This month is the 88th Anniversary of women getting the right to vote...so, if you are a woman and you are over 18 and you aren't registered to vote...register to vote and VOTE DAMMIT! (08/18/2008)
This is a message from my sister for all of you...please follow the directions...thanks
Subject: I'm conducting a social experiment...
...and it goes a little something like this...
I, Camille Bird, would like to do a fundraiser for the following:
Camille Bird...college tuition
Planned Parenthood...pursuing women's health
Wally Pleasant...just plain awesome
I have 2,500 "Rollercoaster Me...Love Letters I Never Sent" cds...they
are most lovingly described as a "...nocturnal escape route to surviving
life and love." There are over 40 tracks on the cd. Each track mingles
with my one woman show and music my friends wrote.
How can you be a part of this miraculous wonderment?
Go to www.wallypleasant.com and buy the cd for only $12. This offer
will not last forever. They must be sold by the 25th of August. That's
just a little over a week away so hop to it!!! My cds have not been
available on the internet until now and I must sell them all!!! (It
sounds a little like I'm going out of business or something. I'm
not...I just want to be able to work on a new project)
Where will your $12 go?
Good question!!!
$2 pays for your shipping and Wally's time...he has some really cute
kids and a darn awesome wife so his time is worth a lot more...trust
me...it's a total steal!!!
$5 will go to my college education so that someday I will have business
cards that say Rev. Phd Camille Bird (that's translated The Reverend
Doctor Camille Bird). This means that I will be able to open a church
called "The Bird House...A Place Where People Flock To" and also that I
may tour the country bringing people laughter and hope.
$5 goes to Planned Parenthood Action Council of Utah. This means that
someday you and/or the women you know can get affordable reproductive
and health care without their bodies being used as a political platform.
And what does Wally Pleasant get...well...he gets a bunch of you
hooligans meadering through his web-site and basking in the gloriousness
that is his genius. That reminds me, pick up some of his stuff while
you are there. You WILL NOT regret it.
So, that's that...I'm not dying of cancer or some other incurable
disease...and I'm not trying to buy a headstone for some soldier down
friend of mine. I just really want to sell all of my cds and change the
world a little while I'm at it.
Ready?
www.wallypleasant.com
Questions?
Just write to me...
Toodles,
Camille "Titsa Galore" Bird
The Ghost I Have Been Chasing...
This is the Ghost I have been chasing...and those are his angels...
I look like him they say...I can see it in my eyes...I can see it in my nose...I can see it in the car I drive and the humor I posess...I miss a man that many say I hardly knew and yet I feel like I am missing a rib or something...maybe a kidney? They say you can live without those things but that you will never feel the same...I don't feel the same and I am chasing ghosts...have you ever seen a labrynth? They look something like this...
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My Uncle Arvel took that picture...he is famous...and he has been here this week and he is the tie to my ghost and there are lots and lots of unanswered questions so most of the time we sit in silence...he plays the fiddle...he is amazing...I am chasing ghosts and I have no idea where this is going and I am terrified it is all wrong...I keep waiting for the boo...he doesn't come...and I am walking that labrynth waiting for an answer...sometimes I think they are coming...they do, eventually, and when they do they are whammies...like the ones from the game show that take away all your winnings...I am not winning and I am chasing ghosts and I don't know what to do...
I am lost and scared and freaked out and angry and confused and terrified and hopeful and feeling a little as if I have left my body and my direction is gone...
(06/26/2008)
There are lots of people who think McCain is a moderate...
This is simply not the case...check out this short video...then please tell me why on earth you would vote for this man if you have a uterus... (6/17/2008)
And this is why I vote in every election and advocate for GLBTQ people...
Many of you may or may not know that I am dear friends with the Attorney General. This man who I have known for nearly 5 years is someone that I respect and look up to as a father figure. I believe that he walks with integrity and grace and that he loves me and my wife for who we are.
