To women who are voting Republican

I get it; you could be pro-life. You can relate when your candidate says they stand for family values. You like the idea of a small government who stands back and lets its citizens prosper through capitalism. You think people should stand on their own two feet. If this is you, keep on reading; you just may be a closet democrat.

Now hear me out; I'm actually pro-life. That's right; I don't think abortion should be a birth control method. I'll explain with a story:

Eighteen years ago, I was 14 weeks pregnant and 19 years old. I wasn't thrilled about my condition; the baby daddy, as they would call it now, was out of the picture shortly after conception. I planned on keeping the baby, of course. My parents planned to help watch the baby while I was in school and provide me a place to live. Like I said in a previous post, I have amazing parents.

I had been anticipating this appointment for weeks. I would finally see something more than morning sickness and indigestion from my developing pregnancy-- I would get to hear a heart beat. The doctor slathered my naked belly with freezing cold goo and moved the sensor thingy all over my belly. I saw the fear in his eyes; the fear that haunts all pregnant women at this stage. He was listening for a fetal heartbeat and there was nothing to hear. Unmistakeably utterly nothing.

I was rushed into ultrasound and had another sensor stuck in my hoo hah before I even had a chance to digest what was happening. The nurse finally found the baby, stalled at six weeks gestation, and dead. "Some women," the nurse explained, "have dozens of these types of miscarriages, but never realize it. The body just 'aborts' the dead fetus at the time the next period would have occurred and they never know the difference. Your body isn't miscarrying the dead fetus."

Surgery was scheduled. The doctor gave me a work excuse and sent me to bedrest. I still was contending with being 19, a sophomore in college, pregnant with a dead fetus, and now, going to my first surgery to basically, have an abortion procedure to remove a baby that was already dead.

I bet you're wondering what in the world this story has to do with anything. I'll explain:

Terry England, Georgia Representative

Georgia Representative Terry England thinks that women shouldn't get such a procedure if they are more than twenty weeks pregnant with a dead baby. He compared those women to cattle or chickens on his farm, saying it's "real sad" when it happens, but those women should have to wait for their bodies to expel the tissue naturally, putting their lives at incredibly high risk.

Phil Jensen, South Dakota Representative

State Representative Phil Jensen of South Dakota sponsored a bill to alter the definition of justified homicide to consider it permissible to commit murder if resisting an attempt to harm an unborn child or the unborn child of that person's partner or spouse, parent or child. If the father didn't believe that my fetus was dead, by this definition, he could have killed me and my doctor, then asked questions later. I'm glad I live in NY.

I am pro-life-- I want my daughter, my sister, my mother, and all the women in this country to be empowered in their health decisions. I want all of us to be able to make decisions for ourselves and our children free of a microscope. I don't like the idea of abortion. I like the idea of giving these women the hand-up to be able to support their new families, so that they have other options than abortion. I think if we continue to give options to women, rather than dictate laws, we'll see the family values happen that some politicians preach about. This is where all the rhetoric about family values really comes in.

If you want a government that allows us to thrive in our capitalist environment, you're not alone. I want a government that supports my right to control of my reproductivity so that I am free to chase my ambitions. I want a government that trusts me to make my own decisions about my health. I also want a government that doesn't allow companies to pay me less because I'm female. I am thinking you probably agree with this as well.

 We should be able to stand on our own two feet-- to have control of our reproductive rights. Government should step out of the way to allow medicine to foray into the 21st century, rather than subjugate it to the back corner of the dark ages, where women used coathangers because there were no options.

Back to my story:  I got my degree. I got married, had two children, and I have a career where I can support my ambitions and theirs. There are many legislators who would have stood in my way. I don't call that 'pro-life' and I don't call that 'family values.' I'm sure you would agree.