| By Clem Guttata
There's an excellent diary over at DailyKos by Angry Mouse, I'm Done Talking About Abortion:
Something clicked for me last night, as I watched the scum of the Democratic party vote against me.
We've been having the wrong fight.
Because it's not about abortion. It's not about religious beliefs. It's not about whether it's okay in certain circumstances, but wrong in others.
"Partial birth" abortion, parental notification, waiting periods, mandated lectures from doctors about what characteristics your fetus might have had -- it's not about that.
It's about something much more simple.
Either women are full and equal citizens of this country, with the exact same rights that men have -- including autonomy of our bodies -- or we are not.
That's it.
And it's time for Democrats to choose a side.
You don't get to pick when you are for equality, either you are or you aren't. You are either for full and equal rights for woman, gays, minorities, the disabled, the penniless and poor, and any disadvantaged group, or you're not.
Angry Mouse has it right:
My autonomy is not about your religious beliefs. My autonomy is not about your "concerns." My autonomy is not about your arbitrary belief that rape victims are entitled to reproductive health care, but women who "use it as contraception" or "change their minds" or "forget to use birth control" are somehow not entitled to reproductive health care.
I refuse to argue the minutia anymore. I refuse to beg for the right to be a full and equal citizen. I refuse to be taken for granted by the Democratic party, who tells me I have no choice but to vote Democrat in elections, and then congratulates itself for its big tent when it comes time to vote on legislation.
Don't tell me how you feel about abortion. I don't care how you feel about abortion.
Tell me how you feel about my rights. Tell me whether you believe I am a full and equal citizen. Tell me whether you really believe the Democratic party stands for women.
It is time for every member of the Democratic party to answer one simple question:
Do you believe in equal rights for women? |
