Question about President Bush

[Samantha Puppy]

I'm not trying to start a fight - and I'll even go as far as to say that if this thread takes a turn for the ugly, I'll delete it outright. BUT a couple people have said things about our President that I just don't understand. I've tried to look up information or use his past record to see where they're coming from and I just can't. So here goes.

And let's keep this civil.

Some people on here have said that with President Bush being elected to serve a second term, the rights of women are going to be taken away. I just don't see it. During his first term, I didn't see or hear anything that made me, as a woman, feel I was losing any of my rights. And I haven't seen anything in his plans that would make me fear losing them during his second term.

That said, I "get" the abortion thing. I do understand where you're coming from with that, though I disagree. To clarify, the *only* time I feel an abortion is not wrong is when both the mother's and baby's lives are at stake. I have more thoughts on the issue of abortion, but I'll stop there. I don't want this thread to turn into purely that, because according to these other people, there is more at stake for women than just the abortion issue.

I look forward to hearing everyone's replies.

[LKPike]

I haven't followed the womans right issues with him, but theres several reasons he shouldn't have any control over this country. He went on vacation his first few months as president and ignored early warnings of 9/11 no one remembers that being all over the news? he also provided planes for Bin Laden's family to get out of america instead of holding them here to question them. Another issue is being against gay marriage its sad one of his biggest concerns is that instead of the people he sent over to Iraq to die for fuel and those "weapons" that no ones ever found. I don't understand why anyone would be against letting 2 people who love each other get married but as I've said to a best friend whos gay and wishes to marry her partner: Someday it will change. It use to not be legal for blacks to marry whites, and etc. But theres some heartless people out there whove said after gay marriages are legal, then "we" should make it legal for sisters to marry brothers and people to marry goats and the like. Do they truely believe people in general are that sick/stupid? It seems more and more each day people are using less and less common sense

[Samantha Puppy]

LKPike, I'm only interested in hearing about the women's rights issue right now... there are plenty of other threads for people to post all their reasons for disliking our President.

I'm just looking for clarification on the comments of the women who thinks our rights are at stake. I find their remarks very interesting.

[Logan]

I asked the same question of two of the people who posted about women losing their rights in another thread, Samantha Puppy, and either they never answered, or their answers got buried in a long thread. I'm curious too.

[Samantha Puppy]

I think one of them answered, but then the separation of church and state conversation took over and it got buried pretty quickly. So I thought I'd bring it to the forefront and hopefully they'll all see it this time.

[aly]

I myself feel that abortion is wrong. Even if I was raped, I would have the child. I can't expect everybody to share my same beliefs though. I wouldn't think it was fair for me to judge everyone else's situations and tell them they can't have abortions. I was fortunate to grow up in a wonderful, loving family. I know not everyone else has and lots of bad things are going on in this world. I definately think abortion should happen when the mother's life is at stake (even if the baby's life is not at risk). I don't like Bush's views on it because he is holding everybody to his same standards. He also gives religious reasons for a lot of what he does, which makes seperation of church and state seem like a joke (yes, I am religious too, but don't think he should use it to make presidential decisions).

Here is something Dukedogsmom pointed out in another thread:

President Bush has announced his plan to select Dr. W. David Hager to head up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. Hager is a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, and sources told Time magazine that in his private practice he will not prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women. He is also the author of a book which suggests that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the bible and praying.

Women rely on the FDA to ensure their access to safe and effective drugs for reproductive health care including products that have been proven to help safely prevent pregnancy. For some women - such as those with certain types of diabetes and those undergoing treatment for cancer - pregnancy can be a life-threatening condition. Religion should not be a barrier to access to safe and effective drugs that are necessary for preserving and promoting women's health and protecting women's lives.

http://www.aauwbridgeport.org/pub/Hager.htm
(The news is about 2 years old, but if you search for David Hager, you can find TONS of sites about it .. this was the first one I clicked on .. some are better)

That is the only thing I've heard in how women will be in trouble. I'm not really one of the people who think he'll ruin women's rights. But I will say that I am very sad for the gay community. They are people too and they deserve every right that you and I have.

I guess I haven't answered your real question since it was about women, so I'll stop here even though I could go on with other things I strongly disagree with. Just wanted point out that there are a lot of people of religious faith and who are pro-life as well, but strongly disagree with him on how he handles these things.

[LKPike]

Sorry for expressing my honest opinion. Don't bother looking for Bush's records on anything because they were "lost" when he was elected.

[Samantha Puppy]

Originally posted by LKPike
Sorry for expressing my honest opinion. Don't bother looking for Bush's records on anything because they were "lost" when he was elected.

No one said that you couldn't express your opinion - I'd just like to keep this thread on the topic of women's rights and why having Bush in office for a second term will hurt us.

