Government Free VJJ
by Ashley Weeks Cart
Yep, that would be a plush uterus. That I knit.
See?
I’d wager that you’re not in the least bit surprised when I say that this is not the first textile uterus I’ve constructed. While in grad school, I embroidered a series of “lady bits” for a project tackling the mnemonic process.
(Of course I did.)
I know that I said I was retiring my knitting needles for the season, but then this feminist, activist opportunity presented itself. And I couldn’t resist the chance to knit in the name of giving voice to my vagina.
And, I cannot even begin to tell you how much I delighted in announcing to a table of six of my male friends over breakfast Tuesday that I had spent my evening knitting a uterus. James simply nodded in confirmation.
Smart man.
Right now, in this country, is a very scary time for women. Not only as a woman myself, but as a mother to two daughters, I am particularly concerned. Daily I am rendered speechless, scrapping my jaw off the edge of my desk, by the debates I see happening re: Women’s Health and our bodies.
I feel like I’m living in Crazy Town. Or the 1920. But sadly, I must face the scary reality that a group of primarily white, conservative men is making decisions about what I can and cannot do with my body. And sending us back to the Middle Ages.
It’s time the 51% whose lives and bodies these bills and legislation directly impact stood up and spoke out.
Yesterday, in a strange moment of sanity and relief, Republican Congressman Richard Hanna spoke at the rally for the Equal Rights Amendment to this very idea:
I think these are very precarious times for women, it seems. So many of your rights are under assault. I’ll tell you this: Contribute your money to people who speak out on your behalf, because the other side — my side — has a lot of it. And you need to send your own message. You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can’t succeed without your help.
Dude, if one of those white, conservative men is calling it out, why the hell aren’t all of us who actually have fallopian tubes?
And so, I knit a uterus. And she is headed to my state Senator, Republican Scott Brown. A man who’s election resulted in the donning of black, in proper Weeks woman fashion.
I am fully aware that this little plush is a gimmick. But hey, if it grabs people’s attention and gets women involved that otherwise would not be politically active, then SO WHAT? Let’s gimmick away, shall we?
You see, this little handful of uterus is inspired by The Snatchel Project, a group of knitters, under the banner of Government Free VJJ, that are encouraging people to Knit a Uterus for a Congressman In Need. With the gift of said uterus comes the message: Hands off my uterus! Here’s one of your own!
We are women, we are strong, we are smart. And we have a sense of humor.
We do not need government interference with our doctors or our healthcare.
We do not need government probing our vaginas to help us make decisions about abortion.
We do not need government to give us guidance about whether or not to take birth control.
We do not need misogynistic pundits calling us sluts and prostitutes.
We are half of the population and we will not be treated as children or a disenfranchised minority.
I don’t want my daughters to think I sat idly by while their rights were stripped away. No, Mama put her knitting needles and voice to work. Who knows what could happen if we all exercised that freedom?
And may I gently strongly recommend this read calling for the voice of physicians in these debates? Yes, yes I may.
When the community has failed a patient by voting an ideologue into office…When the ideologue has failed the patient by writing legislation in his own interest instead of in the patient’s…When the legislative system has failed the patient by allowing the legislation to be considered… When the government has failed the patient by allowing something like this to be signed into law… We as physicians cannot and must not fail our patients by ducking our heads and meekly doing as we’re told.
Because we are their last line of defense.
And on that note, a happy uterine weekend to you! If you want free patterns so you can knit your own uterus or vagina or cervix, head on over here.
Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart
My Ravelry project of this pattern, Womb.
I love you. Always. Thanks for being a strong voice for us.
You, too, Mama. Our daughters are lucky to have us :)
I LOVE the lil eyes!!
Every uterus has a face – the face of the woman that houses it. ;)
I’d make one right now, too, but I’m afraid it would take up so much yarn and postage to mail that the resources might be better spent elsewhere. My uterus is very large right now. ;)
Thanks for doing this! I want to see Scott Brown’s response to you!!
Ha! Truth. A uterus with fetus would be quite the knitting endeavor!
I wish I could hand deliver for greater impact.
Love your explanation. I feel your sense of duty to your daughters. While mine is doing her college assignments I feel I have to be assuring that the world she graduates to isn’t 100 years behind.
Exactly! I feel even more responsibility as a mother to future women of this country!