A few weeks ago we were at lunch and he was agonizing over a request from the religious right to file an amicus brief objecting to the California Supreme Court decision about gay marriage. He said he would not do it because he did not believe that decision was wrong. He called, emailed and texted me repeatedly trying to do what was best for me and my community. In the end he wrote a letter and he became a pariah to the uppity gays in Utah.
He called me worried that my association with him would damage my reputation. I told him I loved him and believed in him and still didn't think that he had made the wrong decision. It was better that what could have happened you see. He could have said California was wrong and gays should have no legal protections. He could have filed that brief called and said it didn't matter that my relationship is this important. He could have done a lot of things and I respect what he did. Yesterday he called me and asked how to communicate what happened to the whole community. I told him to call EU and ask to send a response to their email list explaining what he did and what happened. He had been receiving hate mail you see and he wanted people to know the truth.
I told him that our community was no better than the conservatives. I was wrong. Mark has been forwarding me emails from our community. Letters of understanding and kindness far better than the ones filled with hate. This is why I love this man. This is why I am proud to call him my friend and this is why we should all remember, judge not lest ye be judged.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's Response:
Dear Mike,
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the "Statement from Equality Utah" emailed yesterday, June 4th. It would be great if you would send this response out to your email list. I appreciate the chance to clarify my actions and invite further dialogue.
Please understand that my letter to the California Supreme Court did not question, criticize or disagree with the court's ruling that the California statutory ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. The letter did not address the merits of, or advocate for, any legal definition of marriage in California. Each State makes and unmakes its own marriage and other domestic relations laws. Further, it did not address the merits of, or advocate for or against, the proposed California ballot measure on marriage. All it did was bring to the Court's attention some genuine concerns regarding judicial processes in our states - concerns that might well have been ameliorated by the Court modifying its opinion's effective date until after the November constitutional ballot initiative.
When Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages in 2003, couples from all over the country went to Massachusetts to get married and upon returning home, some of those unions ended up in litigation dubbed "recognition lawsuits" against the home state. Those lawsuits were limited by a Massachusetts statute that prohibits marriage in that State "by a party residing and intending to continue to reside in another jurisdiction if such marriage would be void if contracted in such other jurisdiction." California does not have a similar statute.
Media around the country has already begun reporting plans of same-sex couples to travel to California to get married. It was our concern that substantial recognition litigation will result in California's sister states. Therefore we felt it would be prudent for the California Supreme Court to stay the implementation of its recent ruling because if the ballot measure passes, it would eliminate the potential for litigation against our states on the recognition issue. If the stay is denied, and then the amendment passes in November we would still be dealing with recognition lawsuits for marriages performed between now and November. Furthermore, we did not ask for a stay - that was done by parties to he California litigation. We simply asked the court to consider granting that motion.
As you now know, the California Supreme Court denied the motion for stay and gay marriages will be allowed. If Utah couples get married in California and return to Utah and someday end up in litigation with the State of Utah over whether Utah has a constitutional duty to recognize that marriage, I will have the statutory duty to defend Utah's law and constitution and argue that it does not. Ultimately this issue will be resolved by the United States Supreme Court.
Given your past recognition and honors, I trust that you know that I understand and have a great deal of compassion and empathy for the struggles and inequities faced by same sex couples. As you are aware, I publicly opposed Amendment 3 four years ago at substantial political risk.
Throughout my course of public service I have tried very hard to be fair and just and have fought for equality and individual rights of all Utahns regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.
On this 40th anniversary of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy I am reminded of, and inspired by, his words to the City Club of Cleveland on April 5, 1968, the day after the murder of MLK and two months before his own. I find them poignant, relevant and instructive today:
"When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered.
"We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community; men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear, only a common desire to retreat from each other, only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this, there are no final answers.
"Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens. The question is not what programs we should seek to enact. The question is whether we can find in our own midst and in our own hearts that leadership of humane purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence.
"We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of others. We must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge.
"Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanquish it with a program, nor with a resolution.
"But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can."
If you, or anyone in the gay community or Equality Utah "family," have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me or call me anytime.
