Hey Ladies (and Gents) It's Blog for Choice Day!!!

So that means we're blogging to keep our choice with what to do with our uteruses. I don't fancy being turned into a baby factory anytime soon, and I hope you don't either. Bear with me this may be a little more rambly then usual. (I also wasn't sure if I should write about personal experience or not. I haven't had an abortion, but I sure am happy that I have the option.)

Blog for Choice

I am a feminist. I am against all hierarchy and dominance (see my Radical feminist or just plain feminist? post) I don't believe in the government, I don't agree with it. But I vote. Every single election I am out there at the voting booth ready and willing to vote. Now I take a lot of slack from anarchists who say that I'm implicitly supporting the governmental system. Maybe I am, but again I have serious problems with them trying to legislate my uterus. SO I vote, and I'll do so until the day I die (or until they stop trying to legislate my uterus, whichever comes first.)

Good Ol'USA
On to the choice. I hear that the US Supreme Court is going to take a look at the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban" again. That could be a good thing (although if you've seen the Supreme Court lately I'm a little on edge). Several lesser courts have found it unconstitutional, but I don't hold my breath for conservative judges on the Supreme Court to actually read and agree with the constitution moreso then whatever they believe to be morally right. (Seriously, you could have the politics of Bush on the stand and I wouldn't care if you *followed the constitution*) I know, it's hard giving rights to those that you don't think should have them. Poor babies. But it's not up to you to give or take rights, it's up to you to decide if the decision fits into the constitution, and this one doesn't. It's unconstitutional. Remove it. You want women to not have rights? Change the constitution. (I am not advocating this.) But watch out, we might beat you with our pretty pink heels.

In good news, Washington State is pretty kick ass. We have the Take Charge Program which offers free birth control to those who are at or below 200% of the poverty line, which means all high schoolers and college age kids can get free annuals, birth control, and e.c. And of course it's available to low income adults as well. It's a glorious thing out here in Washington. (It also allows anyone of any age to get fixed for free. HOORAY!!! I think that's a good thing, becuase I know a lot of people who have been told they're too young and that they'll regret it later, or that they have to have a kid first. I've known since before I started bleeding that I didn't want any kids. I know that there are others out ther like me.)

I was in Planned Parenthood this week and there are signs all over for a number to call in case the pharmacy you go into doesn't have/refuses to give you emergency contraception. Unfortunately I cannot remember the number as I would call Planned Parenthood to get it, but the reason they have the hotline is because pharmacists here HAVE to provide you with E.C. They can't pull the *religious* crap that they can elsewhere. They get reported and they get in trouble. Sometimes I love living here (but that's kind of rare.) I hope the program gets refunded. The amount of abortions went down from 2000-2003 (newest stats I could find) and hopefully the trend continued and they'll keep the women of Washington State with choices. (It's a 5 year program with year 5 being now. eep!) Hopefully other states will look to Washington as well and see how well we're doing with free birth control. It saves a lot more money in the long run, which I know is what states are actually interested in.

On to Canada:

Tommorrow, please GO VOTE. Don't let Harper and his cronies win, for the love of all that is good and holy. I can't vote so you'll have to vote for me

And I quote: (Taken from a 1997 speech Harper made to the (US) Council for National Policy

...your country, and particularly your conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world.

...The establishment came down with a constitutional package which they put to a national referendum. The package included distinct society status for Quebec and some other changes, including some that would just horrify you, putting universal Medicare in our constitution, and feminist rights, and a whole bunch of other things.

...before the Reform Party really became a force in the late '80s, early '90s, the leadership of the Conservative party was running the largest deficits in Canadian history. They were in favour of gay rights officially, officially for abortion on demand. Officially -- what else can I say about them? Officially for the entrenchment of our universal, collectivized, health-care system and multicultural policies in the constitution of the country.

...Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it.

...In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance.

Please for the love ofher/his noodly appendage NO!!! And here's the best endorsement for the NDP I've read (to the same crowd):

[The NDP] believes not just in large government and in massive redistributive programs, it's explicitly socialist. On social value issues, it believes the opposite on just about everything that anybody in this room believes. I think that's a pretty safe bet on all social-value kinds of questions.

We know that Harper is not about women's rights, or a woman's right to control her own body. (I know this is old, but only a few months, check here.) SO please vote, and please vote NDP (out of the 4, well I might vote Bloc, but you can't do that outside of Quebec.) Please please please please PLEASE do not let Harper win. Preserve choice, preserve sanity.