Really, Phil Bryant? REALLY?

I might be a little late, but I can't let Phil Bryant's recent comments go without mention. According to the Associated Press,

   "Mississippi's Republican governor had new harsh words for proponents of legalized abortion this week, saying, 'their one mission in life is to abort children, is to kill children in the womb.'"

  I'm so sick of this man ignoring what is right in front of him. We told him in November that we don't want personhood legislation. We voted no. (Somehow we also voted him into office at the same time; this still baffles me.) And we told him, loudly, why we said no. We want the right to abortion, yes, and safe access. We want the right, and access, to birth control. Women want the right to make decisions about our lives and bodies, and men want the women in their lives to have that right. Mississippi couples want to decide what's best for their families by discussing it together, and with a doctor if necessary--without legislation getting in the way.

  Yet good ol' Phil manages to distill this into all of us crazy liberals wanting to kill hundreds and thousands of unborn babies.

Sigh.

  I know it's all a political game. I know that in his position, he has to make the issue sound emotional, visceral and sinful in order to appeal to those moderate voters who may be unsure how they feel about "abortion" but definitely know how they feel about "murder." But this game is so exhausting. How can Mississippi's governor ignore the unintended pregnancy rate, the teen pregnancy rate, and the infant mortality rate in his state?! How can he ignore the studies that have shown that comprehensive sex education (not abstinence only eduation) is the best way to reduce teens having unsafe sex and to reduce unintended teen pregnancies?! How can anyone ignore that abstinence-only has been proven ineffective?!

Well, he can ignore it because it seems that is what so many Republicans are doing across the country. They've started down this extreme path, standing stubbornly against women (and against sex, basically) no matter what. And I don't think it's going to work out for them in this year's election. So, I'll end with a message to Phil Bryant (and all Republicans, since unfortunately we're stuck with Phil for a few years), my favorite quote from one of the many women-led protests this year:

Women will remember in November.

Women will remember in November.