The Need to Vote, Part II

I want to take at least one post to step away from personhood and discuss some of the other issues that could come up on Nov. 8.

First, along with Initiative 26, Initiative 27 will be appearing on the ballots this November. Init. 27 aims to require voters to present picture ID in order to vote. Wait, doesn't that kind of sound like the past practices of grandfather clauses, literacy tests and poll taxes that aimed to keep African-Americans from voting? Why, yes it does! The truth is that many people don't have up-to-date photo ID. For one thing, if you don't have the money for a car, is getting and keeping a current driver's license a top priority? Probably not. This bill is aimed to keep low-income people from the polls. And it could also keep women in general away from the polls. According to a post on Ms. magazine's blog, "as many as 32 million women of voting age don't have documentation with their current legal name." If you changed your name at marriage, you may not be eligible to vote! (You know, I was already thinking that if/when I get married, I would keep my last name because, let's face it, Genie doesn't sound good with any other names. But if this passes, it looks like I'll have another reason.)

Also, if you haven't already heard, the House of Representatives passed HR 358 this week. If you don't know what that is, I suggest reading this article (again, from Ms.) to get full details, but basically, it says that hospitals can refuse emergency treatment to pregnant women if they have a moral problem with it. So, if a pregnant woman comes into the hospital with an ectopic pregnancy, (a life-threatening situation when not treated, and also a situation that almost never leads to a viable pregnancy) the hospital can refuse to give her the medically necessary pregnancy termination that she needs. Not surprisingly, this has been dubbed the "Let Women Die Act." Supporters of it are calling the "Protect Life Act," though how it protects any life at all is unclear to me.

Now, it's unlikely that this bill will pass in the Senate, and if it does, President Obama has vowed to veto it. So the question is, why is it being dealt with at all? Why are legislators focusing on bills that won't become law when they could be making strides towards alleviating the economic and jobs crisis at hand? And why are legislators waging a war against women and their rights to health insurance and health care decisions?

We need to step up and vote for legislators who represent our interests. I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not usually politically active and I rarely do much research on candidates. But that time is over. We need to step up, find out who's running and what their platforms are, and vote. Here in MS, we're voting for a new governor on Nov. 8. Find out about the candidates, find out what they stand for. It's time to vote. Vote for women. Vote for jobs. As Kathy Spillar at Ms. said, "Vote like your life depends on it. Because it does."