Sorry, ma'am, but why do you vote Republican?
No, I'm listening seriously. I'd really like to understand it, but so far I clearly don't. Not at all. Not in the slightest.
How trivial social issues like which bathrooms people use or whether to move library books to higher shelves defeat the fact that Republicans have zero respect for you at every level. I don't understand it at all.
That's not an exaggeration.
We are familiar with the national issue surrounding abortion rights and have seen firsthand the devastating effects of these ignorant and ill-conceived policies. A woman faces death in the ER, where the doctor refuses to treat her for fear of being prosecuted if she aborts the fetus to save the woman.
The Republican response to this nightmarish situation was a collective yawn. Because they don't care. They don't pretend to care.
I was reminded of these facts last week as I listened to the Alabama Senate debate a bill that would give teachers eight weeks of maternity leave.
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The bill, sponsored by Sen. Vivian Figures, was essentially a compromise. The eight weeks is down from 12 weeks in the original bill, but up from six weeks in the House version. Currently, teachers in Alabama are required to take paid time off (PTO) and sick leave to be compensated while away from work after giving birth or adopting a child.
Now, if a man were forced to push another human being out of one of his orifices, I'd bet a lot of money that an eight-year paid maternity leave bill would be introduced in the next Congress and passed in about 15 seconds. I'd bet on it. . But that's not life right now, and Republicans can never have compassion for something they haven't experienced firsthand, so talk quickly turns to one of the things Republicans care about most. I did.
money.
Those eight weeks are simply too expensive, Figures said. Figures' bill was effectively defeated when Senate President Greg Reed blocked its introduction to the House. Sen. Arthur Orr said it could cost as much as $50 million, but well, you can't take that much out of the Education Trust Fund.
Just to be clear, this is the same Alabama Senate and the same Arthur Orr. They gleefully passed and press released a bill that would divert at least $100 million a year from the education budget and send it to private schools and individuals. They called it the “CHOOSE” law.
If only women could choose.
However, in some ways it is possible.
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Because whenever something bad happens within the statehouse, we tend to lump the entire “Alabama Legislature” together, but that's not really the case. Because there was actually a group of people in that chamber who were consistently advocating for women and women's rights and women's health care. The group has been standing up for those rights for years.
Democratic Party.
Please check your records. Check your votes. Please check your bill. Please check the comments.
When Alabama Republicans tried to pass the nation's toughest anti-abortion bill, Democrats tried to block it. They warned that Law could fall and the consequences would be catastrophic.
When their dire predictions came true and Alabama began forcing rape victims and infants to carry rape pregnancies to term, Alabama Democrats fought back. They have repeatedly proposed bills that would at least make exceptions for rape and incest. This would at least protect doctors from prosecution if they terminate an unsafe or non-viable pregnancy.
When Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall threatened to prosecute women who sought abortions in other states where it was legal, it was Democrats who took the stand and ultimately reversed the threat. .
Okay, all your friends and family vote Republican. Your Facebook feed is full of memes about Sleepy Joe and Hunter's laptop. You like owning libraries and you hate Subaru. But when your daughter is literally dying in the hospital because of an unwanted pregnancy and no one will terminate it, you wonder how much fun it all will be, or if there will be anyone who can help. I have doubts.
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Or when your friend gets arrested for legally receiving prescription drugs in the mail. Or when someone you know is forced to carry a pregnancy as a result of sexual assault.
These are real situations happening all over the country right now. They are documented and reported.
There are ways to stop all of those things from happening. You have to take a stand for yourself and for all women.
