Women’s Issues Are Real Issues
On Politico Ben Smith covered the Pro-Choice radio ads Barack Obama is running in several states; and as usual the comments were brought forth from the dregs of society.
One of the comments that particularly ticked me off was from “Craig”
A sign Barry’s [Obama] scared big time. Going off message to hit women’s issues? How does this play with the middle America concerned about losing their house and job? What about cost of gas and food? Barry’s strayed from his path…marks of a desperate man.
The first problem with this is that apparently we cannot talk about the economy and women’s rights at the same time. Obama has to choose, is he for women or you know, people that actually matter.
Second is the assumption that women’s issues somehow have no impact on the “real” world. That’s women’s access to abortion has no interplay with the economy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Let’s face it, children may be a “bundle of joy” but they require a bundle of cold hard cash. In the United States it can cost a small fortune just to give birth to the infant WITH insurance let alone without it. Add to that clothing for both mom and baby, diapers, new furniture, child care and possibly formula. Children can be prohibitively expensive; don’t even think about anything going wrong however, because you probably can’t afford it.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that money can be a very big motivating factor on whether to have kids, or when, and how many. Or when a pregnancy should be kept.
73% of people giving reasons for having an abortion listed “can’t afford baby now” as a motivating factor. Think about that. Three quarters of abortions are tied to money issues. ”It’s the economy, stupid.”
Furthermore 23% said they couldn’t afford basic life needs, 22% were unemployed, 21% couldn’t take time off to care for the child, 12% said their partner was unemployed, and 8% were on public assistance.
So you might think that with the economy hitting a recession, people on the verge of loosing their jobs, and people defaulting on their mortgages left and right that some are thinking “I can’t really afford a child right now.” And you would be right. Or as “Craig” says;
How does this play with the middle America concerned about losing their house and job? What about cost of gas and food?
When your about to loose your home and you barely afford to get to work and eat, almost the last thing you want is another person to provide for. In the context of a poor economy, protecting the right to bodily autonomy can become glaringly more important.
Similar Posts:
- He Who Shouts Loudest Wins?
- Pregnancy and Delivery Carnival #2
- You Need a PHD in Economics to be this Stupid - Part I
