In this race for the presidency, women’s rights, especially reproductive rights, seem to have become the hot button issue. Week after week, in every debate, candidates are discussing birth control, abortion, and ultimately, morality (because there seems to be some belief that these are all related) as an easy way to prove that they are more conservative than the other candidate.
As a female-bodied person, I find this not only stifling but also infuriating that anyone feels like they have some say over my own reproductive rights.
The newest snafu isn’t directly connected to the presidential race, but I can’t help but think that the political climate regarding women’s health has something to do with it. The Susan G. Komen foundation, the nation’s leading breast cancer charity, announced that it would be cutting ties with the organization Planned Parenthood because of their opposing opinions of abortion. This means that because PP refuses to stop helping women who want abortions, they will lose a huge amount of money in grants that would go towards health care, especially breast screenings.
By pitting two of the biggest women’s health organizations against each other, a gross amount of underprivileged women will suffer from this lack of funding and access to much needed health care. I guess in this race, the Republican candidates aren’t really concerned with poor women’s votes. Personally, I think it’s time to remind them that women, especially middle and working class, are in fact the majority in this country. Our rights and voices matter, and its time they finally recognize this instead of abusing it.
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