Kathleen Parker (1/28) circles around a very important question but offers only an oblique reference to Dr. Freud as an answer. Why are Republican male politicians obsessed with women's sexual behavior and reproductive system? How did we get to the point where "trans-vaginal ultrasound" is a topic for public discussion? Do they really have any idea what they are talking about when they say no one over 55 needs gynecological services? I doubt they even know the difference between obstetrics and gynecology.
Mike Huckabee is only the most recent misadventurer to wander into unknown territory. The criticism and mockery being heaped on him is well-deserved.
But this is not just a question of men on the far right of the political spectrum being out of their element in demanding longer waiting periods before an abortion or beating their chests about how they don't want to pay for birth control pills.
This is also a sad and serious state of affairs. I grew up in the dark ages before the women's movement of the 1960's and 70's. Any woman who votes Republican should go see the movie, "Philomena." It is not far off the mark as far as what delivery room scenes were like in mid-century America. We were put on hard beds in a room large enough for 8-10 women with curtains drawn for the little privacy we had. That was literally the "labor room," and the nurses were less than helpful. The attitude was "You got yourself into this, and you're on your own."
Mike Huckabee is only the most recent misadventurer to wander into unknown territory. The criticism and mockery being heaped on him is well-deserved.
But this is not just a question of men on the far right of the political spectrum being out of their element in demanding longer waiting periods before an abortion or beating their chests about how they don't want to pay for birth control pills.
This is also a sad and serious state of affairs. I grew up in the dark ages before the women's movement of the 1960's and 70's. Any woman who votes Republican should go see the movie, "Philomena." It is not far off the mark as far as what delivery room scenes were like in mid-century America. We were put on hard beds in a room large enough for 8-10 women with curtains drawn for the little privacy we had. That was literally the "labor room," and the nurses were less than helpful. The attitude was "You got yourself into this, and you're on your own."
Family members were not allowed in the delivery room. We were offered pain medication or a shot in the spine to numb the lower part of the body. The babies were whisked off to the nursery, and we got to hold them for a few minutes every four hours. Catholic women were told if they used birth control, they'd better not take communion.
In the junior high school where I taught there was a family of 13 children who lived with their parents in a small house near the railroad tracks. It had no running water. The children were so dirty, the odor permeated every classroom they were in. My aunt was the visiting nurse and tried to get the mother to use birth control but she was afraid of going to hell.
Men who have no idea what is like to be pregnant or to be raped or to go through the delivery process have no business passing laws that punish women just so they can boast about how right wing they are. It's disgusting, demeaning and must be stopped. What motivates them to play their power game over women probably lies deep within their subconscious, but women shouldn't be victimized for their lack of mature development.
Susan Cunningham
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