experience, my husband would have been unable to go to graduate school if we'd been unable to use birth control--and I would have been unable to afford day care after my second child, effectively removing my choice of whether I should work outside the home or inside the home.
Using birth control save lives. See this study for information on the negative correlation of birth control and infant mortality.
We can not and should not abandon the fight to keep abortion safe and legal. But we must be aware that anti-choice foes are coming in through the back door. Check your local Planned Parenthood website to see the legislation in your state. Sign up with the Planned Parenthood Action Network to get e-mails delivered to your inbox with quick links to take immediate action. Do it for your wives, your girlfriends, your sisters, your cousins, your daughters. Do it for yourself.
Comments