What an awesome post! I live in Canada and we had a Conservative Back Bencher introduce a bill that would give personhood to a fetus. I am in the process of knitting the Snatchel with the Fetus Coin purse inside it. Should be interesting.
What is it with the guys and needing to control women ’cause that what it is!.
So true! And thanks!
I think what you’re doing is really cool, I just wish that I didn’t have a picture of a knit uterus on my craftgawker homepage.
Just avoid the site til Monday, then. She’ll be shuffled to the archives in no time.
And for the moment, her place on that homepage will raise some awareness.
Excellent post!
great post.
great job!
Love it. Especially the face. Every uterus has one.
My what a lovely uterus you have there!
Ashley, your talents amaze me :)
Aw shucks, thank you all!
LOVE this–It’s so cute!
Thanks, Susan!
This is wonderful! I am so thrilled there are women out there keeping this issue alive. I can’t knit, but, if it is ok I can send a picture! Thank you!
Of course!!! The more participation in any capacity, the better!
Here is the opinion of a white male. The Bills of Rights in the U.S. Constitution guarantees us many “unalienable” rights. While freedom to chose the specifics of your Heath Insurance plan is not specifically among those rights, Government mandated Heath Insurance, including the terms of that Health Insurance, does infringe on rights guaranteed by The U.S. Constitution. Soon The U.S. Supreme Court will determine the constitutionality of Government Mandated Health Insurance. The U.S. Supreme Court should find Government mandated Health Insurance to be unconstitutional, and therefore the Government mandated Health Insurance will soon be repealed on that basis. This will re-establish our Constitutionally guaranteed Rights and Freedoms. Should The U.S. Supreme Court not find Government Mandated Health Insurance Unconstitutional, it’s time to revolve and seize back power “Of The People and By The People”.
July 16, 1798: The Marine Hospital Service was established by an act of Congress, to provide for the temporary relief and maintenance of sick and disabled seamen. This was the first prepaid medical care program in the United States, financed through compulsory employer tax and federally administered. This service later became the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, predecessor to the Public Health Service of today.
In July of 1798, Congress passed – and President John Adams signed – “An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen.” The law authorized the creation of a government operated marine hospital service and mandated that privately employed sailors be required to purchase health care insurance. Thomas Jefferson supported the same proposal. http://onforb.es/qiK0bT http://bit.ly/9otmSa
Peter — Somehow I think you’re equating this with “Obamacare.” Health care insurance, or any variation thereof, is only a small part of what’s going on here. The bills are flying so fast and furiously it’s hard to keep track of what is trying to be slipped through beneath our noses. “Personhood” bills are making their way through many States legislatures, bills which would define a fertilized egg as a person, thus criminalizing the use of most birth control and IVF for infertile couples, with what appears to be an end goal of criminalizing abortions, even if the woman’s life is at stake. There are bills which give the Insurance Industry greater control to deny coverage for specific procedures or care for privately purchased policies. There are bills that would require a women to PAY FOR and receive invasive procedures she does not want. Tell me, why is the government even interfering here?
Cute. I’ve made some funky things, but not like this. Would love to help, but I crochet, not knit.
There’s crochet patterns too – http://www.governmentfreevjj.com/the-patterns/crochet-patterns/
I love it! I hope it gets their attention! If only we could manage to send them truck loads of them… :D
I wish I could support you people too, but I am in far away India. It is pretty scary to think of how a bunch of legislators think they can do something with such far-reaching consequences. Good luck to you all. What they are saying seems so outdated that it could be a very lame joke.
Thanks, Manisha! Great to know that people around the world are taking note!
I am HIGHLY offended that you make the generalization that everyone who is Pro-Life is a “middle-aged, white male, Conservative” who “lives in the dark ages” and wants to “control what you do with your uterus.” I am a woman who is FOR the education of women. I want women and girls to learn that THEY ARE WORTH saving themselves for someone who will love them for a lifetime. That way, they will not end up making mistakes in relationships that are temporary and continue to gain baggage that they have to carry their whole lives.
Also, who are you to say that “getting with the times” or being “up to date” is always necessarily a good thing? Why is wanting to save the life of an unborn child considered to be “too old fashioned”? What gives us the right to eliminate a life just so we don’t have to “deal with” the product of our selfishness?
