OUTRAGE #1: GENDER DISCRIMINATION
A new law just passed in Oklahoma will require all physicians to disclose information on women’s abortions to the state Department of Health, which intends to post the collected data on a public website. Starting November 1, 2009, the new law will require the following information:
1) Date of abortionAn invasion of privacy? A violation of civil rights? Not according to supporters of the legislation. Nevertheless, the Center for Reproductive Rights, a former state representative, and several residents have filed a lawsuit. As Echidne points out in her commentary (see A new sex offender site), why are women always the object of legislative harassment, but not those who impregnate them (i.e. men)?
2) County in which abortion is performed
3) Age of mother
4) Marital status of mother
5) Race of mother
6) Years of education of mother
7) State or foreign country of residence of mother
8) Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother
Plus 26 more questions including the woman’s health insurer (irrelevant), method of payment (irrelevant), and details about the medical procedure (exposing them to blackmail and/or threats).
Sources: Huffington Post article here, and Echidne’s commentary here.
OUTRAGE #2: GANG RAPE AND A CRIMINAL COVER-UP
This story is about Jamie Leigh Jones who was gang-raped by co-workers while employed in Iraq by Halliburton/KBR in 2005. After the gang-rape, company thugs locked her in a shipping container, denying her food, water, and a bed for at least 24 hours. If she left Iraq for medical treatment, she was warned, she would lose her job. The Department of Justice refused an investigation. KBR claimed her employment contract indemnified the company from criminal charges, that her only means of redress was binding arbitration … by a KBR arbitrator. Last month, the 5th Circuit of Appeals granted her the right to sue, but it will be years before Jamie Leigh Jones gets final justice in a court of law.
Earlier this week, newly elected Senator Al Franken sponsored an amendment to a defense appropriation bill that stops funding for any defense contractor that denies women their right to legal redress for sexual assault. The measure passed by a margin of 68 to 30.
More revealing was the vote breakdown. All Democrat and all GOP women senators voted for the bill, not exactly an earth-shattering example of partisan division. However, all GOP men voted against. In their worldview, the interests of capitalism far outweigh the rights of women … and trump all crimes of rape. Here is the complete list of male sexist GOPigs:
Alexander (R-TN), Barrasso (R-WY), Bond (R-MO), Brownback (R-KS), Bunning (R-KY), Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Coburn (R-OK), Cochran (R-MS), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Graham (R-SC), Gregg (R-NH), Inhofe (R-OK), Isakson (R-GA), Johanns (R-NE), Kyl (R-AZ), McCain (R-AZ), McConnell (R-KY), Risch (R-ID), Roberts (R-KS), Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Thune (R-SD), Vitter (R-LA), and Wicker (R-MS).May their wives punish them with the Lysistrata treatment until the end of time.
Source: The Huffington Post.
the interests of capitalism far outweigh the rights of women
ReplyDeleteNo surprise there, I'm afraid, Octo. Those "family values" men can always be counted on to throw women, whether in their private lives or in general, under the bus.
But this:
post the collected data on a public website
is stunning. Hope there are lawsuits already being prepared.
Oops! Sorry, you've already mentioned lawsuits (that's what happens to me after watching "Fringe" -- my mind is discombobulated).
ReplyDelete(As if it isn't usually. Sigh. :))
8pus, it's hard for women to get too outraged by this kind of stuff. We have suffered gender biased injustices all our lives. We have been blamed for perpetrating the crimes committed against us.
ReplyDeleteWe have been ignored and shunned for having been the vicitms of crimes involving sex.
And less criminal but no less outrageous is that glass ceiling we have been forced against.
I once was competing with a man for a job and the interviewer (a woman) actually asked me if I intended to get pregnant anytime soon and what would I do if my child got sick. Her point was to try to get me to see how my gender role would interfere with doing my job - needless to say, the man got that job.
Even today, men generally make more money for the same jobs than women.
When we stand up for ourselves we are subjected to disgusting allusions to our menstral cycles, emotional hysteria, etc.
Until more men become outraged and stand up with us, nothing will change.
Rocky: "we are subjected to disgusting allusions to our menstral cycles, emotional hysteria, etc."
ReplyDeleteThese job interview questions are supposed to be ILLEGAL. Any employer asking debasing questions during a job interview is subject to fines ... and possible civil action ... at least since the early 1980s.
Rocky: "Until more men become outraged and stand up with us ...."
Does an octopus count?
(O)CT(O)PUS, you always count!
ReplyDeleteI also should have been clear about the job interview incident - it did, in fact, happen in the mid to late 70s and while I'm aware that these questions are now illegal, the discrimination continues in more subtle ways.
Octo, any sentient creatures count.
ReplyDeleteBTW, thanks for the list of the GOP troglodytes who voted against Franken's amendment. Last night I wrote a post about Jamie Leigh Jones, (after reading Matt's post on his blog): Missing The Trees for ACORN, and will include the names under it.
Rocky, your story reminds me of my interview to a psych doctoral program, where the female (childless) interviewer grilled me, extensively (and unpleasantly, I must say), on how I imagined combining school with raising kids. A seemingly legitimate concern, and yet the whole thing was very off-putting.
The letter I sent to major newspapers in Mobile, Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, and Florence:
ReplyDeleteTo the Editor:
In 2005, 19-year old Jamie Leigh Jones was working for Halliburton subsidiary KBR in Iraq when she was drugged and gang-raped by male employees.
Her injuries were so severe, she required reconstructive surgery. But instead of flying her directly out of the country, KBR locked her in a metal container and made the company doctor's records disappear.
When Jones tried to sue, Halliburton invoked the fine print of her contract requiring mandatory arbitration. She has spent years trying to get her day in court, and thanks to an amendment in the Senate defense appropriations bill she may finally have it.
Alabama's own Jeff Sessions led the defense of Halliburton's "right" to cover up gang rape by employees. He was joined in voting 'no' by Senator Shelby. Both men should be required to explain themselves to the voters of Alabama.
If only (O)CT(O)PUS could do in real life what PhotoShop lets me do in the imagination.
ReplyDeleteOne down, 29 to go.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, seems all us female types have similar stories to tell. I wonder if a male PhD candidate would have faced those same questions. Probably not.
ReplyDeleteDid I miss something or were there a lot of R's in that list?
ReplyDeleteOh, that. It's just a coincidence, I'm sure, Capt. ;)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if a male PhD candidate would have faced those same questions.
ReplyDeleteHighly doubt it, Rocky. If the poor chap happened to be burdened with offspring, it would be assumed that there is a wife at home, taking care of the little ones and the rest of the daily grind.