Archives for Category "Parenting"
April 4, 2008
Whose Bodily Integrity Now, Mister?
Apart from the personal fun and unfun (mostly unfun) of pregnancy, there are of course huge politics associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. I have lots of opinions about most aspects (and did even before I was pregnant), and those aspects I don't have opinions about yet, I'm sure I will soon. But the biggie, when it comes to pregnancy in the United States, is of course the question of a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy. For the record, my own pregnancy (approaching 31 weeks) has only reinforced my views on this:No one should be forced or coerced by the state to be pregnant against their will.
I don't usually bother to read discussions about reproductive rights online much anymore - there is really nothing new under the sun, there. But, I was idly skimming this thread for some reason and was amused at one response to a guy (surely a guy) claiming that he's all about the pwecious babeeez...
Whatever works — as long as there are fewer abortions, I’m happy. If anyone’s “rights” get trampled on as a result of preventing that abortion, I really am not bothered by it. Now cry and moan.I thought the 'cry and moan' attempt at a coup de grace was telling, too, regarding this jerk's views on women who dare to assert their personhood. Anyway, the response was:
OK, here’s a suggestion. Every man could be forced to have a vasectomy. There could be a policy of storing several sperm samples before the procedure, or perhaps a system whereby one could apply for a temporary reversal in order to have a child. I think adopting such a policy would bring the abortion rate down to virtually zero, don’t you? So, given your insistence that it doesn’t matter whose rights get trampled on as long as the number of abortions is reduced, can we assume that you’d be entirely in favour of this?As we see over and over again, the promoted policies of the forced childbirth brigades are often in stark contrast to their supposed goals.
<=> | Comments: 1 | in: Civil Rights & Feminism / Parenting / Religion & Politics
March 25, 2008
Virginia for the Haters
There is a lot TheGuy and I like about living in Virginia, but sometimes some of the idiot haters down in Richmond remind me of some of the things we really don't. The latest "conservative" display of bigotry and hate here in the great Commonwealth is rightwing Attorney General McDonnell claiming that state universities in Virginia do not have to offer in-state tuition to U.S.-born students whose parents happen to be undocumented immigrants. The ACLU of VA's Executive Director says:Under the AG’s line of reasoning, a U.S. citizen born in Virginia and who has spent his entire life here could be denied in-state tuition because his parents are not lawfully present. That’s patently unfair and a bit preposterous, if you think about it. At the very least it violates a fundamental tenet of U.S law -- that you do not punish children for the actions of their parents.It's not only bigoted, it's anti-American, and anti-education. But, I'm not really surprised.
These days, of course, stuff about education is starting to become personal for us. If we still happen to be in Virginia when it's time for TheLittleGuy to go to college, I will certainly encourage him to consider some of Virginia's fine colleges and universities to help save his poor parents some money. (I'll be suggesting options outside of VA too, I'm sure.) Hopefully, whatever wingnut Taliban-types are in office at the time won't be trying to deny access to education to my kid simply because his mother has some trait(s) they find undesirable. But, you know they would if they could.
<=> | in: Civil Rights & Feminism / Parenting / Religion & Politics / Republicans / State & Local
February 14, 2008
New Boy In My Life
Happy Valentine's Day - I figure this is a good time as any to disclose that there's a new boy in my life, now.Mr. Medley and I discovered last fall that I am building a small human. In January, we were told that he's a he. We expect he'll be moving on out of his current abode and into the house sometime in June.
As you can imagine, I have loads of thoughts and opinions about this experience and transition that I expect I'll write about here from time-to-time.
Update: See also: TheGuy's perspective.
<=> | Comments: 10 | in: Parenting
