Women’s Rights Alone Should Guide Vote

I’ve never been pregnant. I’ve never feared being pregnant. I’ve never wanted to be pregnant. But when I had to have a C-section to remove a fibroid tumor the size of a baby’s head and then spend six non-paid weeks at home recovering – I got a true glimpse into the quandary that is the womanly experience in this country. 

Because I don’t want to grow another fibroid tumor of such size, I’ve maneuvered life with a doctor-recommended intrauterine device (IUD) for the last five years. Another tumor has yet to develop.

While IUDs are not likely to be banned because they prevent pregnancy, as opposed to ending pregnancy - there is one candidate in the upcoming election who inspires conversations about limiting or perhaps even ending the accessibility of birth control. There are states that have passed laws to redefine “life as beginning at fertilization,” which opens the door for such a life-saving device and a preventive tool to no longer be solely the decision of a woman and the practice of her physician.

Women’s rights alone should guide any humane person’s vote in this next election, because the preservation of women dictates the pulse of society.

Now, the narcissistic men who won’t vote for a woman because she hasn’t penned a plan specifically for them have stopped reading. That’s okay. Many evangelicals stopped reading when I revealed the words “prevent pregnancy.” That too, is okay.

As I approach 40, I become more cognizant of the fact that multiple things can be true about life in America. I am an American born, tax-paying educator. Nothing about my life changes the day after either candidate is elected. I will still have too much of my teacher paycheck taxed. I will still pay too high of a premium for a health insurance policy that will still require me to pay out of pocket for most doctor’s visits and procedures. I will never be able to live comfortably on a teacher retirement check. I will continue to make too much money to ever qualify for any assistance from the government and even with a healthy savings account – having a child someday would cost me a small fortune.

Still, I want the right to choose what I do with my body. I want all women to have that right and I resent the fact that women’s freedom of choice is even a talking point. I believe in God, but I also believe it’s my business to explain to Him my decisions – not someone else’s right to strip me of my choices.

I question any man, woman, or pronoun specific voter to explain why you disagree. Of all the issues on the table – it was easy for me to commit to a candidate simply following the rhetoric on women’s rights.

Sure, there are other valid concerns for the conscious American: climate change, gun control, healthcare, immigration, inflation, racial and ethnic inequality, and violent crime.

Every summer, I travel away from this place called America. In every progressive country I land, I soon learn that it is standard practice to afford citizens healthcare, free college education, and a means to affordable living. It’s not a fight in those places, but a right. Since the pandemic, I’ve met more and more Americans who have established themselves in those countries.

There are three things that remain on the minds of working Americans:

How much will it cost me if I need to seek medical attention, and can I afford it?

Will college be financially feasible?

How will I comfortably afford a place to live?

Neither candidate has a quick fix for these issues.

While not every American home has a firearm inside, guns are very much ingrained in American society. To ever think we will fully combat the issue of guns ending up in the wrong hands is the definition of naïveté. To assume that responsible gun owners won’t possibly suffer a mental lapse because of the many stressors in this country is even more illogical. A gun purchased to protect one’s home may one day become a weapon when one is on the verge of losing said home.

Neither candidate has a quick fix for these issues.

Twenty-five years ago, most high school seniors longed for the collegiate experience. Those 40-somethings now have student loans that the powers that be argue about “forgiving.” Meanwhile, the generation being constantly researched on “pandemic gaps in education” is being offered more full scholarships to combat the issue of current high school students not seeing college as a “need” or worth the money.

The scope of college recruitment and college entrance has even changed. This generation seeks immediate gratification. They aspire careers as instant business owners and social media influencers – they are not necessarily interested in anything that takes four or more years to attain.

College should be free for those who should attend college, but that will never happen in a land that thrives on capitalism.

Neither candidate has a quick fix for these issues.

Years ago, I decided to stop arguing with people about racial and ethnic inequality. Some people are simply committed to their lifestyles of superiority complexes. They base their lives on false degrees of social status that exist only in their minds.

One candidate has told us in many ways and on various platforms that “the inferior” exist. We can speak racially or financially in this regard. Someone who resides in the world of billions of dollars has nothing in common with someone who makes $13 per hour, but when they share a common hatred for those who look different – there is an impenetrable bond.

One candidate is Black, has a Black parent, attended a Historically Black University, is a member of a Black Sorority and doesn’t fit any of the “stereotypical black epithets” AND she has the audacity to be a woman. This makes racists and shackled Black people uncomfortable, because that Black candidate represents America’s biggest threat to dispelling harmful myths and sociotypes about Black people.

America has no quick fix or will to combat these issues.

I do acknowledge that there is a true border crisis in this country, as this country is the only country in the world that will allow people to live, work, attend college, utilize government assistance, grow their families, and establish businesses without first becoming a legal citizen.

It’s difficult to broach this subject, because it’s the only topic in which you can’t label actions as “right” or “wrong” without being accused of being discriminatory.  Perhaps educators could provide an interesting perspective on how illegal immigration impacts the classroom. I’ll save that discussion for a later time.

One candidate will promise to “control” the borders but cannot and will not. One candidate won’t make any such promises simply because it’s not a priority for the party.

The economy is concerning. Inflation is concerning. Do these things keep me up at night? No, because I realized long ago that this country only operates on the guise of doing what is best for its citizens financially. The truth is - pay off your credit cards and your cards are canceled. Start a small business – pay most of your profits away in taxes. Maintain a safe driving record and still have premiums out of this world. Own a home and have homeowners’ insurance that won’t cover most things that can go wrong. 

Neither candidate has a quick fix for these issues.

There is one candidate who supports taking away a woman’s right to not bring a baby into a country as unhinged as America.

There is one candidate who wants to be credited for the reversal of Roe v. Wade (June 2022) and in the next breath says what he believes necessary to not lose voters over the controversial issue. Many husbands, fathers, ministers, and even imprudent women support this. They believe this on the premise that they believe in God. Well, it’s not God bless America anymore, but God bless the people trying to survive America.

There are still a lot of good, hardworking people in a country enveloped in discriminatory practices, unlivable wages, and violence. Which candidate has the poise to inspire this group, despite America’s shortcomings? Which candidate is likely to pit one group against another for sport?

We have one candidate who has the necessary background to even approach a presidential candidacy. We have one candidate who is articulate and well-spoken. We have one candidate who has not hidden when asked difficult questions. Most voters who take issue with this candidate are grappling for legitimate reasons to vote the other way.

We don’t have a candidate who will defeat racism, combat the border crisis, make healthcare functional for all Americans; completely change the narrative about funding college or rid the country of the reality that guns can and will land in the wrong hands.

What we do have is a candidate who vows to protect the rights of women and whether you care to acknowledge it or not - whatever happens to women impacts the entire nation. Protecting women is more than enough to secure my vote.