The War on Women Endangers Everyone

Last week, Donald Trump caused quite a stir when he stated that he would punish women who'd undergone an abortion. In saying this, he outraged a lot of the anti-choice right by giving the true nature of the game away. While Trump backpedaled, saying that women seeking abortions were 'victims' (thus putting forth the misogynist idea that women are not capable of moral authority and autonomy), the fact remains that anti-choice policies already punish women. For a very personal account of the difficulties involved in obtaining a legal medical procedure, please read Syrbal/Labrys' post... this is exactly the sort of gut-punch that 'fence-sitters' trying to find 'common ground' with misogynist authoritarians need.

In the GOP war against Planned Parenthood, there are other threats- Missouri senators are attempting to nullify HIPAA privacy regulations in order to obtain patient consent forms for abortion procedures at a St Louis Planned Parenthood facility. As someone who worked in a HIPAA-compliant facility for years, I find this attempt to steal confidential patient records to be an abhorrent overreach and, potentially, a threat to everyone's health information privacy.

On a even more harrowing note, the GOP's war against Planned Parenthood in Indiana has shut down rural clinics which test for STI's in the face of a growing HIV epidemic.

The GOP War on Women poses a danger to everyone who can't afford to escape to a country with more humane laws. Men, even straight conservative white men of a certain age, ignore this to their peril. I imagine quite a few of the Heartland HIV patients voted for Republican representatives, and they will pay an unthinkable price for that.