If someone was to tell me 15 years ago that I would have to fight for the rights my grandmother and mother fought for and won for me in the 60s and 70s, I would have thought them crazy. Rights I have enjoyed and taken for granted. Never have I thought I couldn't get a job because I was a woman, I have never had to bat an eye in regards to decisions regarding my own reproduction and body. All of those choices were mine and mine alone. I have never had to fear telling a doctor I wanted to be on or off the pill. I have never had to rationalize or convince my pharmacist that the medication I was taking was for my own health that my doctor and I felt best for me.
When 18, on the pill (of which never missing a day), and facing a positive pee test,(it was....get this, a false positive) never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would have had to consult with anyone other than my partner and my doctor. Never was there a question that if I was pregnant the decision of what to do would be for anyone other than me.
My daughters are facing a world that is trying to legislate religious doctrine. A country where a portion of the population thinks it is okay to legislate their bodies. A group of people who think that it is okay to accept brutal attacks on a woman's body and continue to place the blame on her. A group of people who think it is okay to call women sluts and whores because they, for whatever reason, have taken responsibility for their own bodies by being on birth control.
Many times when facing a ballot myself I have felt it was choosing the lesser of two evils. I have voted Republican I have voted Democrat, I have voted Green party, and Independent. Ask yourself this question, who in the grand scheme of things is the lesser of two evils? Who is trying to reduce and keep others from enjoying the rights guaranteed by our constitution? Take away Democrat verses Republican and view this political race in regards to who is looking out for basic human rights. Who is guaranteeing separation of church and state? Who is allowing people of all races, color, gender, and sexual orientation to pursue their rights of life, liberty, and happiness? As mothers fight for the rights of your children. As mothers, think of the world you want your children to be a part of. As a woman fight for your own rights to make decisions regarding your own body and healthcare. As a woman fight for you daughters, your granddaughters, and yourself.
