Gov. Palin and Reproductive Rights

When McCain chose Palin to be his Vice President, she was heralded as the poster child for religious-right conservative values. Though she is an ambitious woman, do not be mistaken, she does not support any progressive women's rights; the most critical being reproductive rights. Gov. Palin is a fundamental pro-life advocate. Gov. Palin is against abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Women, think it through. If your daughter is raped or the child is a product of incest, do you really want to force your daughter to have that child? Men, do you?

Barack Obama stated in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, “we may not agree on abortion but we can certainly agree on the fact that reducing unwanted pregnancy is vital to the abortion debate.” The single most substantive method of teen pregnancy prevention is education yet Governor Palin favors abstinence-only training in lieu of sex education. There is plenty of documented evidence showing that abstinence-only training does not work including within her family. Only education and contraception can prevent pregnancy; wishing that teenagers can put aside their hormones until marriage is not. Forcing a 17yr old to marry to remove the stigma of being an unwed mother is also not a solution.

Clearly, in a nation as diverse as America, we cannot have a policy that does not teach but leaves females to a consequence of parenting as punishment for sexual transgression on their part or by an aggressor. We should not force our females to be single mothers or to marry when it is clear that the father will not accept responsibility for the pregnancy. It is unrealistic to expect pre-marital abstinence on the part of the American female in a culture that is over-sexualized and rewards men for their conquests. Hormones are very powerful! Females need education so that they can combat the pressure and desire to be sexually active and to uphold the sanctity of her body. It is a tall order.

Women, if you choose Palin, you may be giving up your future choice. Men, if you choose Palin, you will help her take that choice away from all women. If you are pro-life, we respect your choice as you respect ours. Gov. Palin chose to have her baby; her daughter is choosing to have hers. I want my daughters to choose too and I certainly don’t want McCain and Palin attempting to uphold their views and enact legislation to stop all of us from having our choice.

Nevertheless, for better or for worse, under current laws, everyone can function, pro-life and pro-choice. We are not a religious state, we are not a theocracy like the Middle East states we denounce; we are democracy. McCain-Palin would seek to reverse abortion rights that would unleash devastating consequences for our female citizens. I know there are many Americans who support strict conservative ideals and this is fine but the rest of us prefer separation of church and state.