(06/06/2008)
We were robbed last night...the police keep calling it burglarized but it feels like robbed to me...he would have had to have had a weapon to have it be robbery but isn't him coming in our home and terrorizing our dogs and the cat enough? I barely saw him...Lauren yelled at him and asked him who the fuck he was...he broke in through the doggie door in the back of the house, which we never used because we were afraid of the cat getting out, which he did...and I called the police and all I could do was stand there and scream...and the dogs were crying and the cat was lost and his shoes were in our bedroom and Lauren's shoes were gone...and he went through her clothes and he sat on our bed...and he threw Koko's ashes on the ground as if that wasn't my dog in that beautiful pine box...like nothing...like nothing in this house had any value unless it was drugs or money...he took my purse and they found it on the street and fingerprinted the hell out of it and now it is trashed...so much for my beautiful purse that everyone complimented me on...I loved that purse...and now it is black and trashed...much like the air in the house...so we smudged and I am burning candles and incense and the windows are open but it still feels heavy here...and I am leaving and I am leaving my baby alone...even though Chad and Kellie will be here it won't be me to comfort her when she tries to close her eyes to sleep and all she can see is him...she chased him and I stood in my backyard and screamed for her...and our house is trashed...we need a new back door and a new front door and he knows where everything is...he knows what my house looks like...he knows what my underwear looks like...he knows what we look like and I hate him and I don't understand...why did this happen? What sort of a fucked up and dimented mother fucking son of a bitch loser fucking wanna be gang banger...fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck...how dare he? How dare he come into our home and terrorize my puppies...my wife...my cat...who finally came back but all I could do was stand at the stairs and scream...I am afraid...my sanctuary has been destroyed...there is no peace here right now...I keep looking over my shoulder...(05/06/2008)
Where are all the moderates?
Recently we had a booth at the local Republican Convention. Everyone thought we had lost our minds and frankly, I was hoping they weren't right...so there were people who asked us why we were there...people who said we had no right to be there...people who were mean and yelled...people who would walk by and read our sign, you could read their lips, they would stop mid-sentence, turn around and run...yes-run...BUT...we got over 30 new signatures for comprehensive sex ed...many people were shocked to find out who we are and what we do...we educated a TON of people and shocked the shit out of others and I am really, really glad that I didn't listen to the people that said we wouldn't be successful because we were on so many levels...and I hope and pray that this is the first of many events like this where we have the opportunity to shock the hell out of a lot of people...because, you can't argue with prevention...and that is the best part of all of this...
The sucky part you ask???? Our esteemed racist, mysoginistic, homophobic, number one evil Senator avoided a primary by 2...yes...2 votes...what is my response? We had 2 volunteers there who are both moderate republicans, neither of whom are delegates...these 2 intelligent amazing wonderful women aren't delegates...and they should be because the moderates are the ones who will make the change in the party...it is time for a change...so, no matter what your party affiliation friends, foes and loved ones...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE become a delegate in 2009...please, for the love of pete...
And thank you to those of you who support the old PP...without all of you on so many levels, we would not be making the AMAZING changes in Utah and throughout the country...
(05/04/2008)
Sometimes you spend your whole entire life trying to get something you were never meant to have in the first place, sometimes you just keep seeking it out until you realize that you weren't supposed to be looking for it at all, sometimes, a little thing like a garden gnome can help you to see that you were never theirs and you were never supposed to be and even though you tried really hard to be a good kid, you weren't ever supposed to have a daddy (04/16/2008)
Many of you have inquired about my last blog post and I am happy to report that with a little valium and some animal insurance life is back on track...well, it also helps that the legislative session is over and I passed two bills into law...that was a very nice bonus. Sometimes you just have to have a nervous breakdown now and again...I am feeling much better now...however, I am still grumbling about this Hillary thing...I just think she is the better candidate and would make a really amazing President.
