I didn’t create this blog with the intention of using it as a platform to discuss my personal political beliefs. There are, however, a couple of things I feel very strongly about that I would feel, as a U.S. citizen, remiss in neglecting to bring up. You saw my participation in the Internet Blackout, to protest SOPA and PIPA. (If you still don’t know what those bills are, or why so many people who use the Internet are opposed to them, click on the black banner at the upper right of my blog to learn more and take action.)
I have also pledged to participate in Blog for Choice day. There are two issues that will determine who I support in the polls; the first is Internet freedom, and the second is abortion rights. I am an unapologetic and avid supporter of a woman’s right to choose, not the least because it is an issue that belongs between a woman and her doctor(s), NOT a largely white, older, affluent, male body of representatives who cannot know what a doctor knows, and certainly can have no idea of what women go through when they experience unwanted pregnancy.
If you’re a United States citizen on the fence about the issue, take a good look at the info chart below. If you believe that a person of normal mental and emotional health has a fundamental right to make monumental choices about their health and life course without a body of politicians intervening; if you believe that someone else’s religion should not determine what options for personal health and well-being are available to you; if you believe that women and their partners are capable of determining when and whether having children is an appropriate path at any given time, you must stand on the side of choice.
We are facing the biggest opposition to abortion rights this country has seen since the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade made abortion a national legal right; the last ten years have shown a worrying trend of whittling away that right. Republicans in Congress are increasingly entertaining extreme views that do not reflect the beliefs and values of the majority of Americans. We have contenders for the Republican nomination to run for President who are openly against birth control (Santorum-whose own wife underwent a life-saving abortion procedure with his full knowledge and consent), openly declaring that they will defy the Supreme Court based on personal whim (Gingrich), and a candidate declaring he will do everything to fight against the right to choose, despite having sought endorsement from Planned Parenthood in previous campaigns (Romney).
The world seems like it’s gone insane, and it is up to us, fellow citizens, to do our part to ensure a restoration of sanity and valuable discourse. We are desperately in want of political leaders who serve our interests, rather than the selective and narrow-minded goals of private interests.
I stand with Planned Parenthood, as much for their open support for the right to choose as for their excellent, affordable and necessary medical services. Women need Planned Parenthood, particularly low-income women (like me). I am blogging for choice in solidarity with NARAL Pro-Choice America. Please speak out and let your representatives know that the right to choose is important to preserve. I wouldn’t ask it of you if it wasn’t important.
SMIDGEON PRESS 