A Brief Review of the Republican War on Women

Republican view of American womanhood of the future

Soraya Chemlay, writing here in the HuffingtonPost, takes a breath and pauses briefly to review the fast-occurring events of recent days wherein Republicans are attempting to re-define the rights of women in the United States by taking them away.

Almost everything being talked about in these 10 points is happening in states where Republicans have a majority in one or both general assembly houses or in the U.S. House of Representatives where Republicans rule. In Virginia, the house is Republican and the Senate is split, but Republicans don't share power there and, because the Lt. Governor is a Republican, they have tie-breaking power, so they rule (on everything but the budget).

What we are seeing with these extreme bills is the true color of the Republican Party. These are the social contracts the far right wingers have made with each other, promising that some day ... Today is some day. More moderate voices have begged these people to slow down and to avoid overreaching, but they don't know what moderation means and soon, Virginia women could well be draped in burqas.

Here's a summerized breakdown on the Republican attempts to strip women of rights (all from Ms. Chemlay's column):

1. A bill would require women to carry still-born fetuses to full term "because cows and pigs do." The Georgia House has passed this and the Senate is looked at as a 50-50 possibility.
2. A number of bills would sentence women to death to save a fetus.
3. In Mississippi, there is an effort to criminalize pregnancy and miscarriages. Women would be arrested and imprisoned, charged with murder for miscarriages.
4. In several states, notably Pennsylvania (Virginia backed down after introducing a similar bill, mostly because of the governor's political ambitions) women would be forced to undergo involuntary vaginal penetration with an ultrasound probe.
5. Women could be disabled or killed by either withholding medical treatment or forcing them to undergo involuntary medical procedures.
6. In Virginia and other places, there have been efforts to give zygotes "personhood" rights. The zygote would, in effect, have more rights than the woman.
7. Bills have been introduced inhibiting, humiliating and punishing women for their choices to have an abortion for any reason by levying taxes specifically on abortion (including abortion in case of rape and threat to the mother's life). In Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Virginia, Colorado and Arkansas are among those states.
8. An Arizona bill would allow employers to delve women's private lives and only pay for insurance when they agree, for religious reasons, with how she choses to use birth control.
9. There is an effort to refuse funds that would help make low-income money healthier (Texas just turned down $35 million that would help 300,000 poor women with preventive care).
10. Some of the bills would deprive women of their ability to earn a living and support themselves and their families.

If you think this is not serious or doesn't concern or is being exaggerated, you're not looking closely. These zombies are coming for you and they are on the run.