A mentor and dear friend of mine died of cancer a few weeks ago. I miss her but not in the I used to talk to her all the time kind of way...more like I always knew she was there and she loved to hear my rantings and used to always say just keep causing trouble Missy you can make great change...turns out she used to do a lot of Labrynth meditation...I think I might want to try that. Thank you Julien for being such a remarkable woman that going to your wake taught me that you can know someone in one way but their life and the people in it are truly multifaceted. I am going to go off and cause some trouble now. (03/16/2008)
Breaking...
I feel like I am breaking...broken...pieces...my life has been so shattered...I found peace once and then it was shattered when Koko died and I can't figure out how to put back the pieces...there is lots of yelling and anger and frustration and I just want it to get better.
I used to feel like this all the time...like the depression would just take over and I felt so alone...like I wanted to crawl in on myself...I feel that way again and I am trying to crawl in on myself and I can't because I have this job and these responsibilities...
She is sick and I can't help her...he is sick and I can't help him...what message is the fucking universe trying to send me now? You aren't in control Missy...well no kidding...there are no accidents Missy...well no kidding...but I am tired and I am breaking and I am not sure how to stop it...
I miss the bliss and it seems so far out of my reach...what I want is for the bliss to return and for the daily routine of life to not feel like a thousand shards of glass attacking my body...
(02/28/2008)
This is why I am voting for Hillary Clinton...
I can't take it anymore...each Sunday I get up and go to the Opinion section of the SL Tribune and read all the OpEds. Today I read that Barb Guy is not voting for Hillary Clinton because she waffled on her last name labeling the name change as unfeminist. WHEN ARE PEOPLE GOING TO ADMIT THAT THE REAL REASON THEY ARE NOT VOTING FOR HER IS BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN AND WE ARE AN INHERENTLY SEXIST COUNTRY?
People are having to come up with some pretty lame excuses...family legacy anyone...in order to have an excuse for their sexism. The other reason that Ms. Guy lists is that Barack Obama didn't vote for the war. OBAMA COULDN'T HAVE VOTED FOR OR AGAINST THE WAR BECAUSE HE WAS A STATE SENATOR...HE WASN'T EVEN ELECTED TO HIS CURRENT SEAT UNTIL 2004.
Let's call this what it really is people and let's start talking about who is the best person to do the job. Let's talk about who the best President will be...who will do the best job for the people. Hope and change are great, but what happens when you are having to make difficult decisions in the sit-room? When you have to travel from country to country reforming the American image?
Hillary Clinton is the best traveled first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt. She has met with more heads of state around the world than any other person running for the Presidency and she has relationships with those people, something that is greatly needed at this time, a time when people around the world hate us and we have to justify where we come from because of our current leaders.
I refer you now to a book I recommend everyone read. "Closing the Leadership Gap-Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World" by Marie Wilson. I have been reading this book with astonishment as my mind parallels what is currently happening in this race for President. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"How quickly we get to critical mass also depends on changing the perception of women as leaders, and on starting to value female qualitites rather than using them as an excuse to marginalize us as 'work moms.'"
"What does it mean to trust women in a country that doesn't?"
"For over 200 years, the United States has been steered by male leadership who tend to lead from a 'self-centered, self-preservation' perspective...Women all around the world are inclined to lead, their families and nations, from an 'other-centered' perspective."
"Women's involvement in government...brings about shifts in political behavior and priorities. Women overseas have promoted human rights issues that directly affect their lives: violence, trafficking in women, equality in marriage and parenthood, equal pay, and reproductive choice. But they don't stop there-they also raise quality-of-life issues affecting everyone, including the protection of natural resources, access to fresh water, nutrition, human rights, and protection for the destitute."
