abortion

This weekend I participated in a march and rally, one of many “Bans Off Our Bodies” events to protest the anticipated Supreme Court ruling to overturn women’s right to privacy and to control of their bodies. And then I heard the news about an 18-year-old boy who was able to acquire body armor and tactical weapons and target Black shoppers in Buffalo, killing at least ten people.

I was around before abortion was legal across the US. I never had to make the choice myself, but I know many women of my generation who did. And it goes without saying that nobody WANTS an abortion. But sometimes it is the humane and necessary option. By carelessness, accident, or sexual violence, they became pregnant under circumstances when they did not want to have a baby. They had to make that terrible decision in order to preserve their health, their education, their economic well-being — in short, their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

One of my more recent friends who is now 75 years old told me just yesterday that she had an abortion when she was in college. She was on a full scholarship and she was not in a serious committed relationship with the man. If she had carried the baby to term, she would have had to leave school, give up her scholarship, probably be disowned by her parents, and her life would have taken a much different path. This is just one of so many similar stories. Men can have casual sex without worrying about the consequences. They can also get vasectomies. Controlling fertility is not so easy for the women.

If you believe abortion is wrong, no courts are going to force you to have one. And that’s your right and your choice. Likewise, I want my daughters and every child-bearing person to be able to make their own choice, informed by the medical and/or religious authorities that they choose. No court should force anyone to carry a pregnancy to term.

And guns. I get it that people like to hunt and want to have a rifle. I kind of understand that some people feel the need for a handgun, despite data that shows that owning a weapon makes you less safe, especially if you have kids. But there’s a distinct difference between a handgun or a rifle and the type of assault weapon used by this latest killer and so many of his predecessors. And learning that he had previously threatened to shoot people at his school, but still he was not barred from obtaining lethal weapons, just makes me crazy.

How hard can it be to require a background check and a waiting period?  The second amendment arguments I read talk about the need to protect ourselves from tyranny. I’m not sure who they think is the enemy, especially given recent events where the so-called “law and order” advocates are attacking police and knowingly violating laws. But that’s a topic for another rant.

I honestly just don’t understand how anyone can see all the tragic gun deaths and injuries, and still insist that anyone, regardless of age or mental health, should be able to get any type of weapon and ammunition and tactical gear without limit. Most gun violence prevention advocates do not call for taking away legitimately obtained small-scale guns. They argue for sensible regulations – background checks, licensing, mandatory safety training, and a ban on assault weapons. I just don’t understand why that should be a problem. I don’t know how many more innocent people have to die before we can take action at the national level.

What we need is not for more people to die – we need more living people to VOTE for candidates who WILL do the sensible thing. The Congress is dysfunctional because voters elected those people and citizens who could have voted but didn’t allowed the elections to go without their input. We DO have the power if we will just use it.

PLEASE do your homework and vote for people who respect human life, including women’s lives. Vote for people who will stand up to the NRA and pass sensible gun regulation. All our lives depend on it. Thank you!