Turning Back The Clock On Women's Rights

Reading an article from TheNation.com, some things have become abundantly clear. I hope that everyone who reads this post, not only reads the article, but shares it with everyone they know.

The fundamentalists have always considered abortion to be controversial, but perhaps for different reasons than we all believed. The arguments this article gives are quite understandable. With the abolishment of abortion, and loss of maternity leave benefits, this means that women will have little choice, once becoming pregnant but to stay at home and care for their offspring.

This may sound reasonable, however, this would not be the choice of the woman. With legal abortions a woman can choose whether or not to have a child depending on whether she is stable enough in her job to do so, and whether she wishes to bring up a child at all. With maternity leave benefits, a woman has the right to produce a child if she pleases, and care for it until she can safely go back to work knowing the child will be taken care of by daycare until her return.

Without both of these very basic rights, a woman would have no choice but to have her child, and once she does, no choice but to quit her job and become a stay at home mother until the child reaches a mature age. This means that the woman is now a compulsory breeder. She will also have no choice but to stay with or gain a man to 'bring home the bacon'. Whether this man is a good man or an abuser makes no difference as the bills must be paid, or she will be out on the street with her child.

The year is 2011, no 1950. Housewives are pretty much a thing of the past. If a woman should choose to become one, it is her decision. If she chooses to work for a living, she should have that right. Do not let our elected officials turn back the clock. We have come this far for a reason, and we still have a long way to go. If they succeed, the next step will be far more unpleasant than you think.