COLUMN: Women are watching
In 2010, the Tea Party movement elected the most conservative, right-wing officials to date.
Since 2011, there has been a sweeping implementation of 205 abortion restrictions – more than 2001 through 2010 combined.
In 2011, the Michigan House passed a draconian piece of legislation that could have shut down every abortion clinic in the state. Unrealistic expectations, such as buying an insurance policy that doesn’t exist and requiring outpatient facilities be turned into surgical centers, were the hot issue of the summer of 2012.
Within the chaos, a state representative was silenced after saying the word, “vagina” on the floor of the House. Enraged, Planned Parenthood advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union fought back in 2012.
Michigan remained a blue state Obama’s reelection. However, the Legislature is still Republican and ready to corrode a woman’s constitutional right to choose.
Although I am an outspoken pro-choice advocate, I empathize with how difficult and often painful a decision to terminate a pregnancy can be. It's exactly why I don't condone Uncle Sam getting involved with private, deeply personal familial decisions.
The Abortion Insurance Opt-Out Act restricts a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.
The problem, however, does not lie with Gov. Rick Snyder. He has actually proven to be moderate with these types of social issues. It is the state legislature that seems to have a gripping obsession with women’s health.
Part of what I want to do for a living involves ethics, what is moral and what is immoral. In a setting that is not the Michigan House, theoretical talks can be had about the ethicality of abortion. However, it is not the duty of the state to decide what a woman does within the confines of her body. It goes against every republican value of liberty and freedom.
Planned Parenthood’s campaign for the 2014 election is simple: Women are watching.
We are watching what the Michigan government has done to erode human rights and we will not go down without a fight. Central Michigan University women face a greater difficulty because there is no resource for them, should they decide to terminate a pregnancy.
CMU women are directly affected by these laws and should be greatly concerned. The most powerful weapon is that of the vote. In November 2014, it's time to bear our arms.
