Old Habits Die Hard

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/22/gop-ignores-2012-lessons-pushes-harsh-anti-abortion-bills/ Lawmakers in both Indiana and Arkansas are pushing tough anti-abortion bills, and exhibiting an astounding case of selective memory. The House in Arkansas not only green lighted a bill that prohibits abortion 20 weeks into pregnancy, and approved the "Heartbeat Bill" which, if passed, will be the strictest law about abortion in the USA. It would outlaw abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy if the fetus has a heartbeat. In Indiana, the Senate passed a bill that would require a woman to have an ultrasound before and after taking an abortion-inducing drug. All this is happening not even a year after the public backlash of people against such strong anti-abortion laws. That's one heck of a selective memory, seeing as a bill similar to Indiana's current one was squashed in Virginia last year, and was decimated in Michigan this month. I am so excited for the backlash on these laws, seeing as it was so spectacular last year. These laws are just another example of reproductive oppression. These lawmakers are trying to exert control of women's bodies and take our choices away and justify this by saying that they are trying to stand up for "the most weak and innocent and vulnerable among us.” That was said by Republican Representative Andy Mayberry of Arkansas. The thing is though that by taking away all these women's ability to choose, you are making the woman vulnerable too. Vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy, to risking illegal abortion, and to having to find the means to go elsewhere to get an abortion when that isn't realistic economically for many women. So why won't you speak up for us? Why do you just try to over-ride us, and control us and our chances? All I can say is good luck trying to keep us quiet, because thats not going to happen. Reproductive justice is all about giving everyone the social, political, and economic power to make our own decisions about our bodies, sexuality, and gender for ourselves. This also goes for our families and communities. It takes the people in power to make long term changes for the better and to improve our communities, and I strongly feel like in order to do this, we need people who lived through it and witnessed the inequality. We need the younger generations of women and men who have seen how important reproductive justice is today to step up into the world of politics and start to work to undo the institutionalized systems of oppression that so many people have helped to continue before us. We need to be the change we want to see. We should all stand together and support comprehensive sex education, family planning, legalized abortion, and many many more issues. Those, and many other issues, are all interconnected and its time for things to change. At the very least its time to show the lawmakers that we won't just sit here quietly and take it. We remember how they tried to oppress woman last year, and we remember that we stood up, said no, and won a small victory for women and reproductive justice, even if they don't. Old habits might die hard, but stupidity is doing something over and over again but still expecting a different result. Its not up to me to decide if these lawmakers are stuck with these habits or not, but I do know this issue isn't going to become any less important to women in the next couple of years. Hopefully they will realize this soon or there will be a reckoning.