Feline Warrior

I just received info about this via email and thought to share it here. Following the facts will be my thoughts, of course. What good are facts without my reflective thoughts, hmm?

From the Ohio state legislature… well, I was going to post a snippet or two from the bill and post a link to it, but at the time of this posting, the site is timing out! Go, pro-choicers!

So from NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio: Sponsored by Rep. Tom Brinkman (R-Cincinnati), “HB 284 would completely outlaw abortion in Ohio, even when a woman’s life was in danger, or the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. A similar version of the bill was introduced in the Ohio House by Rep. Brinkman durring the last legislative session, but the bill died in committee. Rep. Brinkman is vocal in his hopes that this bill will be the test case that allows the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“This extreme bill shows just how far some of our state legislators are willing to go to limit access to critical reproductive health services in Ohio. It is completely out-of-touch with Ohio’s mainstream values and NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio and our supporters will vocally oppose this bill, just as we did when it was introduced before.”

Ohioans can pipe up against this bill here.

So here’s the thing: Obviously (especially obvious if you know me) I oppose this bill. I oppose any bill that removes choice. It’s a really big deal. REALLY big deal. There are so many funky angles that people take on this topic that I’m not really sure where to start, but here goes…

First and foremost, I propose (and have been proposing for YEARS) that we change our lingo. We need to refer to the anti’s as “Anti-Choice,” not “pro-life.” I’ll give it to the PR folks over at the right-wing-publicity shack, they’re good - damn good. I mean, call yourSELVES “Pro-Life” and that only leaves one way to go for your opponents: “Anti-Life.” And of course nobody is anti-life. People who advocate for a woman’s right to choose aren’t PRO-death, for cryin’ out loud!

So let’s start calling the other guys “anti-choice,” because that’s exactly what they are. I don’t have the time to go into why I don’t believe they’re (all) truly pro-life.

So then, let’s hop onto the next lily pad of thought: Always -well, almost always- when arguing FOR choice, you see included such stuff as “…even when a woman’s life was in danger, or the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.”

NOW HEAR THIS! That’s good to know. But you know what? Abortion needs to be a safe and legal option, no matter who is doing the choosing. I understand that we have to tug at heartstrings (think of how civilian war deaths are reported, often with emphasis on the CHILDREN and women). But this is more than heartstrings, it’s a potential LAW that, if passed, pretty much assures that females in Ohio will either have to head to other states (if legal / possible) or get some hatchet-job.

Now thank God for Ted Strickland, our new-ish governor, who plans to veto (and already has) funding for abstinence-only sex ed in public schools. I don’t think that Brinkman’s bill is going anywhere, really. But I’m sure he’s got some people crawling up his ass with worn leather-covered Bibles, pushing him to push us to just give in and once and for all tell these gals to just have the babies! Lordie!

So there was the “let’s call them anti-choice” lily pad of thought; the “let’s not ONLY pull on heartstrings” lily pad of thought… what next?

Next lily pad of thought: The notion that women act in a vacuum when it comes to abortion: FALSE! I’ve known many women who have dealt with this; some have had abortions; some have not; and some have had an abortion but at a later (or earlier) time had a child. Only in extreme cases -such as a violent or vindictive boyfriend or husband- did I ever hear about a woman not talking about this with the involved male party.

I know that choosing abortion is a difficult decision to make, but I have not personally known anyone who later said she regretted doing it. I believe that abortion is a decision that a woman makes with her Higher Power (if she has one) and those people in her life she trusts the most. You cannot step between me and my God and do an interpretive dance of God-explanation and expect me to buy it!

So most women I’ve known (from teenaged to into their 40s) who have chosen to abort did so after much discussion, thought, consideration, some with prayer and/or meditation… but none just went out and had an abortion like it was getting a set of acrylic nails put on. Not a single one.

I feel certain that I’m leaving out a lily pad of thought, but my contacts are all dry and I’m pretty much hoping that my fingers are on the right keys at this point (ack!).

For kicks and giggles, let me share with you a blog I discovered while researching HB 284: Plunderbund, a blog written by some Ohio folks - it’s mostly political in nature, but it’s fun and interesting. Oh, and it’s a fun word to say: Punderblund! (I like to say it in the same way I like to say pigs-in-a-blanket, emphasis on “blanket”!)

Carry on…

Oh, and don’t bother asking me where the “lily pads of thought” came from. Just my brain, you know.