The GOP– A walking contradiction?

The GOP defines itself as “The party of opportunity… fighting for a freer and stronger America…”. Despite the fact that one of the core tenets of the Republican Party is making America “freer”, the actions of the majority House and Senate appear to be doing quite the opposite.

On the 42nd anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, the GOP dominated House decided to postpone a vote on the controversial 20-week ban on abortions. The vote was abruptly cancelled because women leaders within the GOP thought that the bill was much too narrow. As the bill currently stands in the case of rape, women can only receive an abortion if the rape has been reported to the police– even though over 70% of rape cases are not reported. Representatives Renee Ellmers (N.C.) and Jackie Walorski (Ind.), among other GOP lawmakers, argued the bill could hurt the GOP with women and young voters and withdrew their support from the bill, causing the party to table the vote.

In the past few years our nation has had a real issue with partisan politics. 2013’s government shut-down and the stalemate in our Senate and House are examples of how each legislator’s loyalty to individuals/parties is ultimately hurting our nation. One area that is really suffering is women’s healthcare.

While many GOP members are personally pro-life, they are letting their personal beliefs bleed into their politics. As representative of the people, our lawmakers are ideally supposed to set aside their personal opinions and vote with the best interest of their district and the American people in mind. Although this concept is idealistic, it seems that our lawmakers have completely forgotten what their job description entails.

No matter what your personal opinion about abortion may be, women’s healthcare is an important issue that is not being given the attention by our lawmakers that it deserves. I am tired of men making decisions about what I can and cannot do with my body. In President Obama’s State of the Union address last week, he commented that teenage pregnancy and STDs are at record lows. I believe that the availability of women’s healthcare is responsible for the drastic decline.

By limiting women from receiving the care they want and need, the GOP will be doing a disservice to the 52% of American citizens who are women. Jess McIntosh, a spokeswoman for the  women’s PAC Emily’s List, said the demographics of the bill’s co-sponsors say it all.“When you can’t find a single woman to support a bill that affects only women, that bill is probably a terrible idea.”

America is the land of the free– an idea that the GOP claims to support. Freedom to me means having choice, especially when it comes to my own body. Our nation was not meant to be ruled by the few, but instead by the people. Although everyone is entitled to their opinion, our laws should not be based on the opinions of the few in power.

Women are the majority in this country, yet decisions about our bodies are being controlled by men. I encourage you to make your voice heard! Write and tweet at your representative– if this or any version of this bill passes, it will set America back by 42 years. Every woman deserves the right to choose what is right for her.