Putting Baby in the Corner
Written by: Jamie-Lee Clarke, Niki Van den Heever
It’s close to a hundred years since American women were granted the right to vote with the 1920 passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 94 years is merely a blink of history’s eye and the fight for women to be seen and treated as equals in the USA still rages. So if the U.S. is the ‘Brad Pitt of Earth’, why does it seem to be lagging behind in terms of what we consider basic human rights?
Obamacare has lost much of its political traction and the Republican Party seems to have realised that its opposition to same-sex marriage issue is no longer the successful tactic that Karl Rove used to secure George W. Bush’s second term in 2004. The Grand Old Party (GOP) shifted focus and has accused President Barack Obama of reopening the ‘War on Women’ issue after this year’s State of Union Address included: “It is time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a Mad Men episode.” The President referred to the fact that women are being paid less than men to do the same job and that healthcare for women is not up to the standards when it comes to abortion and contraception laws .
Mad Men is set in the sixties, when men ruled the workplace and women were either waitresses, secretaries, housewives or ‘disgraceful’ - ‘disgraceful’ describing any woman who didn’t fall into one or all of the other categories. It makes sense that the president would aim to appeal to his female citizens as it was the women’s vote that guided the Democrats to victory in the last two presidential elections. What makes no sense is the Republican reaction. One would think that the GOP would jump at the chance to appeal to women and claiming the idea as their own therebymaking themselves the ‘rescuers’ of women in order to gain the female vote. So it’s curious that the Republican Party seems intent on widening the gender gap by choosing to run with the ball Obama threw.
The Republicans started off by denying that there is a ‘War on Women’ in the first place. The very next day, Fox News host Martha MacCallum stated that the president was kicking up dust because most women aren’t interested in getting equal pay: “Women get paid exactly what they’re worth.” The more the commentariat focussed on the issue, the more it gained currency. By denying that there is a problem, the GOP has decided to oppose the Democrats with the viewpoint that not only do women not want or need equality, women need even more restrictions on issues pertaining to everything from their paychecks to abortion and rape laws. Has the ‘War on Women’ talking point sent members of the GOP into a frenzy, or is this the perfect platform for politicians and news anchors to voice their long-held sexist views?
With strange definitions of rape and discrimination involving access to birth control, some members of the GOP have been far too open about what they think. A video was recently posted on YouTube that included clips of outrageous Republican statements… things like ‘legitimate rape’ and suggestions that women use rape as an ‘excuse for abortion’. It’s clearly a violation not only of health rights, but women’s rights too… seems that when some GOP politicians run out of feasible arguments, they would rather attempt to edge further to the Right by going so far as to redefine ‘rape’ instead of cutting their losses and softening their positions.
The idea that a woman who survives rape is unable to fall pregnant is nothing new. It can be traced back to the thirteenth century - but there are a few modern examples too. In 1988, Pennsylvanian state legislator Stephen F. Freind said that the chances of a woman who survives rape falling pregnant are very slim as rape causes women to ‘secrete a certain secretion that kills sperm’. In 1995, a North Carolinian state lawmaker Henry Aldridge said the facts show that the bodies of people who are ‘truly raped’ cause juices not to flow and body functions to break down - and therefore it’s impossible for a raped woman to fall pregnant. In 1990, Texas Republican Clayton Williams said, “If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it.”
We question their humanity. How does one say such things and still expect to get votes?
During the 2012 elections, there were several controversies caused by statements made by Republican candidates pertaining to topics such as rape, birth control and abortion. Todd Akin, a Republican U.S Senate candidate in Missouri, who attracted national attention when he said a pregnancy hardly occurs if the rape is ‘legitimate’. His remarks were condemned by fellow Republicans, with Mitt Romney calling them ‘inexcusable, insulting and frankly wrong’. He was asked to step down but demurred. He said that he ‘misspoke’, labelling his statement ‘a very, very serious error’, and said the mistake he made was in the words he chose, not in the heart he holds… and what he meant to say was ‘forcible’ and not ‘legitimate’. He did not recant his views regarding a distressed vagina’s ability to protect itself from conception.
Before the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe vs. Wade, abortion was illegal in 31 states across America, regardless of the circumstances of the pregnancy. Now that abortion can no longer be banned, the GOP (which is predominantly pro-life) has resorted to other methods to prevent pregnancy termination. If they can’t stop you, they certainly will make it difficult for you.
The procedure that doctors use to detect the heartbeat early in a pregnancy has been called ‘medically unnecessary’ and ‘invasive’. Arizona, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas have laws that require transvaginal ultrasounds for women who want to have an abortion. The intention is to make women see and hear the foetus and then make their final decision… basically making women suffer before making their decisions.
52 year-old Marrianne Keith sued Advocate Condell Medical Centre after suffering from severe abdominal pain in February 2013. It was suggested by one of the physicians employed there that she go for a transvaginal ultrasound in order to find the problem. Keith had no idea what she was getting herself into: an hour of excruciating pain that left her with brutal internal injuries. She felt as if she was being raped – which is how she describes her experience.
Deciding to have an abortion is probably one of the most difficult choices a woman will ever have to make: it forms an emotional scar that nothing can heal. One would think that medical professionals would try their best to make the procedure as painless as possible. Situations like Keith’s would make people think that those who are performing the ultrasounds are against abortion and are deliberately causing this kind of physical and psychological pain on patients as punitive measure and even a deterrent.
A debate was hosted by Virginia lawmakers in 2012 in order to establish a mandate surrounding the issue. Democrats suggested that it constituted ‘state-sponsored rape’ and urged Republicans to rewrite the bill and give women the choice to undergo transvaginal ultrasound or not. At least the attempt to legislate compulsory funerals for the aborted foetuses failed.
In the words of Obama: “A woman's ability to decide how many children to have and when, without interference from the government, is one of the most fundamental rights we possess. It is not just an issue of choice, but equality and opportunity for all women.”
Following that (on a more positive note): North Dakota's ban on most abortions was overturned by a federal judge, as was the ruling that put a stop to Arkansas's 12-week abortion ban. Both bills were ruled unconstitutional.
Though the GOP is for the most part adopting a very dangerous stance on the subject, there are a few 'rogue' Republicans who do appear to have the welfare of women in mind. Oklahoma Representative Dough Cox chided his colleagues for being nonchalant about women's health at a committee hearing concerning a bill that would inevitably complicate young women's ability to access emergency contraception. He pointed out the unfairness of the matter by stating that a fourteen-year-old boy can go to the shop any day of the week and ensure his protection by purchasing condoms.
The subject of inequality for women doesn't stop at healthcare. As Obama pointed out in his State of the Union address, the question still remains about equal wages for women. This is a struggle that was supposed to have been settled over 50 years ago.
In 1963, John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, a measure that was meant to abolish wage discrimination based on gender. Why is it then that women in the United States are still only receiving 77 cents on the male dollar, even when doing the same job or holding the same position? Something just isn’t right - and Obama sought to remedy the situation.
The first step in the right direction could be the Paycheck Fairness Act, which (if made law) would ensure the transparency of businesses where remuneration is concerned by making it illegal for employees to be reprimanded for sharing their salary information with each other.
This would bring any gender discrimination concerning paychecks to light. The Act also states that the Department of Labour would have to collect wage data from businesses, including proof that any differences in pay between male and female employees in the same position exist for a reason other than gender.
This was the bill that drew national attention when the Senate blocked it last month. The vote was 53 to 44 and just didn't cut it against the Republican filibuster (which requires a ‘super majority of 60 votes to override). Are the Republicans opposing this Act because they truly don't believe it to be in the best interest of American citizens? Or do they really want to deny that unfair policies exist in the workplace or are they just bitter and want to stick it to the Democrats? Do they honestly think they will ever win the female vote when ‘blue’ states are actually doing something to benefit the female citizens of the United States?
“If the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and every mainstream media outlet talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we’d have problems with caterpillars.” - Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus
Well played, Mr President.