An Angry, Unapologetic, Unashamed Liberal Rant (Conservatives, you'll want to skip this)
Okay, folks, very angry liberal rant ahead regarding South Dakota�s newest legislation regarding abortion. If ya can�t handle it, or disagree, don�t read anything between here and the ***. Because if I want an opposing view, I know where to find them myself. I�ve always felt very strongly about the pro-choice issue and nothing, I repeat, nothing will change my mind. I will freely refer to the people making and passing these laws as misogynists and fascists and I will not apologize for it at all.
Don't say you weren't warned.
The lovely Jess, aka Asian Whore of the Year on myspace (hee hee I kid, Jess, I kid. Even though you done made me Bitch of the Year, I still love ya) posted an article about the new South Dakota ban on abortion the other day, and this one quote from Governor Michael Rounds in the article totally sticks out in my head:
"We must help each mother to see the value of the gift that is a child, and nurture the mother for her own sake and for the sake of her child," South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds.
The abortion ban is infuriating enough, but to hear a statement like this coupled with the fact that this law doesn�t even allow for cases of incest or rape is absolutely the most misogynist thing one could ever say. Besides that, where is the mention of the fathers in a statement like this?
I did a little research on Governor Rounds and found that, lo and behold, the man has a daughter who looks to be in her late teens/early twenties. I am not trying to wish any kind of harm on this woman, but I wonder what would happen If any of the following scenarios were to happen to her.
Governor Rounds seems to have a nice little upper-middle class family, and I am sure that daughter is going or will go or has gone to a very nice college.
I wonder what would happen if, while away at college (for the sake of the story, we have to say that this college is in SD), let�s say it�s her junior year, one year away from graduation, she is brutally raped. She is raped, beaten and left on the side of the road. A horrible, horrible tragedy for anybody.
The man who raped her is arrested. He�s a very violent career criminal, and a registered sex offender. There is a long line of criminal behavior in his family. And, his IQ is, oh, let�s say, 75. Not quite retarded, but pretty fucking close.
Then, shortly after, she finds that she is pregnant with the child of the man who raped her.
What Would Mike Rounds Do? Would he encourage his daughter to see that this child, the child of a brutal crime that she will try for the rest of her life to forget, is a gift? This child, half of whose genetic base comes from very, very defective genes?
Why do I think that Mike Rounds would fly his precious little daughter to the nearest state that does not have a ban on abortion and arrange a nice, neat little D&C for his daughter?
After all, she cannot bear this child. It will bring bad genes into the family. It will finish his daughter�s college and hamper her life. She can�t depend on the child�s father, for one, she can�t face him after what he did to her, for two, he�s going to be in jail for a long time. She would resent this child for it�s entire life and equate the child to what happened to her, an awful crime that can never be forgotten.
Now, let�s remove the rape from the scenario. Daughter is in college, one year form earning her Bachelor�s degree with plans to attend graduate school thereafter. Daughter gets pregnant by her boyfriend, who is not a student at the school, but a townie who works at a local restaurant waiting tables with few plans for the future and no intention on marrying the young woman he�s impregnated.
Again, he�s going to encourage her to have this child? A child whose coming will end her college career and quite possibly, *gasp* start a scandal for the governor? Something tells me that if daughter wants one, she�s getting flown out to an abortion friendly state for a nice, quiet, low-key abortion of said embryo.
Let�s put daughter a few years younger. She�s 14. A beautiful, innocent, energetic, intelligent young woman with the world ahead of her. She spends a few weeks In the summer at the home of some relatives, and is raped by one of those relatives. Soon after, she finds out that she�s pregnant by Uncle or Cousin Chester the Molester.
Again, he�s going to support the birth of this child? Why do I doubt that?
And since misogynist bastards like this asshole usually have one, what would happen if Gov. Rounds mistress were to get pregnant? I�m thinking, same thing.
This is bullshit and it�s time for this country to wake the fuck up and stand up against the religious right. If this law passes the Supreme Court and ends up federal law, and Roe v Wade is reversed? I am fucking out of here, folks. As much as I love my country and the area where I�m from, if I�m not given the choice to do what I want with my body and it�s dictated to me by a bunch of wealthy and upper middle class MEN who have no idea what it�s like to be a young, poor, desperate and pregnant young woman, I will move to Canada. I�m totally fucking serious.
These people make it sound like women want to have abortions for fun. That�s not it at all. I�m tired of it.
I�ve been pregnant four times in my life, only one of those planned. The first time, I was fifteen. I had an abortion, with my father�s blessing (actually, he encouraged it and took me there to get it) and if I had to go back and re-live it, I would do it again. That doesn�t mean I had no concern for the child, because I did. I didn�t treat it like a tumor to be removed. I gave it a great deal of thought. I made the choice, and I�m glad I had the opportunity to do so. That kid would be turning 20 this summer, I�ve cared enough to remember it every year since. I didn�t have an abortion for fun, and I didn�t take it lightly. I believe in my heart that I did the right thing for that child, myself, the father and my family (including the children that I do have now--and the two children of the father--who wouldn�t exist if I had had that child).
If there�s one thing I know about, it�s being a young, poor, desperate and pregnant young woman. I would hate to be one and have new alternatives: have the kid, give it up for adoption, or get a coat hanger or a back alley abortion.
This legislation does no favors to anyone, except the religious, conservative right and their agenda. It will raise the poverty level to unprecedented highs, especially at a time when they keep widdling away at assistance for the poor, or even JOBS (that pay a *livable* wage) for the poor and working class. Our already over-populated planet will become even more overpopulated, and will suck the life right out of it.
I believe, like NARAL, that it�s more important to teach our young women how NOT to get pregnant. I will teach my own daughter this. If it means I have to put her on birth control at the age of 15, I will do so. I will make sure that she takes it correctly. I will keep talk about sex open for her and she will be able to come to me about anything. I do the same with my oldest son now, who knows about my abortion at 15 because I want him to know, it CAN and DOES happen. He also knows that if he gets a girl pregnant, once that kid is in her body, ultimately, the choice is up to her. Period. (It�s keeping his dick in his pants for now, btw).
Sorry to be jumping the gun, but if they outlaw abortion across the country? Guess what�s next, folks? Birth control. Think I�m kidding? I�m not. It has nothing to do with conception and the right to life, it�s about control.
I laugh every time I hear these conservative fuckers go on about the right to life. These are the same people who supported the bullshit war in Iraq, where we have lost 2,000+ American lives (not too mention who knows how many Iraqi lives).
We need to unite, we need to fight this. We need to start in November of this year and get rid of the conservative riff raff in the Senate and the House of Reps. The Democrats need to find a strong candidate who can stand up to them and take our country back to where we should be, 2006, not back to where we were at the turn of the last century.
This administration is making a mockery out of itself. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about getting a blow job in the Oval Office. Where is the outrage towards what George W. Bush has done to our COUNTRY? How the fuck was this man re-elected? I think we need to start thinking about the �I� word for this motherfucker.
Seriously, I hate to say this, but I hope all of you that voted for Bush again are happy with where our country is headed. The reason why I hate to say it is that my children are going to pay the price. We are going to pay the price.
Well, maybe not. Like I said, I�m moving to fucking Canada. Free healthcare, freedom of choice, and cheap prescription drugs. I will happily pay taxes out the ass if it means a little peace of mind and life in a free country.
***I guess there�s nothing after the ***. Nina news tomorrow, if I can write, but it�s nothing big. Thank you all for your support and advice, it is most appreciated.
Bye bye,
The Angry Liberal