Thanks for that info., aly.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I don't have specifics and I don't have time to research all the details....and I'm not sure how to say this right without making it seem all about abortion....but in a way, it is all about abortion. One of his main goals is to outlaw abortions. Since he can't come right out and do that, he he is going about it "through the back door." What I mean by this is he is slowly but surely interfering with womens reproduction issues. For instance - and again I dont' have details I just heard a report about this on the radio one morning on my way to work and these are the snippets I remember - we no longer supply money to other countries for womens reproduction health issues. I think this included condoms and sex education. In other words, we cannot give third world countries valid birth control methods - its abstinence or nothing, and if they get pregnant and want an abortion, we can't even council them on their options.

From what I understand - again I'm just going from memory and don't have facts or details - this is also the case in the US. Federally funded agencies cannot council women on their options as pertaining to abortions.

I'm not saying I'm for abortion or anything, I'm just giving you a place to start looking for how he's trouncing on women's rights. I know I probably shouldn't have even posted this because I don't have facts or websites or anything to back me up - and I can't even remember the name of the biggest family planning agency in the country that provides women with reproductive health care - Ah, Planned Parenthood is what I'm thinking of.

See, what Bush does is go about everything underhandedly and sneakily - "through the back door" so things happen slowly and people don't really realize what is happening until it's too late. And I will not go into that any further because I don't have facts or details to back myself up and I don't have the time to research it all and get back to you. So, without further ado, I rest my case and get back to work. If I get time I will do some reseach on Planned Parenthood, but maybe some of you with more time on your hands can check it out too....

[jazzzytina]

I voted for Kerry, and I'm a woman. My opinion would be that women's rights will pretty much stay the same during the next 4 years under President Bush. I think Laura Bush is a good woman and has significant influence on her husband.

I think it's time to rally around and support the President. It's time to put differences aside, recognize the good in President Bush - he's a patriotic American with strong convictions. He wants to do good for the country. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, and the benefit of our unwavering support.

Peace,
Tina (a liberal Christian democrat)

[aly]

I have to agree that Laura is amazing. I REALLY love her. She is so gracious and genuine.

[Maresche]

I understand that you didn't want to make this thread all about abortion, but for me this is the number 1 right Bush has made clear he would like to "take back" and in my mind it is one of the most frightening of rights to take away.

And this is for mostly one reason, abortion will not end if it is made illegal, it will only become more dangerous.

Abortion has been a part of every culture since women began to understand pregnancy. It has been done through a variety of means, some with horrendous consequences for mother and child.

I truly believe that if abortion is made illegal in this country, these are the means women will resort to.

While I would love to see the day when abortions are unneccessary because every pregnancy and child resulting therefrom will be wanted and loved, we are far from the society now and I don't see it arriving in my lifetime or in that of my children or grandchildren. We simply aren't that englightened yet. And I cannot condemn a woman to die when we have the medical technology available to make it safe.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I did just a quick search. Go to http://www.plannedparenthood.org and you'll find so much more on this, but here is just a brief quote.

"Further, students in school programs that are funded with federal abstinence-only money are typically taught only that sex is dangerous outside marriage, and teachers may not discuss or respond to questions about condoms or birth control pills except to point out their failure rates."

Now you say, what does this have to do with Bush? His name isn't mentioned there. But it has everything to do with Bush and his religious right conservative supporters. And this is only one area that that he and his religious right conservative supporters are trying to bully their way into our every day lives. Republicans stand on the theory that people should take care of themselves and not have the government interfere in their lives. And yet that is exactly what they are doing - slowly, sneakily, so no one notices until it is too late!

[christa]

I've had the same questions . . . just what are people talking about, Bush taking away women's rights . . . I've asked seriously in threads before, but it just gets lost.

From my own experiences on this board and others, it's my opinion that the only people that are afraid that they'll loose their rights are hardcore Pro-Choice. It's known that Republicans are Pro-Life and I think it just scares them that a Republican is calling the shots.

I am against abortions, unless the woman's life is at risk. I have a hard time understanding Pro-Choice.

It's really a clear cut issue. You're either Pro-Choice or Pro-Life. Not much of a gray area there. And I'm sure you've noticed that there's a lot of emotion behind both sides. It's not easy to debate, especially in a forum like this.

I am interested to know the answer to your question, Samantha Puppy. I hope someone takes the time to explain in more detail. Are these just fears? Or do you have proof? Because I just can't imagine Bush taking away everything that women have come to gain in the past decades.

[CathyBogart]

I think several people have just explained it in more detail. Reproductive rights mean more than just abortion.....If a pro-life woman cannot get contraceptives, it is essentially forcing her to either abstain or have children, and that is ridiculous. It is forcing his religious beliefs and ethics onto everyone else, and taking away an unmarried woman's right to a sex life.