Wouldn't America be better off with a President that looks at how each one of her decisions affect the whole of our communities because she is inherently ingrained to do so simply because she is a woman? Wouldn't we be better off with a leader who not only does things because it is good for America but good for the world? I have has a hard time explaining why I am voting for Hillary because I just am. I am because I believe she is the best leader for this position. I am because she is a woman who believes in her convictions and believes deeply in early childhood education and universal health care. I am because she is intelligent and capable and inspiring and because she lifts me up and makes me believe that I too will one day hold that highest of offices. I am because Alice Paul and Eleanor Roosevelt believed that one day a woman would become President and I believe that day has come. And finally, I believe that this MUST happen for the good of all of the women who live in this country because, "Can a nation call itself a democracy when 'women are so grossly underrepresented?'"
Please look closely at the people running for public office and then admit to yourself that we are an inherently sexist society. Look into the eyes of the women that are in your family, the women that you work with, the women that you know, the women that represent most of the people in poverty, the women that raised you. Look at them and realize that as long as men hold this highest of office, it is your sisters, daughters, aunties, grandmothers that remain underrepresented. It is time to get past the hopes and dreams and look at who will accomplish the most with the short time frame they are given. It is time to vote for Hillary Clinton. (02/24/2008)
So many things to say so little time to blog about stuff...
Domestic partnership benefits will lead to the downfall of heterosexual marriage as we know it. The gay agenda is in full force with this nasty policy and the gays must be stopped. This is the opinion of one Utah State Senator who shall remain nameless...he is a big meany. Here are some of the choice words that I wrote down during the committee hearing for a bill that would make it illegal for any city or county in Utah to enact a domestic partner registry...
"Repugnant to law" (as in domestic partner registries are repugnant to law)
"Maintain the order" (kind of like Hitler did? or perhaps Stalin?--anyone ever heard of facism?)
"Marriage recognition policy" (as in our fantastic constitutional amendment defining marriage)
"Separate class" (now here here...who set up the separate class? the gays or the straights?)
"Chaotic situations throughout the state" (oh man, you are totally right...me siging up with my lesbian lover on a domestic partnership registry is going to create complete and total chaos...pandemic flu now that is chaos...the plague now that is chaos...me and Laur on a registry...TOTAL FUCKING MAYHEM)
"Marriage is compromised one slice at a time" (R-I-G-H-T...totally, I mean I am totally trying to compromise marriage...holy shit, you totally nailed it on the head with that one)
"Marriage counterfeits, marriage look alikes" (Look assholes, I have a cat with cancer that I am trying to decide what to do with, our new puppy pees on the floor and in her kennel, I don't have anymore activia in the fridge to regulate my bowels and I just bought a lovely dining set from Ethan Allen--retail therapy--where is the look alike? We bleed, we breathe, we pay our taxes and we hardly ever have sex...doesn't that sound an awful lot like your marriage?)
"Living mockery" (right, I am a living mockery...if that is the case fuck it...I am going to stop paying my social security because I can't give it to anybody anyway and I am going to stop having retail therapy and infusing this economy with my big gay homosexual dollars and while I am at it...mock this mother fucker...who are you to say that I am a mockery while you go around judging...what is that little biblical phrase...oh yes, my mommy used to use it when I was little--JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED)
And while we are at it...could someone PLEASE get me a copy of that darnitall gay agenda...I can't find mine anywhere...
(02/18/2008)
I have been asked to go to a University located in Provo to do a debate in front of the law students about Roe v. Wade. My section is called "Protecting Choice" and I have posted my speech below for your overall general enjoyment since most of you won't be there to see me be all fantastic...oh, I just got the most DELICIOUS navy suit for tomorrow...wish me luck!
Mr. Rodgers once said, "Our world hangs like a magnificent jewel in the vastness of space. Every one of us is a part of this jewel; and, in the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal. We are intimately related. May we never even pretend that we are not." Because of this interrelatedness we are bound to work together as a society to develop policies and laws that benefit the whole of society, not just the few. Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the abortion debate in the United States has been fraught with intense arguments from both sides of the issue however; history also clearly shows that making abortion illegal does not eliminate the procedure, because it does nothing to reduce the underlying cause, unintended pregnancy.
