Reflecting on the religion/abortion question from the VP debate, Ryan
said that (flip flop alert!) he WOULD allow abortion in cases of rape,
incest, and life of the mother. Note that he said
life of the mother, not
health
of the mother, which are two different things-- if the fetus isn't
definitely going to kill the woman, there's a chance she won't get the
abortion she still needs, or wants. We also can't forget that Todd
Akin's "legitimate rape" fiasco goes hand in hand with Paul Ryan,
they've attempted to "redefine" rape together-- further limiting a
woman's choices. "Redefined" rape would mean that marital rape,
ex-partner/spouse rape, date rape, etc would likely no longer be
considered rape. Only violent "stranger" rape would be considered rape
(if we haven't by then totally abolished the idea of rape...).
And
how much work would a woman have to do to "prove" that she was raped?
(Definitely not saying men are not raped, because I have male friends
that are rape victims. I'm only talking about women right now because
only women can get pregnant.) Already women usually pay out of pocket
for a painful and humiliating rape kit that quite often is never
analyzed; she would likely be required to press charges against her
rapist(s) in order to secure an abortion (remember the rate of
conviction is estimated at less than 3%); and she would have to face the
public humiliation and stigma associated with publicly admitting to
being a rape victim in today's society.
So then, if we've lowered rates of rape by redefinition, then why do Rape Crisis Centers need funding?
If
we're going to teach and preach abstinence-only sex ed, why do we need
to offer birth control? Why do we need to ensure that insurance
companies cover birth control in health insurance plans? (just a
reminder-- no one is asking for FREE birth control, we're asking for our
health insurance to cover our birth control in the same way it covers
other medications like pain killers and ED treatments) Should all sex be
purely for procreating?
Reminder-- Romney has promised to de-fund Planned Parenthood (which just like PBS, can't run on donations alone).
Will
my birth control pill, used primarily for controlling ovarian cysts and
endometriosis, suddenly cost $120 a month instead of $30 a month
because my insurance company (or my mother's employer offering
insurance) suddenly has a "moral objection" to birth control?
Oh,
and that Plan B you can get from the pharmacist? Forget that right now--
with fetal personhood lighting Ryan's toes on fire it will be outlawed.
"Life begins at conception." Did you learn in your health/sex ed class
that its quite common for eggs to be fertilized but simply fail to
implant in the lining of the woman's uterus? So then is the woman a
murderer for failing to have the perfect uterus for that particular egg
to implant in? Plan B works to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting,
and Paul Ryan wants to make sure that not only is Plan B off the market
(it would help to "kill" a 2-cell "innocent life"), but that it's not
available to any rape victim that asks for it. This
implantation-prevention form of birth control would become illegal, and
it includes IUDs as well as other forms of birth control. It also, in
theory, makes IVF illegal (unless of course your last name is Romney)--
all of the eggs that are harvested and fertilized must be implanted, and
if you chose not to implant some and have them frozen, you honestly
have to include the frozen test tube fertilized eggs in your will (and
you can't dump them as medical waste, either). You can't make this shit
up.
And just for good measure, lets not forget that when you've
got kids at home to take care of you often can't work. Day care isn't an
option for everyone, especially when you've got several kids. This
could mean that 50% of the sexually-active working-age population would
be at home, and out of the formal economy. I guess that means that there
are more jobs for men and the women that aren't yet mothers... but that
sure sounds like a shitty jobs plan to me.
