Letting Men Handle the Abortion Issue
Legislatures (both national and state), courts (ditto for the Supreme Court) and the national conversation on abortion is mostly left up to the opinions of old, white men. How is that even possible in a modern society?
We had our ‘me-too’ moment
And that certainly illustrated in boldfaced type the unwillingness of women to submit to ‘the director’s couch’ in Hollywood or any other male-dominated entry requirements to female acceptance or advancement in the world of business and politics.
Great. And it was very powerful, as some highly regarded male names and reputations fell like trees in the forest, as there was finally an ear to hear.
Same with Black Lives Matter, although that was not a male-female issue. Still, it showed the power of public disgust at a wide-spread racial issue that America was no longer willing to tolerate.
So, let’s talk about women
As might be expected, there’s a hell of a lot to talk about.
Women are 50.8% of the American population, outnumbering men by 7,260,000.
Women now drive the world economy. Globally, they control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years. In aggregate, women represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined—more than twice as big, in fact. (Google)
The IPU-UN Women map, which presents global rankings for women in executive and government positions as of 1 January 2021, shows all-time highs for women heads of state and heads of government, women Speakers of parliament and women MPs and ministers.
So far as women CEOs are concerned, having a total of 41 women chief executives amounts to female leadership for just 8.1% of the Fortune 500. Says Lorraine Hariton, CEO of the gender equality organization Catalyst, "We need to tell the optimistic—but not exuberant— story around what's happening for women."
And abortion?
It only happens to women. Well duh, I guess we know that.
But how can we know that and acknowledge all of the above facts, but still let men control all the factors that make them women? There is no logic, no fairness and no equality in this one-sided misogynist circumstance.
Interestingly, about three-quarters of White evangelical Protestants (77%) think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
By contrast, 82% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 64% of Black Protestants, 63% of White Protestants who are not evangelical, and 55% of Catholics. (Pew Research Center)
So, it seems fair to position this as a White evangelical Protestant issue, as they are the only religious majority that feels abortion should be illegal. Even Catholics, who you would suppose to be opponents, favor abortion on demand by 55%.
Obviously the majority of Americans favor the right to choice in what is solely a women’s issue. The laws of the land are either a state or federal construct and we once believed in our Constitutional separation of Church and State.
Perhaps it’s time for another Me-too movement
The overwhelming success of Me-too against sexual predators was based on two concepts: public exposure and legal recourse.
Legal recourse is not available in this circumstance, with newly restrictive laws piling on every day in state legislatures and Roe vs Wade under threat in our Supreme Court.
But public exposure is available
Clearly, the law is not available to women, so it's a wake-up call.
A Harvey Weinstein-moment is appropriate for every male justice of the Supreme Court and every man in the Congress of the United States who favors anti-abortion laws. I would suggest that women tally every single male vote in every venue unfavorable to the right to choose.
Then those names should be made public by American women who are both angry and at risk.
Then cut them off from sex
The wives (and girlfriends) of those on the list simply withhold their participation in sexual intercourse until those dudes understand the logic of the argument. Then tell the world on social media. “Sorry, Senator X or Justice Y, you’ve been cut off until you change your misogynist ways.”
As for the old, powerful white men and evangelical leaders who may (and quite probably do) have girlfriends on the side, those women must participate in the boycott.
Might be fun to call it a girlcott.
One thing is for sure
If men had to deal with pregnancies, this ‘problem’ would have been solved decades ago. For my part, I've written extensively on this subject before.
Image Credit: AP News