Women's rights - 2 well thought-out letters

[Guest guest]

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/101327/women%27s_health%3A_yet_another_issue_sarah_palin_is_out_of_touch_on/

Women's Health: Yet Another Issue Palin is Out of

Touch On

By Cecile s, Huffington Post. Posted October 2, 2008.

Women voting for McCain-Palin

is like chickens voting for Col. .

Over the last several weeks, it has become apparent that Palin is out

of touch on a whole host of issues, ranging from the bailout and the economy to

foreign policy to the Supreme Court. After this week's interview with

Couric, we can now add women's health to the list.

Her answers on reproductive health issues, such as criminalizing abortion, exceptions

for rape and incest, and what exactly the morning-after pill is, were a

rambling mix of contradictions and platitudes, much like her answers about

Russia bordering Alaska, the bailout, health care, and the economy.

So, for the vice-presidential debate tonight, here's what I'd ask

Palin to answer directly:

1. You said in your interview

with Couric that you are " all for contraception, " but then

you said you don't support the morning-after pill. Do you know that the

morning-after pill IS contraception, it's simply a higher dose of hormonal

birth control? Now that you know that, does it change how you feel about it

being made available?

2. You said

that abortion should be illegal even in the cases of rape or incest, but

then you said no one should end up in jail for having an abortion. I assume

when you say it should be illegal, that you mean it should be a crime - if you

don't think anyone should go to jail, how would you enforce it?

3. You say that you believe there is an inherent

right to privacy in the Constitution, yet you want to overturn Roe v. Wade,

which is based on a right to privacy. How do you reconcile these two

conflicting beliefs?

4. You say that you support

abstinence-only policies, which have been proven over and over to be

ineffective. Then you seem to contradict yourself, saying that you are

" pro-contraception. " What exactly are you for, comprehensive sex

education, which includes teaching of abstinence as well as contraception and

prevention; or " abstinence-only until marriage, " which typically does

not cover contraception. As vice president, would you like to continue

President Bush's legacy in funneling millions of federal dollars to ineffective

" abstinence-only " programs, or do you support comprehensive sex

education programs that include abstinence and have proven to reduce the number

of teen pregnancies?

5. Will you continue to cut funding

for support of young mothers? After cutting funding by 20 percent for

Covenant House Alaska, a place with the resources and assistance to help teen

mothers gain the necessary skills to create a stable life, will you extend this

to the rest of young, low-income mothers in the U.S.?

6. Considering all of these things, would you say that the women of America

will have a champion in Palin as vice president?

We thought it couldn't get more anti-choice and more extreme for women and

for health care than Bush and McCain. But let's face it -- with

Palin, McCain has outdone himself. Women voting for McCain-Palin is

like chickens voting for Col. . That is not a risk we can afford to

take.

Sign

our letter today -- tell

An Open Letter to Gov. Palin on Women's Rights

By Lynn Paltrow, National Advocates for

Pregnant Women. Posted September 4, 2008.

The freedom of all women relies on the legal principles that

guarantee the right to choose.

Dear Governor Palin:

Many Americans agree with your position regarding abortion -- they

do this as a matter of faith, ethics, personal experience and sometimes

politics. I am just wondering though, if you have thought about what would

happen if you succeeded in getting your position -- that fetuses have a right

to life -- established as the law of the land? Did you know that it not only

threatens the lives, health and freedom of women who might want or need someday

to end their pregnancies, it would also give the government the power to

control the lives of women -- like you who -- go to term?

Your last pregnancy, the one that has become the topic of widespread

discussion and speculation provides an important opportunity to demonstrate how

this could be true.

According to press reports your water broke while you were giving

a keynote speech in Texas at the Republican Governors' Energy Conference. You

did not immediately go to the hospital -- instead you gave your speech and then

waited at least 11 hours to get to a hospital. You evaluated the risks, made a

choice, and were able to carry on your life without state interference. Texas

Governor Rick worried about your pregnancy but didn't stop you from

speaking or take you into custody to protect the rights of the fetus.

After Ayesha Madyun's water broke, she went to the hospital where

she hoped and planned to have a vaginal birth. When she didn't give birth in a

time-frame comfortable to her doctors, they argued that she should have a

C-section. The doctors asserted that the fetus faced a 50-75 percent chance of

infection if not delivered surgically. (Risks of infection are believed by some

health care providers to increase with each hour after a woman's water has

broken and she hasn't delivered).

The court, believing like you that fetuses have a right to life,

said, " [a]ll that stood between the Madyun fetus and its independent

existence, separate from its mother, was put simply, a doctor's scalpel. "

With that, the court granted the order and the scalpel sliced through Ms.

Madyun's flesh, the muscles of her abdominal wall, and her uterus. The core

principle justifying an end to legal abortion in the U.S. provided the same

grounds used to deprive this pregnant and laboring woman of her rights to due

process, bodily integrity, and physical liberty. When the procedure was done,

there was no evidence of infection.

According to the press reports, instead of going straight to a

hospital you chose to get on a long airplane flight back to Alaska.

When Pamela Rae , allegedly, didn't get to the hospital

quickly enough on the day of her delivery, she was arrested in California on

the theory that she had violated the rights of her fetus.

When Pemberton chose to give birth at home in Florida, a

Sheriff came to her house. Doctors believed that she was posing a risk to the

life of her unborn child by having a vaginal birth after having had a previous

c-section and were in the process of getting a court order to force her to have

a c-section. The sheriff took her into custody during active labor, strapped

her legs together and forced her to go to a hospital where an emergency hearing

was taking place to determine the rights of her fetus. She was

" allowed " to represent herself. A lawyer was appointed for the fetus.

This woman, who vehemently opposes abortion, nevertheless believed in her right

to evaluate medical risks and benefits to herself and her unborn child. She was

forced to have the unnecessary surgery and when she later sued for violations

of her civil rights, was told fetal rights outweighed hers.

You chose to continue working throughout your pregnancy -- even

during your labor. Until 1991 women who worked in high paying blue color jobs

that provided health benefits were being fired based on " fetal

rights " policies that claimed if the woman became pregnant she would

expose the unborn child to workplace health risks. Eventually, the Supreme

Court said employers covered by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (the PDA)

could not do this. But, millions of American women work part time or for small

employers who are not covered by the PDA. If your political position on

abortion is accepted -- all of these women could be forced to give up their

jobs because an employer, family member, or state agent believed it necessary

to ensure the health and rights of their unborn child.

Governor Palin, you have led an extraordinary life, balancing work

and family, public service and private family obligations. We hope you know

though that your freedom relies on exactly the same legal principles that

guarantee that American women can choose to have an abortion when they need and

want one.

Sixty one percent of women who have abortions are already mothers.

Eighty-four percent of these women will be mothers by the time they are in

their forties. As a proud mother of five beautiful children, we hope you will

recognize that the issue isn't abortion -- it is ensuring the lives, dignity

and freedom of all pregnant women and their families.

Lynn Paltrow

Executive Director

National Advocates for Pregnant Women