This is My Body

This is my body. It is not a platform for GOP political pandering. There are no jobs hiding in my uterus, so why is the GOP intent on spending so much time there?

Considering that conservatives are constantly going on and on and on about how our President is trying to take away their rights, it is very ironic that in the last few months the only legislation the GOP wants to champion has to do with taking away a woman’s right to reproductive health services.

Little by little, over the last decade, the GOP has been trying to overturn Roe v. Wade on a state-by-state basis. Cutting funding here, over-regulating there, turning a blind eye to domestic terrorists who bombed clinics and, ultimately, calling the man who murdered a doctor a “hero.”

Since the 1992 Supreme Court decision that ruled states could pass restrictions on abortion, as long as they “did not create an undue burden on a woman’s access to abortion,” we have seen this gradual restriction and defunding of reproductive health services. Now, in Michigan, North Dakota and other state legislatures, we see omnibus bills seeking to defund all clinics in a backdoor attempt to shut down reproductive health clinics. We cannot stand by and allow this. it is time for women to insist our rights be protected. It is time to tell Congress that we will not allow the GOP to use our wombs for political pandering.

In Michigan HB 5711, 5712 and 5712 will do the following:

• Enact mandatory “coercion screenings” for all abortion-seeking women
• Prohibit the telemed prescription of medical abortion, often relied upon by low-income women in rural areas
• Prohibit all abortions after 20 weeks, except to save a life, even in cases of rape and incest, even if there is a risk of suicide
• Impose a number of additional restrictions on abortion clinics and providers, making it more difficult and cost-prohibitive for clinics and doctors to continue providing their services
• All of this in a state that already has a 24-hour waiting period, parental notification requirement, and no abortion providers in 83% of its counties.

Any one of these places a burden on a woman’s access, but together, they are more than a burden: they are a barrier to our right to reproductive health services. What can we do to fight this? Look to our history.

From the NOW website: “In 1992, 750,000 women, men and children turned out for a NOW-organized march in Washington, D.C. They massed behind a banner that declared "WE WON'T GO BACK! WE WILL FIGHT BACK!" It was the largest march and rally ever held in the nation's capital. In addition to the leadership and delegations from every pro-choice organization and hundreds of celebrities, thousands of students from 600 campuses across the country participated.”

There were so many of us there, that when those of us who started early finished the march, there were still people waiting to start.

We need to do that again. Several state legislatures are considering bills that will, in essence, take away a woman’s right to reproductive health services. We cannot allow this. It is time to make our voices heard again. We ask you to join us at the Women’s Strike for Equality, on August 26th.

In 1970, the Woman’s Strike for Equality was held in New York City, Washington, DC and cities nationwide. Hundreds of thousands of women marched. In 2012, we strike again. It is time to fight back, and insist that Congress pass federal legislation to protect our rights, and limit the ability of state legislatures to defund clinics in pursuit of the GOP’s religious zealotry.

This is my body, and I will not allow the GOP to use it as a weapon in their political war. Some people say this is a war against women. I say that does not go far enough: this is a war against reason. A war against common decency. A war against our Constitution.

And I promise you, it is a war the GOP cannot win. I will not allow it. We cannot allow it.

This is my body, and I will use it as my own weapon. I will use it in Michigan. North Dakota. Pennsylvania. Wherever the GOP attacks me, I will fight back. I will vow to work against any candidate who votes for this type of anti-woman bill. I will contribute my time and money to candidates who protect my right to reproductive choice. I will educate myself and others on the issues, and I will help women run for office.

This is my body and my promise. The GOP may have started this war, but I promise this: they will not win!

For more information on the Strike contact 3WF-Third Wave Feminism, on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/320339018031451/