The United States has one of the highest overall unintended pregnancy rates (49%) among developed countries (Espey et al, 2007) Politicians and lawmakers who truly care about preventing unintended pregnancy should work to increase access to birth control and medically accurate sex education because it is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion. Despite recent declines in abortion rates, slightly more than one in five pregnancies (22.4%) ended in abortion in 2005, indicating that much more still needs to be done to help women and their partners avoid unintended pregnancy.
In order to help women and their partners avoid unintended pregnancy policy makers should engage in a series of pro-active approaches including fully funding family planning services and ensuring that teens receive comprehensive sex education that stresses abstinence but also teaches the full benefits of contraception.
Half of American women aged 15-44 have experienced an unintended pregnancy, and about one in three will have had an abortion by the time they reach 45. The typical American couple wants to have two children and in order to do so, a woman will spend roughly five years pregnant, postpartum or trying to become pregnant and 30 years trying to avoid pregnancy. Prevention of unintended pregnancy, through better access to contraception, is the key to reducing abortion rates in Utah and throughout the country.
There is substantial evidence that most abortions are safe in countries where the procedure is legally permitted under a broad range of criteria. In countries where the procedure is highly restricted by law, abortions are frequently done by unqualified providers, are self-induced, or are done by medical professionals under unhygienic conditions. As I stated earlier, abortions happen regardless of their legality, unsafe and safe abortions correspond directly with the legality of abortion procedures, and unrestrictive abortion laws do not predict a high incidence of abortion. By the same token, highly restrictive abortion laws are not associated with low abortion incidence. Indeed, both the highest and lowest abortion rates were seen in regions where abortion is almost uniformly legal under a wide range of circumstances. (Sdegh, G, et al. 2007)
In the United States, fewer than .3% of women undergoing abortions have a complication that necessitates admission to hospital (Henshaw, SK 2006) and abortions (both spontaneous and induced) account for 4% of maternal deaths (Chang, J 2003). Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures undergone by women aged 15-44 in the United States (Owings, MF 1998). About half of the 6.4 million pregnancies that occurred in 2000 (including those ending in miscarriages) were unintended, and about half of these resulted in abortion (Finer, LB 2006)
This does not mean that our society is losing hold of its moral stricture or that more teens are accessing abortion services, in fact, as has been recently reported, abortion rates are in decline. That said, slightly more than one in five pregnancies end in abortion, indicating that unintended pregnancy is still too common in the United States. More needs to be done to help women and their partners prevent unintended pregnancy and more women and couples deserve access to resources and services that will help them to better plan when they want to have children and how to use contraceptive methods effectively until that time.
Legal restrictions on abortion do not affect its incidence. For example, the abortion rate is 29 in Africa, where abortion is illegal in many circumstances in most countries, and it is 28 in Europe, where abortion is generally permitted on broad grounds. The lowest rates in the world are in Western and Northern Europe, where abortion is accessible with few restrictions (Guttmacher, 2007). The most dramatic decline in abortion incidence occurred in Eastern Europe, a region where abortion is, for the most part, legal and safe. The decrease coincided with substantial increases in contraceptive use in the region (Guttmacher, 2007)
Utah's abortion rate has been steadily declining since 1992. Between the years 2000 and 2005, our abortion rate went down 4%. Despite what many would have you believe, we do not have a bunch of young teenage girls bypassing their parents and rushing out to get abortions.
The average age of a woman choosing abortion in Utah is 25 years old and 16% of those women are married. Over 70% of women who have had an abortion in Utah have completed high school and 50% of those women work full time. Over 60% of women report being in a "steady" relationship and 33% of those women report being in their relationship for more than one year, 16% for more than 2 years. More than 66% of those women have already had a child.
Is the state of Utah prepared to take on the financial burden for those children that these women may have not been able to afford? Is the criminal justice system equipped to hold women and their doctors accountable for participating in an "illegal" abortion if Roe is struck down? I have a better solution, how about we work to prevent unintended pregnancy and abortion in the first place?
