Is it just me, or does this election year seem to be absolutely fraught with men trying to decide women’s issues?
On March 5th, they went at it again. On the Georgia House floor, State Representative, Terry England, commented on a bill that would require women to carry stillborn fetuses to term or until the time their bodies “pass” the fetus on their own. What this means is, if your baby dies inside of you, however far along in development, it would be illegal to have any type of medical procedure (such as a D&C) to remove the contents of your uterus.
In a debate over Georgia House Bill 954, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks even if the baby is not expected to live, England recalled the time he had spent with livestock.
“Life gives us many experiences,” he explained. “I’ve had the experience of delivering calves, dead and alive — delivering pigs, dead and alive. … It breaks our hearts to see those animals not make it.” – Raw Story, David Edwards
He justifies his beliefs by comparing women who carry dead babies in their wombs to the cows and pigs he used to work with on a farm who did the same. According to England, those barnyard animals had to carry their dead offspring until their bodies expelled them naturally, so obviously, the same should go for women.
Opponents of the bill believe that it would force women to carry stillborn fetuses or to have Caesarian deliveries. Regardless of any complications surrounding the pregnancy, under HB 954 a woman is expected to carry the child until birth. – Huffington Post, Leigh Owens
As a woman who has had to live through the experience of finding out not once, but twice, that her child was dead inside of her, this proposed law makes me sick. Ignoring all the medical catastrophes that can result from carrying dead tissue for too long (including blood infections and hemorrhage), the emotional toll of knowing your child is dead within your own body is unmeasurable. I speak with much more experience in the matter than I care to have.
Why are men deciding these things for us? Where are the women who should be behind these podiums, putting our voice to these issues?
This year, ladies, let’s get out there and vote for, rally for, and speak out on our own rights. It doesn’t matter what wing your lady business sits on; just get out there and speak up for it!
image credit woodleywonderworks via fotopedia
Holy crap. Now they want us to (knowingly) carry corpses in our bodies? What are these people on?
Wow. Just wow.
When I first read about this yesterday, I was so incredibly angry. My anger has not abated in the last 24 hours. This is the most appalling thing I have ever heard a politician say. And it’s not like he doesn’t have some stuff competition. To suggest women carry their dead children inside their bodies. To show such a complete lack of sympathy for the heartbreaking loss of a child. And then to compare women to farm animals…
I can only hope that with his words, he signed the death warrant for his policial career.
I just don’t understand why these politicians have nothing better to do than worry about what medical decisions women make. Some women do choose to wait to miscarry “naturally,” and some go through stillborn births. But that should be a choice between a woman and her doctor and not a bunch of grey-haired, male politicians. This shouldn’t be in their job description. They should be voting on actual issues and not our bodies!
I had a still born baby girl on 9/17. We found out on a Friday morning that we had lost her. The doctor gave me the option of waiting till my labor started on its own, going to the hospital right away or going on the following Monday. I couldn’t wait another SECOND. I felt a compulsion to give birth to her as soon as possible. I’m sure this isn’t true for everyone who experiences this kind of loss. I cannot express the depth of my anger about this. Luckily, I don’t live in Georgia.
Kristen, first, let me say, I’m deeply sorry for your loss. (And yours, too, Shana).
I truly don’t understand this. Are we being punked? Did someone wake up one day and say from here on out, we’re going to play some sick game of “Can You Top This?” when it comes to disrespecting women and trying to erase our rights.
We have to seriously look at turning out, not simply the men and women proposing these crazy laws, but those who quietly vote in favor of them.
Disgusting excuse for a human being, that guy. UGH.
Holy. Shit.
