Mikaela says:
Yesterday, clergy and helpful family members and friends were the collateral damage in the latest attack on women and women's autonomy to make choices in their own lives.
The Senate passed S.403, making it a federal crime to help a minor receive an abortion by crossing state lines. Somehow we're to believe this makes their lives better.
Twelve-year-old girls raped by their fathers now have to get permission from their parents before going to get an abortion in the next state over, as if the decision wasn't scary and traumatic enough. Hurray! Let's just have all little girls pay for the rest of their lives for what happens to them in childhood. Much better to have these girls carry a baby to term and give it up for adoption, to Angelina Jolie or something.
You want the parents to know, and you want to help minors? Then add a provision for a body guard for this little parental notification, and then an escort to state lines. And then counseling and free condoms and birth control until she reaches 18. For the parents, too. Especially if she chooses NOT to have an abortion, in which case the federal government should also offer her living assistance and job training (or daycare at her school). Oh, and the same for her baby daddy (whose wages should be docked if he doesn't pay up).
In a weird twist, Senators accepted an amendment to punish the offenders in incest cases (um, I'm not sure how this is helpful, as it already seems to be illegal) but REJECTED a proposal to kick in some money for teen pregnancy prevention. (see NYT) Cause that would be SOOOO much more expensive than just paying for the fall-out later (see above). Thanks a lot, Senators.
What can be clearer? This is about punishing bad girls, including innocent victims of rape. Of course they're bad girls, what more proof do you need? They wouldn't be in this predicament if they weren't. There are the saved, and then there are the ... well ... screwed. Here's to kicking a girl, her family, and her friends when she's down. Sounds like a celebration of life if I ever heard one.
Oh, and let's keep cutting welfare, while we're at it, while Bush does an end run around us by cutting jobs in the IRS for those little-needed inspectors who audit rich people's giving in the estate tax. We all know they're dinosaurs anyway on their way to extinction. Guess what, fellas, we're not raising the minimum wage, either.
This bill passed 65-34 with one abstaining (Dianne Feinstein in California - D).
Fourteen Democrats voted FOR the bill.
That's right, had all Democratic Senators voted against, the bill would have stood 50-50. Interesting, no? Think they diivied up the votes? Didn't they just need a couple to jump ship to save all their hides?
Guess what? Save one, they're all MEN. Shocking, right?
Here they are:
| Bayh | IN | male |
| Byrd | WV | male |
| Carper | DE | male |
| Conrad | ND | male |
| Dorgan | ND | male |
| Inouye | HI | male |
| Johnson | SD | male |
| Kohl | WI | male |
| Landrieu | LA | female |
| Nelson | FL | male |
| Nelson | NE | male |
| Pryor | AR | male |
| Reid | NV | male |
| Salazar | CO | male |
Here are the Republicans who voted AGAINST the bill, bless them:
Chafee (R-RI) male
Collins (R-ME) female
Snowe (R-ME) female
Specter (R-PA) male
And Jeffords (I-VT) male
Who needs to overturn Roe v. Wade? Let's just start at the bottom with the most innocent victims and work our way to a victory for life. Sounds like a winning strategy to me. For male senators, anyway.
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