*In the end:* I believe, as a young, (not that it’s relevant! ->) white, female “conservative”, that we *already have* a choice. We can have sex, and expect to not have to deal with the “consequences”. Or, we can choose to not waste our bodies on pleasure and temporary relationships. Our culture needs to face the fact that our. actions. have. consequences. The choice is yours to have sex, use protection, and take contraceptives. It should NOT be your choice to take the life of another in order to “simplify” your own.
Oh my. Where did I say that every Anti-Choice person was a white, male Conservative? I absolutely generalized to say that the majority of the voices were white, male, conservatives, because in the current political realm, that is absolutely the case. But I absolutely never said that that was every person.
We seem to care more about the well-being of fertilized eggs than we do about women. Who are you to decide what a woman does with her body? Who gave you that right? Where does God give you the right to control other people?
And talk about generalizations – you think that every woman gets an abortion to “simplify” her life? Shame on you. Please, do some research. Please be educated when you make such dramatic claims. Actually listen the voice of women and why they are pro-choice. This might be a good place to start: http://leesyknits.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-which-it-gets-personal.html
Rape, Incest, stillbirths, and physical demands on Momma’s bodies that could KILL the vessel before the package can arrive…all makes sense…they ALL shoulda known better and kept the aspirin between their legs…regardless of the situation…….shame shame on the 15 yo that was drugged and raped…shame shame on the women who’s fetus has passed away and now she must carry till the body voids on its own….shame shame on little 13yo Sally for looking soooo sexy to Uncle Roger. Scuse me…gotta go ice down my eye muscles…I’ve sprained them rolling my eyes!
My Body…My Choice….My Life….
Amen, Jen!! Brilliant response!
Waiting for marriage is no protection. What about women like myself who were married and abused by their husbands? What about women who unknowingly marry pedophiles or men who don’t support their families? Being single is not the only reason to desire to be childless or to control the size of our families.
I am all for educating young girls, but I want their education to be complete. As a physician I am concerned that they know enough about their bodies and their development to make wise choices about sexuality. That will not happen if we only teach them the word “no.” Our children are smart and must learn to use their brains to plan their choices and their lives.
When you rail against “choice”, you forget that the pendulum could swing the other way. What if the same male legislators decide they don’t want your insurance to cover breast cancer treatment or diabetes or any other condition? The issue is keeping the control in the hands of a woman and her doctor.
Look, every single one of us wants girls to learn that they are worth whatever they choose, and that they should only have sex of their own volition. Please note, though, that the choice is the important part there. You have the right to feel that having nonprocreative or nonmarital sex is a waste, but that is your opinion. You have the right to think that consenting to sex means that you are consenting to have a child should you become pregnant. That is your choice to make for yourself. You do not, however, have the right to dictate what the consequences of someone else’s actions are. But saying that if you have sex you automatically consent to have a child is as ridiculous as saying that anyone who lives in a cold climate is consenting to freeze to death. People have sex for a great many reasons: love, pleasure, companionship, sexual health, joy, and a great many other reasons, some of which aren’t great. But you don’t only get one choice, so that if you choose to have sex you don’t get to choose what else to do. In the end, as a young woman, I believe that our responsibilities to our bodes cannot be reduced to fatalism, that sometimes it can be the more responsible choice to abort, and I will point out that a great many women who have abortions already have children and are making the choice to benefit the children they already have. In the end, I believe that abortion should be a last resort, but that if we legislate it only be used as a last resort we harm women. In the end, I believe that if we allow women’s bodies to be up for a vote, we make women communal property, and that women have been maligned, mistreated, and marginalized enough that we must meet a higher standard before we agree to let their rights be abridged. In the end, I am a person, and this is not debatable, and I should not have fewer rights to my body than does a person whose status is debatable, nor should I have fewer rights to self-determination than does a man. I absolutely support efforts to take away the reasons that women have abortions: let’s make sure that no woman is ever in a position where she has to have an abortion that she would not want otherwise. Let’s make sure that women have employment protection, decent maternity (and paternity!) leave, the ability to breastfeed, health care, reasonable access to safe daycare and schools, and the respect of society for what they do. In short, many of the things that our so-called pro-life legislators appear to be working against.
Yet another… **standing ovation**
Well said, young woman!
