Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks that abortion should be illegal even if the result of “legitimate rape” has created a firestorm of media response, including from San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders, who commented that the Republican “war on women” is “a crock.”
If this war is a crock, the Republican party needs to better distance itself from its spokespeople who call for an end to contraception, even in the context of marriage; who call women who speak up about the medical need for contraception “sluts,” who now indicate that there are forms of rape which are legitimate.
Thea Selby, founding board member of EWIP, responded with an open letter to Debra Saunders:
Ms. Saunders,
I see no reason for you to add dumb on dumb with this column. I went to highschool in Texas, where Planned Parenthood provided birth control and help with STDs for many students. Planned Parenthood in Texas is now unfunded, and if you want an abortion, you must 1. find a place to have one–good luck 2. find the money to pay for it 3. Watch the fetus on the ultrasound monitor 4. Listen to the heartbeat of the fetus and 5. Wait 24 to 48 hours to make sure you haven’t changed your mind. This, from the state that brought us Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who successfully argued Roe v. Wade. Texas is just one case in thousands where women over the past few years have lost their rights to control what is absolutely the most powerful thing on the planet–the reason that men are so eager to control it themselves–procreation. May you and the many people in this country who seem to miss this vital fact, wake up and vote these people out of power. Sincerely, Thea Selby
Debra Saunders irritates me to no end.
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