In 2004, I went to the March for Choice in D.C., and it actually made me feel like things might be ok. But now, almost 2 years later, I feel like we have taken steps backward. Of course, a large part of it is because Bush won the 2004 election. But there has also been movement of a state level to restrict abortion. Even here in California, Prop 73--an attempt to create a parental consent law for teenagers seeking abortions--almost passed last year. And similar laws are passing all over the U.S. That concerns me. These laws feel like the first step in a slow, back-door battle to eliminate a woman's right to choose.
What concerns me even more, though, is the success that Bush and cultural conservatives have had in eliminating safe-sex discussions in schools. As someone who went through abstinence-only education, I know how pointless and uninformative it is. The workbooks they gave us when I was in junior high looked like they were developed in the 70s, and mostly taught us how to come up with silly puns about why to save sex until marriage. I learned nothing. Teenagers need all the facts. If Bush really cared about reducing abortions in America, he'd give them the tools they need to protect themselves.
It's our duty as progressives who care to pay attention to what's happening and make some noise about it. We have to stand up and make it known that America is a Pro-Choice country. We have to insist that our youth aren't lied to and talked down to. We have to protect the rights established by Roe v. Wade whenever they are threatened--which is almost all the time these days.
Pro-Child, Pro-Family, Pro-Choice