I’m not American, but I’ve been reading about the absurd ideas and proposals some of the candidates are putting forth in regards to women’s reproductive health – and I’m hopping mad for you all in the States having to actually face this! The stuff coming out of their mouths are ludicrous – I’d go so far as to say almost certifiably insane. Clearly, as they are men, they have never and will never experience the absolute crushing pressure and often agony that women have to face when it comes to their reproductive choices. As always, all responsibility – and shaming! and punishment! – is placed upon the woman, because we are the ones that carry babies. All these screw ups seem to have forgotten mens roles in all of this – that mens sperm actually get women pregnant. I don’t know about any of you, but I can’t self-reproduce. But no, forget that men contribute. Let them be free and shoot their junk anywhere they choose. Punish women by limiting access to birth control, by making abortions harder to obtain, and making women really feel the horrible, terrible loss of a child by making them wait to KNOWINGLY give birth to stillborns. Because yeah, I’m sure a pig or a cow was told ahead of time what was going to happen.
So sorry for the rant. I hope the ladies of the US get out in full force and vote this election, for a better future for you all!
I lost a baby, very early on. But the placenta kept developing, so for 11 weeks, I thought I was pregnant. When I went to my first appointment, I discovered that I had a blighted ovum. I was given the choice to pass it naturally (I’d begun bleeding at that point), take something to advance the passage, or have a D&C. I was scared of the D&C, so I went with taking something to help me pass everything faster. After suffering excruciating pain (I threw up and passed out because of it) for 24 hours, my husband took me to the ER, where I had a D&C. I cannot imagine being forced to wait in that situation. Having a D&C after a miscarriage is not the same thing as an abortion, and to suggest that it might be is ridiculous. As ridiculous as comparing women to farm animals.
Exactly. This isn’t even a pro-life/pro-choice debate. Pro-lifers want to protect LIFE. So…I have no idea how he can even relate this to an abortion issue, if the babies are already dead. Seriously…what the eff?!
First, his example is insulting and degrading and if he can’t see that he shouldn’t be representing the 50% of citizens of the state of Georgia that happen to be women. Second, why is this his business? This is the strangest of political debates in this election cycle of strange. Most women who carry I fetus who is dead will, yes Mr -not a doctor- Congressman, go into labor. But some women will not go into labor and instead will develop infections, sepsis and possibly die. Do we allow nature to take its course there?
To go with his logic then we should no longer use anything medical to help us. No more surgeries, no IVF, no cancer treatments, etc….just let everything be natural and take its course. That will definitely help the population explosion. Maybe the Mayans are right and the world is coming to an end in 2012! These politicians sure make me think that could be true.
I feel like we go through this every election cycle. The Republican party knows that it does not have a hope or a prayer of defeating Obama with its current choices. So in order to distract us from what is sure to be a landslide victory, they are trying to stir up controversy with this nonsense.
It is a completely ridiculous idea to think that modern American women will stand for these attacks on their health, safety and reproductive rights. They KNOW we will NOT vote for anyone who tries to take away our right to chose – no matter what our beliefs are. So they parade this bunch of buffoons in front of us and hope that by 2016 we will have forgotten about this and be willing to vote “red” again. Women have fought too hard and come too far to vote for someone who would un-do all of that hard work with a few months in office. Even if they claim to be “ultra conservative” I still believe that once the curtain closes on that voting booth even the most “conservitive, religious and virtuous” woman will vote for her rights and the rights of her daughters.
I hate election year politics!
Someone send these male lawmakers a memo that they missed in 1920 that women can vote now. Because no woman in her right mind ( I’m looking at you Michelle Duggar) would vote these idiots into office another term.
I live in GA (thankfully moving out of state in May) and I hadn’t seen this whopper of a story. Most days I hang my head in shame for the ideas that come out of the “Gold Dome” as it’s called. There are really some backward thinking folks living in this state and unfortunately, too many of them get elected to office. This is just another example.
I did not vote for this buffoon but my guess is he’s from the very rural southern portion of the state. Most of those folks are a special kind of ignorant.
WTF??? This infuriates me and scares the hell out of me, simultaneously. HOW can a man even be allowed to speak about women in this manner let alone make the decision as to what we should do with it? WE are the women, we carry the children within our bodies, why is it that a man thinks it is his right to tel us what to do with it? This is disgusting and punitive. Why would we make a woman carry her dead fetus until the body expelled it? Why are we punishing women for having a uterus? We women need to take the power away from the good ole boys. Will we as females NEVER have equal rights? Will we always be considered property of a man?
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