Pro-Life, or something like it.

Wow. It seems like the abortion issue, usually kept at bay as being "a bit too taboo for discussion at dinner parties" came crawling out of the woodwork this weekend and today just in time for the 34th anniversary of Roe v Wade (not planned at all by activist groups or the like... I am sure...)

First, my roommate tells me over breakfast how she had finally found an article that perfectly articulated her feelings on abortion. (See the Washington Post citation below). As there is probably not enough blogging time or space to comment on the article content right now, lets just say that my roommate and I have 2 "issues that we have agreed we cannot civilly discuss:" Abortion/Emergency Contraception and Hillary Clinton... but that will have to be saved for another blog.

Anyway, then, as I was sitting at my desk drinking my mint tea, I realized that the mug I grabbed in my half-awake state this morning had a child's drawing and "Choose Life!" splayed in Comic Sans font. How appropriate considering the March for Life was occuring as I sat at my desk printing out form letters (no vacation time...sad face).

How fitting also, that on this sad anniversary of the legalization of abortion in the US, should the press choose to consider newly-announced presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's record on the issue. For once, I took the time to read one of the incessant "JW in the News" emails that my boss sends me. And for once, I actually agree with my place of employment on something (see the shout out to Judicial Watch in the Lucas article... we've done a lot of work in the Clinton Presidential Library). How ironic would it be if abortion were a breaking issue in the 2008 campaigns?

Then, to end my day, the ad that so beautifull adorns this entry was displayed in my metro car. I was so excited I took a picture on my camera phone. I really did. Lets wake up America. We're running out of excuses to default on our morality.

Lucas, Fred. "Sen. Clinton's Abortion Record May Haunt '08 Campaign." Cybercast News Service. 22 Jan. 2007. Available WWW: cnsnews.com.

Murry, Shailagh. "Democrats Seek to Avert Abortion Clashes." The Washington Post. 21 Jan. 2007, Pp. A05. Available WWW: washingtonpost.com.

Loose Ends

I must apologize for the lapse in posts. Anyway, my roommate and I were watching Sliding Doors the other night and I found this quote particularly amusing:

Gerry, I'm a woman! We don't say what we WANT! But we reserve the right to get
pissed off if we don't get it. That's what makes us so fascinating! And not a
little bit scary. (Lydia)

We have a new blogger (yay!) whom we will hopefully be hearing from soon. Check Kelly out on her personal blog On My Home Planet under "The Unlikely Feminist Recommends."

The Less Apparent Effects of Conflict

"It's a campaign to drain the country," said Aviad Najeed, a surgeon at al-Jarrah. "A very, very well-organized one. We don't know who's behind it."

Iraq's Woes Are Adding Major Risks to Childbirth

Doctors being kidnapped and killed, women afraid to go to the hospital in the middle of the night because of curfews, fetal monitors and ultrasound machinery and technology suddenly replaced with "a trumpetlike device held over the womb..."

While the world hears statistics of those slain in the Iraqi strife, it is necessary to realize there is a silent war against the voiceless and the women struggling to give them life.

The Birth and Revival

Recent happenings have awakened my desires to send my sentiments into the world. Perhaps it was the Forbes article that came out a few months ago warning men not to marry career women. Maybe it was a revisit to my senior thesis on women and competition in the workplace (the unexpected result of Netflixing the Devil Wears Prada). Perhaps it was the yearning for a daily blog while knowing that the angsty voice of my once cherished livejournal has become so passe. But the most direct catalyst for the birth of this blog and the revival of my creative voice is directly related to my new found obsession with Dawn Eden whom I met a few weeks ago when she presented her book The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On to my young adult group at St. Stephens.

In Eden's book, she frequently sites the "Sex and the City" mentality and it's destructive tendencies on our bodies and emotions (not to mention our souls).

Suddenly, I was reminded of those old diametric forces in my belief system that had screamed "hypocrite" at me in my women's studies classes. There it was. That "all or nothing" mentality. It's Bell Hooks' writing jumping off the page insisting that anyone who is against abortion is against women. It's the shame in feeling uncomfortable towards topics such as pornography and erotica, after all, to not embrace them is to not embrace the liberation of women! It's the assumption that conservatism (especially social) and feminism are enemies.

In my reading of the book Eden bravely confronts these conflicts. Granted, it's not the purpose of her book to explore the dangers of the pigeonholed feminism, but by confronting one aspect of it (that being sexuality) she actually, in my mind, makes a stand for the unlikely feminist.

Ok, perhaps its a spurious correlation, and I would NEVER want to put words into this wonderful author's mouth. But in MY head, Eden is a warrior for the idea that certain aspects of modern feminism and its militant "all or nothing attitude" actually hurt women.

So anyway, welcome to this new project. Hopefully, it will turn into something great. Because being pro-women isn't just politics and theory. It's part of every decision we make everyday.