Democrats continue to push the idea that the Republicans are at "War with Women". Apparently, this idea resonates in opinion polls, but is ridiculous on it's face. Much of this argument has been fueled by the recent "Hobby Lobby" contraception opinion by the U. S. Supreme Court. You can read the Wikipedia page on the Hobby Lobby decision by clicking here.
The real war on women is being fought in the Middle East, where women have no rights whatsoever. In addition, muslim extremists are kidnapping, torturing and raping women and have been legally doing so for decades and centuries. For good measure, there is also currently mass genocide of those of the Christian and other minority religions in the Middle East. These issues are the ones that should concern us, rather than the "war on women" political farce being perpetuated by the Democrats on the uneducated public.
Above: Havasupai Creek, Grand Canyon, May 2014. Photo by Tim Waag. Ya gotta see it 2 believe it!
I am amazed that people believe that a major political group wants to wage a war on one gender. That people believe this may come from one of 2 sources, IMHO:
1) Republicans tend to support businesses more than Democrats, and corporate boardrooms are still dominated in this country by men. Therefore, men want to keep women down in order to continue their dominance in the boardroom, because they somehow can't stand to work side-by-side with women. Makes no sense to me. My wife is my boss in our own business, and it works just fine and I am very happy with this situation. My wife is a good boss to me. Generally, business people want to employ people who do the best job for their business, independent of their physical characteristics.
2) More Republicans than Democrats believe that abortion is the killing of a human being. Whether you agree with that or not, is it really such a stretch to understand why a person would think that way? In fact, our laws allow someone to be prosecuted for murder if they kill a fetus inside a woman while the woman still survives. Apparently, it is the law of the land, that in the case of another killing the fetus of a woman, that indeed, the fetus is a person of legal status. Think about it. Please.
*****Original Article: 7/17/2014 - A common theme that will continue through the November 2014 midterm elections is the so-called "War on Women". In this "war", the R's are believed to be in a battle to destroy all women, say the D's. The R's say it just not true. Silly, unproductive political tactics, IMHO. Stick to the issues, and let the voters decide if there is a war going on, should they want to participate in the ridiculousness of the accusations of this "war".
Which leads us to the recent Supreme Court "Hobby Lobby" (HL) decision. Lets stick to the case facts, as best we can - then you can decide.
FACT: Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) was passed, and it was supported by many D's who are still in office (including VP Biden, Secretary of State Kerry, etc.). It was also supported by Prez Clinton ("the government should be held to a very high level of proof before it interferes with someone's free exercise of religion"). It easily passed both houses of Congress (Senate vote was 97 to 3 in favor). The HL decision was based on the RFRA. The RFRA was introduced in the Senate by the late great Senator Edward Kennedy (D., Mass.).
FACT: Nothing in the HL ruling stops a woman from getting any form of contraception; the issues is whether the employer in this case, who has a religious-based objection to all contraception after conception, should be forced by the government to pay for it. Hence the "religious freedom" angle. Despite statements to the contrary, all FDA approved contraceptive products remain fully and cheaply available to women in all 50 states. HL objected to paying for 4 methods of contraception on moral grounds, leaving 16 methods (83% of the methods) that they willingly pay for.
FACT: In the unlikely event that a woman employed by HL cannot afford to purchase low cost contraceptives, there are 5 government programs that will pay for it, including Medicaid.
FACT: Americans believe, in large majorities, that religious freedom is a right that must be protected.
You can read about HL from the conservative perspective by clicking here.
You can read about HL from a moderate liberal perspective by clicking here.
You can read about HL from a liberal perspective by clicking here.
Interesting perspective: One commentator recently noted that sex is for 1 of 2 purposes: (1) creating babies - no contraception required; (2) a form of intimate recreation (contraception required). Therefore, contraception is more of a form of recreational gear, and shouldn't really be considered a part of "health care", any more than going kayaking or playing basketball. Draw your own conclusions as to where you would go with this one!
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