Today, there is one thing that lowers the rate of abortion and that is contraception. Keeping the cost of contraception low and accessible will lower the rates of abortion in Utah and throughout the United states. Throughout the world, the countries with the lowest abortion rates, like the Netherlands, have few abortion restrictions and lots and lots of birth control.
Meeting the need for contraception in the community and improving the effectiveness of use among women and couples who are already using contraception are crucial steps toward reducing the incidence of unintended pregnancy. Access and use of contraception doesn't just reduce rates of abortion, it also improves maternal health and mortality rates. By ensuring that the need for contraception is met and that all abortions are safe we will see incidences of abortion decline as contraceptive use increases (Marston, C, Cleland J. 2003).
Responsibility does not just fall on the woman and her partner to prevent unintended pregnancy. Policy makers should refocus their energies into prevention and accessibility by increasing access and funding for family planning services in their communities.
In order to understand the major barrier to effective family planning in the United States means to dig deeper than just the Roe v. Wade decision. We must look at the political and ideological opposition to contraception as well.
The Court held in Roe v. Wade that a woman's right to choose whether to obtain an abortion, in consultation with her physician, is constitutionally protected, but not absolute. After viability, (the point in pregnancy when a fetus can survive outside the womb), states may restrict or prohibit abortions unless the procedure is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman. The Court found that bodily privacy is an implied right. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1992, the Court reaffirmed that central holding, but held that state regulations that do not impose an undue burden on a woman's ability to obtain an abortion are permissible.
While much consideration and debate is given to the Roe v. Wade decision, the importance of privacy cannot be overlooked when talking about contraception and prevention of abortion. In 1965, the Court ruled that the Constitution protected a right to privacy in Griswold v. Connecticut. The case involved a Connecticut law from 1879 that prohibited the use of contraceptives by a married couple. By a vote of 7-2, the Court invalidated the law on the grounds that it violated the "right to marital privacy".
Later, in 1972, in Eisenstadt v. Baird, the Court extended its holding to unmarried couples. The argument for Eisenstadt was built on the claim that it was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to deny unmarried couples the right to use contraception when married couples did have that right.
The diabolical implication of overturning Roe is that it begins a chain of events that calls into question the right to contraception. Though it seems difficult to remember now, contraception was not always legal, for anyone, regardless of marital status. The reasoning from Griswold to Roe was straightforward: if a woman had the right to make the private decision for forestall a pregnancy, then she could also by the same right decide to terminate a pregnancy. If the Court reverses Roe by determining that this right to privacy is not guaranteed by the Constitution, then what happens to the right to contraception, which rested on the same right? (Page, C, 2006)
Anyone imagining a world where Roe v. Wade has been struck down should bear in mind that most of us haven't experienced anything like it. Many of us sitting here in this room today were born after 1973. We have never known a world where contraception was illegal for EVERYONE--regardless of marital status. Almost the entire current population of women of childbearing age, many of us here today, has grown up with a legal right to abortion and legal access to contraception. In July 2005, a Gallup poll found that 65% of Americans think Roe should remain the law of the land. This statistic is all the more impressive when we learn that the same poll found that only 51% of Americans consider themselves pro-choice. A significant portion of people who personally oppose abortion-about 1/3-apparently recognize that there should be ways of discouraging abortion other than an outright ban (Page, C, 2006)
Attacks on abortion are really just the beginning, preparing us for more sweeping policy initiatives that will call for the abolition of contraception, the one thing that prevents unintended pregnancy and abortion among sexually active individuals.
We must do whatever we can do to prevent abortion, until we have done that we cannot stop people from making that choice. It is imperative to continue to remove barriers to abortion services and keep these services safe, legal and most importantly, rare. As we discuss this issue, it is impossible to underestimate the impact of politics on reproductive health, which is synonymous with women's health. Women cannot help that we were made in this image and we cannot deny that women everywhere make health care decisions that are in the best interests of their families, no matter the cost.