Good for you! Speaking out while so many women choose the alter! They are not just fetuses they are people! My nephew is an ‘unwanted pregnancy’ his birth mother chose adoption not murder. He is the most wonderful gift we ever received! THANK GOD his mother chose the unselfish path. Just goes to show one persons trash is another persons treasure!
You are my hero! As a young, conservative woman, I also agree with you. It shouldn’t be “old fashioned” to want to save a life. I don’t think many people understand why we’re pro life. And if you don’t mind, I will quote you on tumblr. tessican.tumblr.com
Awesome! Thank you! I don’t mind at all. Not my words anyway. {Just speaking God’s truth.} :)
Manny and NON-male-so-called-”Conservative” – you are anti-choice. Not pro-life. If you understood the pro-choice side, you’d realize that it is about giving people their own bodily agency and not imposing belief systems on other human beings. It’s always disheartening to see women not understand why the government taking control of our bodies is problematic.
Try and think of it this way: If you vote to make abortions illegal, that gives the government power over women’s choices. Sure, if you’re anti-abortion, you’re happy. BUT if the government has that power, then in the future, when a different party is in power, who’s to say that that government won’t decide that we need more population control and thus impose abortions on women that already have one child and get pregnant, much like China’s “One Child Policy.”
Do you see how it cuts both ways? It’s a slippery slope. The decision of what to do with our bodies and families is personal. If we let the government have power over this, we are giving up our rights as human beings, as individuals with freedom, and we don’t know what the government may do with that power in the future.
Keeping government out of the bedroom is NOT about being a Democrat or a Republican. It is about freedom for all. And isn’t that what America is supposed to be about?
Freedom for all…. hmmmm…. so I guess that includes the unborn child? Oh… I guess not. “It” doesn’t have any freedoms or choices or rights. It’s not just about one person here no matter how you slice it. God or no God there is a living thing inside you. Of course that is where the debate lies.
For birth control I am totally against it. For rape, incest, or medical emergency and such, it makes sense because it wasn’t planned or it was a life and death issue.
Another male voice valuing a zygote over the agency and freedom of a grown woman. It’s shameful.
Given that you don’t have the potential to ever be pregnant and thus any understanding of what that possibility entails, you really shouldn’t be passing judgement on those whose lives these kind of laws actually impact. You’ll never have to make such a choice, so who are you to pass judgement?
Yes, I am another male voice valuing a zygote over the agency and freedom of a grown woman. I totally respect your right and point of view 100% actually. I really do in all honesty. But, there are other people in this country with other points of view and that should not be dismissed entirely. Everyone on this blog has an agenda and opinion. I am not passing judgement on anyone. I just happen to have a different point of view and I think it’s a valid one.
I am dismissing your point of view for anyone but you.When you can get pregnant- you come back and say something here. You respect a zygote over a grown woman- go over to a blog where zygotes are writing then.
So you’re pro-life…that doesn’t mean that I, as a Pro-Choice advocate is Anti-Life…it simply means that I feel an individual woman should make her own choice for her own body concerning her own issues and being that everyone is different…everyone’s situation is different. If you take away a woman’s rights, and ‘personhood’ a pregnancy…it opens a HUGE door to all sorts of what ifs…do you… then charge the woman with neglect or abuse if the child is born with defects, do you charge them if they enjoy a cup of coffee…do you tsk tsk them if they have a naturally occurring miscarriage (which some Reps would like to make them carry remnants for weeks afterward because there’s no exception for an Emergency DnC in some of these bills.) They’re trying to redefine rape as ONLY that of FORCE…meaning a woman drugged is no longer a rape victim, meaning a 13yo impregnanted by her 30yo neighbor by cohercian…is no longer a rape victim….seriously people…read the Bills…think about the fact that words are written in INK…lives are NOT.
You are absolutely right. What the “conservative” extremists are trying to legislate is THEIR morality and that is not something that will work for everyone.
