As I sit and watch the circus that we now call our government, one of the things that has me concerned is the treatment or mistreatment of women and the lack of any type of response to it.
I have two daughters and two granddaughters and what I see playing out in our country to women is despicable. There have been several different scenarios playing out that are right out of the Handmaid’s tale.
Last month in Idaho, a woman was forcibly removed from a legislative town hall hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. Apparently, a man was lecturing on some abortion laws, never ceases to amaze me that men continue to lecture women on this topic, but I digress. The woman, Teresa Borrenpohl shouted out, “Is this a town hall, or a lecture?” The gentleman giving the lecture was, of course, offended and clutching his pearls had private security forcibly remove her from the meeting. No one, not one man or women rose up to her defense. Of course, there was plenty of video of the event, but no action.
In South Carolina, Republican legislators are trying to pass SC 3537, “South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act”. This law aims to define “person” as including an unborn child at any stage of development, thereby extending equal protection under homicide and assault laws to unborn children. In a nutshell, a woman as part of her medical care has a miscarriage or abortion during treatment by her physician will be criminally liable and even eligible to suffer the death penalty. I tell you; you can’t make the crap up. They are so pro-life that they will put you to death for a medical procedure.
Finally, our friends in congress are trying to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. This would require paper proof of citizenship to register to vote. We need this law to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. Paper proof of citizenship not only creates a burdensome barrier to voting, but is additionally difficult for women whose married names do not match their birth certificate, people who have lost documents in natural disaster or moving house, older Black people who were denied hospital births and therefore do not have a birth certificate, and low income people who have not bought a passport. Those republicans love voter suppression, and this is right out in the open unlike their previous lies on voter fraud.
The current Secretary of Defense doesn’t believe women should serve in combat. In my Air Force career, I have served next to some tough & awesome women! I had several women commanders who were outstanding leaders! It’s not easy being a woman in the aircraft maintenance field but they were right there serving their country in some hostile spots and doing as well as any man. In my civilian profession, some of the smartest and professional employees and managers I worked alongside were women. Doing their jobs under some grueling circumstances but still shining through.
There is a saying from historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that states “Well-behaved women seldom make history”. I believe it is time for women to start making history, I for one, will have your back!