Because politicians are the individuals that set forth the prioritization of public health, and thus women's health, goals, we must remain aware that individuals who are unfriendly to the expansion of access to contraception may cripple progress by cutting funding, refusing to appropriate funding, and withholding support of helpful legislation. Making contraception available only to "responsible adults" undermines the stated goal of reducing the abortion rate. (Espey et al, 2007) Comprehensive sex education coupled with ready availability of contraception has worked in other developed nations to reduce unintended pregnancy and abortion, why is it that we are so afraid to use it here?
As you leave here today consider this, wherever you go on your journey, we are still interrelated, regardless of where we come from we all live in the same place. We all want to be loved and we all want to live in a world where we are free to exercise our agency, however we choose. Most of us in this room have been raised in a time where we have extraordinary freedoms--since 1973 we have experienced financial comfort, vast improvements in health care, and fewer unintended pregnancies nationwide. "We shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility." (Eleanor Roosevelt)
(1/21/2008)
That is right...visit that website to find out how you can help make history and assist the first woman to become the President of the United States.
88 years after women get the right to vote Hillary Clinton has made history and won a major state primary...a victory for all women in this country...a victory for the women who comprise my banner on my website...the women who were arrested outside the gates of the White House, force fed, and beaten to death...the women you see featured above died for Hillary to even begin to think about becoming the woman she is today.
I know, lots of you hate her...lots of you think she is too cold...to unfeeling...too Hillary. Let me tell you why I honor her, why I believe in her, why I think she is the best woman for the job.
1. Let's talk about the family legacy thing-I hear people talking about too much Clinton in the White House...to this I ask...have you ever heard the name Roosevelt associated with the Presidency? Why yes, yes you have. How come nobody bitches about them spending too much time in the Oval Office? Listen here people...Hillary is not Bill...besides, he will look so good in pumps and I can't wait to see how he redecorates the Residence.
2. She is a corrupt bitch who has no heart-One of the first books I ever read by Hillary addressed the very complex issue regarding the raising of our children. Yes, Virginia, it really does take a village to grow young people into good, nay great, adult people. Her vision for a greater society that cares deeply about our children's education from early childhood on is why I will be voting for her in 2008.
3. Health care-Let me just say this...we are in a crisis...birth control is unaffordable, my partner doesn't have health insurance, I know VERY few people with dental insurance, people who have cancer can't get treatment paid for so they DIE...she has a plan...she is a woman on a mission...and here is what I know about women...when they have a plan and they have a mission they surround themselves with people who will help them accomplish their mission...we do it with our friends, families, and staff...I know I do it with mine. Let's let Hill accomplish her mission...let's elect her to office.
4. But she didn't dump Bill on his ass-Okay, now, let's just look at this objectively for one second...was Bill the first president to have sex with anyone other than his significant other in the Oval Office? No, but he was the only one who got caught. Should Hillary have left Bill? That is not our decision to make fine people...that is her decision...and what is done is done...let me just quote one of my favorite bumper stickers and let's lay this whole thing to rest..."No one died when Clinton lied"...nuff said.
5. She will be just like Bill-First off, she has breasts and he has testicles...it is anatomically impossible for her to be just like him. Secondly, would that really be so bad? I remember the 90's with fond memories of greatness and prosperity...and besides...Bill is not running...Hillary is...can we put this stupid argument to rest already?
Finally, let me say this...it is almost 10:30...my lovely wife and I are laying in bed with the bed warmers on, each on our respective Apple laptops, I am blogging, she is reading statistics on CNN.com, we are so gay...gayer than a $3 bill...the dog in on the bed chewing her bone and we are inspired. We are inspired that a woman is running for President of this great nation. We are inspired that in our lifetime a miracle has occurred. I have screamed, prayed, and cried tonight all because of her...because for the first time in my life (even though I used to say when I grow up I want to be president) I believe, truly believe, that as a girl...if I want to be I can...that is what inspires me, that is why I believe in her, and that is why come November...she has my vote. She helps me to see that I really CAN...and oh believe...I will. (01/08/2008)