In 1993 I was a young woman who had been married two years and was expecting my first, planned child, when at 20 weeks gestation, my water broke. I was rushed to the emergency room and hospitalized with complete bed rest for 10 days. The thought was to see if the amniotic sac would “heal” and again fill with fluid. After 10 days I was seen by a specialist. He did an exam and ultrasound and reviewed my chart, he then very gently put his hand on my shoulder and told me that I could continue on bed rest for the remaining four months but that if an infection set in, I could die from it faster than he could save me. That in his attempt to save me the first thing he would do would be to perform a hysterectomy. He also said it was my choice to continue the pregnancy or terminate and he would support me either way. I chose to terminate. It was awful! The hardest and most personal decision my husband and I ever had to make. In doing so I saved MY life which is also worth something. I also made it possible for my next two, planned, children to be born so I saved their lives as well and they are worth something.
Abortion isn’t just for horny teenagers who forget to slip a condom on for a back-seat quickie. They are also needed by women who are married and enjoying a sexually healthy marriage but want to delay or space their children but have a birth control failure. They are for women in their 40′s who have raised their children but their doctor forgets to tell them that the antibiotics they are taking will make their pill in-effective. They are for women who find out that they are pregnant with their third child a week after they take the two they already have and run, penniless from an abusive & drunk husband. They are for women who are struggling to feed the kids they have but the dead-beat dad is buying cars for his secretary and forgetting to pay his child support. They are for the women who thought that her boyfriend was a nice guy and after dating him for a year are shocked to find themselves being held down so he can finish inside her after he promised to wear a condom.
Abortions are a choice, not a requirement. Imagine your outrage if our government took a different path and instead of out-lawing abortion they created a procreation registry where every woman who intended to procreate must register with her state government her intention and if she is discovered to have become pregnant prior to or within four weeks of her registration were forced to abort? That lack of control over your own body would be hell! The same hell a woman forced to carry her rapists baby would face in a land with no abortion.
Because of this we would like to be able to choose. A government that would be allowed to ban a medical procedure is the same that could force a procedure upon us and that isn’t a government I want so I will continue to stand up for the rights of other women!
And I will stand up for their right to obtain and possess safe and effective BIRTHCONTOL! One the the primary abortion preventions. I will never understand the reasoning behind some people’s opposition to both. What do they really want? to legislate in such a way that women just stop wanting or having sex? Because if that is the case maybe they should just move straight to female genital mutilation, I’m pretty sure that is what the intention of that is.
“Abortions are a choice, not a requirement.”
Exactly. But by banning abortion and birth control, the choice women have is no choice at all: forced birthing or illegal, dangerous, back alley abortion.
The scenario that scares me the most is having someone else deciding if your life was “sufficiently” at risk. What level of risk are you willing to endure versus what level of risk someone else wants to impose on you. The perception of risk is difficult. If you are the one at risk, a 2 percent risk is often not acceptable, but could be considered minimal by someone not facing death. The 2 percent risk may be for each week you are trying to maintain a pregnancy so over 15 or 20 weeks, it might be much higher. Who has the right to be your judge, jury, or play god with your life? The attacks on women have gone way beyond a question of choices to attacks on the physical control of our body parts with deadly consequences.
The medical care, family support, and services required to maintain such a pregnancy is enormous. The financial consequences can be overwhelming. The harder it is to be the perfect bed rest patient with the optimal care, the more the risk. The psychological strain is intense.
The guilt of a poor outcome may never go away. The pain of a difficult outcome with many interventions diminishes over time, but still hurts 19 years later – even with a healthy child, now a student-athlete at a division 1 school.
I will not play judge, jury, doctor, or god making decisions that will profoundly change or end a woman’s life. I can offer support and respect for the choices every woman may face.
Nicole…I would like to ‘borrow’ this for my page…as my “status” so to speak…as I tend to be a screamer and scare some away…this may actually leak in a few brains to see what the issue at hand actually is…and not just a bunch of sluts wanting to end promiscuous pregnancies. You’ve hit the nail directly on the head with one firm whack…in every angle!
What it boils down to,for me, is don’t tell me what I can or cannot do with my body and I won’t tell you what to do with yours! You have to know each situation to make an intelligent and informed decision, which is just not possible. I do not make judgements of those that have had to have an abortion, because I do not know their situation. I don’t judge people that take/need birth control, because I do not know their situation. I do not want to be judged if/when I was ever in need of either one of those. No one will ever tell me what I can or cannot do with my own body and healthcare needs! The last thing we need is a bunch of men telling us what to do with our reproductive system. If the day ever comes when every one of them can have a menstral cycle, deal with the pain and possible medical issues, and deal with carry and giving birth to a child, then I will consider their input in a discussion. We all know how likely THAT is to occur!
Many of my friends are pro-life and feel that abortion is wrong. But that does not mean they assume that the government should be in charge of women’s reproductive health or decisions about pregnancy, birth control, or even abortion.
Look at it this way: If you vote to make abortion illegal, that gives the government power over women’s bodies and decisions about having children. So if you’re against abortion you are happy. BUT if the government has that power, then in the future, when a different party is in power, maybe they will decide that we need more population control and require you to have an abortion if you already have 1 child and get pregnant, in a China-like law.
Do you see how it cuts both ways? The decision of what to do with our bodies and families is personal. If we let the government have power over this, we are giving up our rights as human beings, as individuals with freedom, and we don’t know what the government may do with that power in the future.
Keeping government out of the bedroom is NOT about being a Democrat or a Republican. It is NOT about being pro-choice or pro-life. It is about freedom for all. And isn’t that what America is supposed to be about?
well said Donna.
Yet people seem to think they have the right to be treated in a hospital with no means to pay and their costs are passed on to the taxpayer or the consumer. The way insurance works is everyone (sick and healthy) have to put money in the pool and then enough is available for those who need it. The reason employer sponsored health plans work is because everyone in the workplace pays into it. For people who are not covered at work (entrepreneurs who may be future job creators) buying an individual policy is expensive if your healthy and if you had the slightest thing wrong with you so expensive it became impractical. For anyone with a serious condition they could be flat out denied. My daughter is a pediatric cancer survivor and without “Obama care” would have never been able to get health insurance outside of corporate America. The individual mandate is there so that insurance purchased by individuals works. I think a better option would be for people who are not covered by a group policy at work and choose to not buy their own policy be issued a different colored drivers license and if they require medical care that they can not pay for, up front, in cash, they can be denied care.
Shared risk and shared responsibility. It’s not necessarily a bad thing: it drives costs DOWN – not up. However the idea that someone should NOT get medical care because they can not pay is cruel to say the least. Would you also repeal all social service benefits from those who can not pay for housing, food and clothing? Why? That would create more anger, dismay and hopeless among a certain set of the population — then there would be more crime as these people try to have basic needs met.
Again, it benefits the whole of society when we take some of what we have and help those less fortunate.
It is completely incomprehensible to me that any woman would be anti-choice. Anti-choice means exactly as it sounds: You are no longer the agent of your own body. You are forced into a decision by a law predicated on the religious beliefs of people who have no idea of what the circumstances surrounding your life are and why you are faced with this decision in the first place.
Pro-choice means that you can CHOOSE not to terminate your pregnancy, or your can CHOOSE to have an abortion. But the only person making that choice is YOU, not a stranger with a vendetta against female sexuality, not a lawmaker in a congress, not even a doctor with a moral objection. You are the agent of your own life, you live it as you please.
I think we can all learn something from the story Nicole so bravely posted above. Abortion is not a last resort of the promiscuous and irresponsible. Often abortion is a necessary medical procedure performed to save the life of the mother. This isn’t about right and wrong. It is about health and safety.
I respect my fellow woman’s right to choose–and I respect whatever choice she may make. But I do not respect anyone who attempts to force their belief system onto another. We should be empowering each other to make the right choices for ourselves and I am truly disappointed in the anti-choice people here who cannot see how disrespectful their stance on this issue is to women.
Being pro-choice is not pro-abortion. I want the abortion rate to drop as much as the anti-choicers. But I will not pursue that goal at the expense of women’s rights and women’s health. Birth control, education and access to objective family planning services are the only effective ways to lower unplanned pregnancy rates. Unchecked conservative and religious bullying disguised as morality gets us absolutely nowhere.
I am proud to be pro-choice and will never stop fighting to keep abortion safe and legal. And I sent a stuffed uterus to my senator to make my stance perfectly clear.
**standing ovation**
** standing ovation **
**standing ovation**
**standing ovation**
Thank you for sharing this important message! I will be sharing your post with all my friends.
Wow. Deny care to someone because they can’t pay? Seriously? We treat stray dogs and cats with more compassion. I’m beyond appalled by this attitude. I hope you never experience being without a job or a means to care for yourself and your family. Poverty is not a moral issue. Stop treating it that way and have a little compassion for your fellow human being.
