Women's Rights in 2008?

My God, I just started a forward. Never before, in all my life.... To touch on just one tiny piece of this year's politics, I researched and wrote sent out something to a handful of people that I hope will actually be forwarded. It's specifically about Palin (and McCain) on women's rights, to touch on this idea some people have that a vote for McCain/Palin could possibly, somehow further the cause of gender equality.

I'm posting it here. If any of y'all feel like it's worth sending out? *Please* go ahead and C&P and pass it on.


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Subject: Women's Rights in 2008?

I don't usually do this, but I had to speak up--this affects us all. Please send this anyone you know who cares about women's welfare.

"In picking Palin, Republicans are lending credence to the sexist assumption that women voters are too stupid to investigate or care about the issues, and merely want to vote for someone who looks like them ... McCain has turned the idea of the first woman in the White House from a true moment of change to an empty pander." - Ann Friedman, American Prospect

Here are some things to think about, if you're on the fence about whether electing Palin to the White House will advance the cause of gender equality and safety of women:

Despite mounting evidence that (1) it does not lower the number of teen pregnancies, (2) it actually increases instances of unprotected sex, and (3) consequently increases the spread of venereal disease in teenagers, Sarah Palin is a proponent of abstinence only education. (Though her own family's behavior is considered sacrosanct, her 17 year old unwed daughter is pregnant, presumably despite copious instruction to be abstinent until marriage.)

Sarah Palin cut funding for transitional homes for teenage mothers without places to live or the ability to care for their babies--putting girls with newborns and no support on the street, without the education or resources to actually take care of those children.

Sarah Palin is anti-choice. Even in cases of rape and incest. She has said that even if her own daughter was raped, she would be against her receiving an abortion.

As Mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin made sure that women who were raped had to pay for their own rape kits--that is, if you are raped, you have to pay the police to collect the semen from your body and analyze it. The police are not expected to, in the course of their investigations, collect the physical evidence of the crime--it is a luxury that you have to pay for separately. (This is not the case if, for instance, your car gets stolen or your home gets broken into--police work is covered by your taxes. But your being raped nullifies your rights to a 'free' and thorough investigation.) The kits cost up to $1200.


And for just a few notes on McCain's policies, if you're fairly certain he'll make it through all four years himself, without granting any powers to Palin on the way:

John McCain is against birth control. He has never supported any legislation that would reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. He voted against health insurance--even plans that cover Viagra--having to cover birth control.

McCain also supports a the overturn of Roe v. Wade and a constitutional ban on abortion.

McCain voted against (and helped defeat) a bill that supported equal pay for women doing equal work.

And on the more personal and anecdotal side of things, when McCain's first wife was disfigured by a car accident, he began cheating on her, then divorced her, and married a younger heiress. In view of reporters, when said heiress teased him about losing his hair, he called her a trollop and a cu*t.
(If these sound a little hard to believe, here are some articles:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html )


Please think about this for the upcoming elections, and send this on to anyone you know who might think women are PEOPLE, who deserve equal pay or equal protection under the law.