Why I Never Support Planned Parenthood or NARAL
11 July 2006 6:07 pm by Taylor Marsh
UPDATE: This past weekend, I wrote this: The war is a huge part of the exodus away from Lieberman, but what lies at the root of it is the philosophy that got us into Iraq in the first place. That's what must be purged. Harold Myerson writes about “Lieberman's Real Problem,” which goes way beyond the progressive blogs. The problem lies in Connecticut. Also see Matt Stoller.
 |
I'm a moderate on choice, as are other
women
of faith.
I also believe anti-abortion women should be welcomed into the Democratic
Party and have said so many times. I support Senator Harry Reid, though I disagree
with him on women's privacy issues. But contraception, PlanB and RU486 should
be made available so each woman can make her own choice. That's the whole point
of choice. Poor women should also have access to these drugs and health options.
To say that I'm incensed that female soldiers around the globe have fewer rights
than women on American soil is an understatement. It's a preposterous policy
in the 21st century.
Via Jane
Hamsher, we find out today that Planned Parenthood and NARAL have once again
shown why they're not
worthy of Democratic Party support. First, supporting them often leaves
anti-abortion women out in the cold. The militancy of both groups is annoying to
people like me. But then when they're militancy is required, they take a powder.
They're absolutely worthless to our political cause. That both groups have walked away from women who are victims of sexual violence makes me furious.
Given a choice between Ned Lamont, whose views on the privacy of women knows
no bounds, and Joe Lieberman, who believes hospitals have a right to deny
women treatment after being raped, both “women's groups” have
chosen Lieberman.
Ned Lamont believes a woman in crisis should come before corporate or religious
restrictions. Lamont believes in upholding U.S. law.
Joe Lieberman sides with mega hospitals and religious organizations like the
Catholic Church who believe that a rape victim is better off seeing her raper's
face for the rest of her life in her unwanted child, whether she wants to or
not. Compassion is not the issue. It's about making the woman take last place
behind the Catholic Church and their sensibilities, as well as the unwanted
impregnation caused through violence against her will. Lieberman beleves that religious organizations are exempt from U.S. law.
A rape victim needs emergency medical care immediately, period. It means she
needs PlanB, which Catholic hospitals do not want to offer or administer.
Mind you, we're not talking about RU486, which is an abortificent.
We're talking about PlanB, which stops implantation after unprotected or unwanted
sexual contact. I would say rape fits that description, wouldn't you?
Plan B is an emergency contraceptive that can be used to prevent pregnancy
following unprotected intercourse or a known or suspected contraceptive failure
(i.e., a broken condom). To obtain optimal efficacy, the first tablet should
be taken as soon as possible within 72 hours of intercourse. The second tablet
must be taken 12 hours later.
Jane rightly
went after Ann Althouse recently who didn't even know the importance of
PlanB, as opposed to RU486, in cases of rape. You've just got to love arguments
served up like what Althouse did, because it just makes this stuff so easy for
our side.
In the 2004 primary, I watched on CSPAN as the Democratic Party candidates
paraded on stage at a NARAL event to show their solidarity with the pro-choice
powerful. It turned my stomach. Like NARAL is going to get support from Republicans.
This type of display is offensive, especially since we get nothing in return.
As a person who believes anti-abortion people should be welcomed, even if they
disagree with one particular plank of our platform, it makes abortion the be
all and end all of the argument. It denies that choice comes in different forms for each woman. However, denying any rape victim help, especially
when Catholic hospitals are sometimes the only option for women, impinges on
our civil rights. If they can do this in Connecticut it's another swipe at Roe,
in my opinion, which is the law of this land today.
If Lieberman hadn't sided with the Catholic hospitals, I still wouldn't support
Planned Parenthood or NARAL, but it would have at least made sense. Since he
did it doesn't. That an elitist prig like Joe doesn't understand how this could
eventually effect every rural woman of childbearing age shows how out of touch
he is.
Access is all. It is the very premise of choice. If you are against abortion,
this isn't an issue, even if you're raped. But if you are a woman who believes
a woman's privacy is her own to manage, especially in times of emergency, then
access determines your freedom to make the choice for your own life.
Lieberman is wrong by backing the Catholic church over women. That makes Planned
Parenthood and NARAL wrong for backing him.