I think Nicole was being sarcastic.
I agree with Donna D. Don’t miss Nicole’s primary message – that the insurance mandate works for everyone. She was expressing sarcasm in saying that care should be denied to the uninsured.
Unfortunately, there ARE some in this country who advocate that – if you can pay, fine, if you can’t-you will be turned away. More than I can remember in my 55 years, there is a selfishness and coldness in the political climate that divides us by our views. I hate to see women focusing on their differences instead of understanding that health care for all of us (and not just abortion choice) is being threatened. When a state like Texas focuses on abortion providers and makes decisions that cut funding for routine preventive care for thousands of women, we all suffer. A lack of comprehensive insurance planning for the country has the same effect, so the Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction.
No preventive care means more emergency care, and the resources for that will eventually come from our tax dollars, our Social Security benefits, and funding that could go towards other community needs.
No preventive care means more underweight, unhealthy infants. Guess who pays for their special education and chronic care.
No preventive care means more women reaching age 65 with major health issues to be dealt with by Medicare, and guess who pays for that?
We cannot afford to be short-sighted. It’s fine to be “pro-life” but don’t forget-you are fighting against something that is LEGAL, and you are being short-sighted when you only focus on the availability of abortion.
Everyone should have the choice.
There is absolutely no way that anyone can tell what anyone else is going through. Therefore, no one can make a judgement on someone else’s decison.
I agree wholeheartedly with those women who are against abortion. They will never have one.
I never had one, but I have had to consider it. Once because my water started to leak (as in Nicole’s story above) but it was only a leak and it did heal after a few week of bed rest. The second time I had finally managed to get my boyfriend out of my house and to leave me alone, when I found out I was pregnant. It wasn’t a matter of convenience, but possibly attracting his attention again.
But my choices were MY choice. I made my decisions based on my situation and how I would progress, as well as handle the children I already had.
I’ll also leave you with this article.
http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/anti-tales.html
I want to open mouth kiss each of you. But only with your consent. Of course. Your comments and thoughtfulness have been amazing. Thank you.
I’ve made a couple, they are fun to make. I’m sad that they will probably get thrown in the bin but I’m going to make one to keep to represent her sisters.
In the bin, on the desk, either way….it’s in their memory and brain…we’ve made them think…we’ve made them look over their shoulders! And THAT….is just as important!
Mr. Senator, Mr. Congressman, Mr. Politician … since you believe that you Automatically have the God given right to CONTROL MY UTERUS/VAGINA , Tell me what I can do with MY UTERUS & VAGINA, Put LIMITS on How MY UTERUS & VAGINA are medically cared for, Enact Laws that will Obliterate & destroy any say what I can do with MY body, Assume and/or refer to me as a SLUT ( I must be going to hell ) or think I must be a BITCH ( FYI the acronym for bitch is Babe In Total Control of Herself / Beautiful Intelligent Talented Creative Honest ) To Disagree with your Holier than Tho Sanctimonious, Pious, Elitist & Caveman attitude & think I should be punished for having the Audacity to even think That I am a PERSON that deserves Rights I say to YOU :.. Allow me to Elucidate : First: YOU are NOT GOD so Climb down off your Freakin Cross ( You have NOT sacrificed anything for me )….Second: Controlling what I can & cannot do with my sexual/reproductive/Lady Parts, exploiting this & freely taking MONEY from Lobbyists, makes you a PIMP, which is Illegal & You should be arrested, charged & Tried for this !! Third: KARMA Dude… Fourth: This is the LAST night that I will allow you to let me loose sleep…. I Will KEEP Fighting, You cannot stop me, are you prepared for this .
I was at the Court yesterday supporting the healthcare law(with my uterus- now to be mailed off). Why do the people opposing this say Hands off my healthcare but they want to legislate every detail of women’s care? Small government- I guess small enough to climb into our VJJs!
Kudos to you Andrea !! It takes alot to rattle me but these politicians seriously boggle my mind. They Lack common sense regarding Healthcare, including premeditative & will be the first to scream & blame others when the Healthcare costs sky rocket because of diseases/conditions that could have been caught & treated early because of their archaic beliefs. In a nutshell they are all CONTROL FREAKS !!
All I can say is YOU ROCK!!!!!