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Friday, February 24, 2012

Sexual Politics Hello, Reproductive Rights Rollback!

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 4:14 PM

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Yesterday, the attorney generals of seven of our worst states filed suit against the Obama administration. The states (Nebraska, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas) are asking a federal judge to block enforcement of the law requiring all employers—even the religious ones—to provide insurance coverage of birth control.

This is a perfect example of why shifting birth control and abortion issues from being federal laws to being a "state by state" issue isn't a good way to "compromise." Unless compromise means protecting the rights of women in some states, and selling out the rights of women in others. Whatever you think about using birth control or getting an abortion, we should all be able to agree that the least important factor in a healthcare decision should be a woman's particular geographic location, right? (Well, "least important" right behind what Rick Santorum thinks her values should be) (okay, and also whether her rate of personal shame is high enough).

When we push controversial decisions like abortion rights to the states, that's when we wind up with laws chip away at rights and discriminate against certain groups of women. Like poor women, for example, since eight states allow private insurance to not cover abortion and 32 states don't allow public funds to cover all medically necessary abortions.

While the "war on women" wages in Washigton, it's actually closer to home than you might think. These days, Oregon is on the front lines: We're one of only five states that haven't passed abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade.

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