Women and Politics

This post was submitted by Bonnie O’Keefe, WCF Political Programs Associate

We’ve said it for a long time: We need more women in government who will fight the constant efforts of the far right to endanger women’s health, safety, and freedom. The Utah state legislature’s recent attempt to make miscarriage equivalent to criminal homicide is a particularly heinous example.

Under the original bill, which passed in the state legislature, a woman who suffered a miscarriage due to “intentional or reckless behavior” could be punished with life in prison. It should come as no surprise that the bill’s original sponsor, State Rep. Carl Wimmer, is male.

A woman might know that 15% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage for a number of reasons. She would also immediately see that the vagueness of “reckless behavior” could trigger a miscarriage-witch-hunt, and send us back to a time when pregnant women were considered invalids and barely allowed to leave home.

The bill came about as an extreme reaction to the case of a 17 year-old woman who paid a man to beat her in order to induce a miscarriage. A woman legislator would likely understand that the right reaction here is not to conflate the actions of one desperate young woman with a criminal homicide law that would affect all Utah women.

The right reaction would be to look at the underlying causes of this sad case: Why did this young woman feel so trapped? Why wasn’t there a safety net or support system for her? If she needed to end her pregnancy, why couldn’t she procure a safe, legal abortion? Perhaps Utah’s restrictive parental consent laws, 24-hour reflection period, and lack of abortion providers in 93% of its counties led this young woman to put her own life in danger.

Thanks in part to the vehement criticism of women across the country, Utah’s governor sent the bill back to the legislature for revisions, without signing or vetoing it. But the fight doesn’t end here: Across the country similar fetal homicide bills are being used in an insidious attempt to chip away at reproductive rights. These types of bills endanger and wrongly punish women. We need more women in government who will understand this, and fight back.

This post was written by WCF Fellow, Stephanie Glover

Congratulations, Martha. After winning the Massachusetts Democratic primary, you are on your way to becoming the first female senator from Massachusetts!

Massachusetts participated in an historic vote yesterday as voters went to the polls for a special election to fill the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat. In the Democratic stronghold of Massachusetts, Martha’s win in the Democratic primary makes her strongly favored to win the general election next month. This would be a monumental win as Massachusetts has never had a female senator or governor in their 221 year-old history. This is about to change!

In her victory speech last night, Martha talked about the challenges facing women running for office, specifically in Massachusetts: “They said women don’t have much luck in Massachusetts politics – we believed, that it was quite possible that that luck was about to change!” And, that luck is changing with Martha on her way to the general election.

Martha’s victory couldn’t have come at a more important time, when crucial issues affecting women are being debated in the Senate and House. The Senate will benefit greatly from her voice and perspective. Martha is committed to reproductive choices and recently said about women’s health care, “It’s personal with me, and it’s personal with every woman.” As a WCF-endorsed candidate, Martha is a leader on these issues and will make a strong addition to the Senate.

Currently, women make up only 17% of the United States Senate, even though they represent over 50% of the population. Martha’s election would bring that percentage up to 18%, making us one step closer to equality. As MA Senator John Kerry said, “Tonight the glass ceiling in Massachusetts politics was smashed into a thousand pieces.”

Finally, our president is pro-woman and pro-choice. Moreover, he actually cares about helping people. After eight long years of the Bush administration’s anti-woman, anti-choice policies, I find myself feeling surprised when Obama takes a stand for women. After reminding myself that, yes, we now have a progressive president, I can’t help but smile and bask in the feeling of pride and optimism.

One of the most recent acts of the administration that filled me with hope was Obama declaring April Sexual Assault Awareness Month. According to The Women on the Web:

Calling sexual assault “pervasive” in the United States — 18 percent of women reported being raped at some point in their lifetime — Obama stressed that such attacks not only take their toll on the victims, but the family, friends and others, as well.

Given the current focus on the failing economy, I think Obama’s willingness to go to bat on this issue really speaks volumes about his dedication to women’s issues.

Another move that evoked pride was the Obama administration launching the Act Against Aids campaign. Partnered with the CDC and HHS, the White House will bring attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the next five years. Not to mention:

To help achieve widespread use of the campaign messages within African-American communities, the Obama Administration also announced today the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative (AAALI), a partnership with 14 of the nation’s leading African-American civic organizations to integrate HIV prevention into each organization’s outreach programs.

So, let me get this straight - our president is actually concerned with taking concrete steps to address national and worldwide equality and health issues? Pinch me.

In a word, yes.

Clearly, we here at WCF already know that. But it seems this concept is slowly but surely being taken more seriously. Mark Lange’s article in the Christian Science Monitor asks if we have too many men steering. Would we live in a healthier, more secure world if women had equal decision-making power? Lange says yes:

Doubt it? Here’s a test. Would any of the women you admire have set up a healthcare system as byzantine, costly, and underperforming as America’s? Or a financial system where mortgage lenders don’t have to care about being paid back?

This isn’t to say that women in power = everything is magically fixed. Or that women are just so darn compassionate and caring that they would never allow any harm to come to their constituents. However, the large absence of women in power can’t be ignored. And it seems that women leaders embrace values of responsibility, shared power, and concern for others.

We’re heading into an era when we need leadership that enlists self-interest in support of the larger outcome – less transactional and more transformational. Rather than punishing failure or reinforcing conflict, motivating progress.

In 2009, it seems crazy that we still have to make an argument for having women equally represented in power. But we do. And that’s why WCF is here - encouraging, supporting, and engaging women in the political process - making it known that women deserve and equal place in running our world.

Minnesota State Representative Kathy Tingelstad (R) was attending the Minnesota’s Progressive Republican Tradition event. Many of the Republicans attending this event considered themselves to be GOP progressives. Representative Tinglestad spent a few minutes of her time with me. Here is what she had to say about women involved in politics and what issues are important to women.

Representative Moore Capito was gracious enough to spend a few minutes of her time to share her views on women and politics. She talks about the issues important to women and how the internet and social media can help to make changes.

I have reached Larimer Street and it is still buzzing with the excitement of the night. People are stopping traffic as crowds move through the streets. Many are on their way to restaurants to get something to eat and some are going to celebrate. The streets and the sidewalks are overcrowded. Dacia agrees to talk to me, sharing her perspective, another “Woman on the Street”: