Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Mississippi's War on Women!

Last year's voters sent a message by rejecting the "personhood" amendment but that didn't stop the lawmakers from conjuring another plan to deny women their right to choose abortion. The only abortion clinic in Mississippi is facing closure for "not complying" with state laws regarding abortion providers. The providers have to be board certified OB-GYN's and the staff must have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The same hospitals deny them these privileges due to the hospitals religious beliefs (hence, the "non- compliance). Mississippi has the lowest abortion rate AND the highest teen pregnancy rate in the entire nation. These statistics make sense since there is but one clinic. Women are forced to travel out of state to attain abortions IF they can afford to. Many of them are forced to carry unintended and unwanted pregnancies to term. Surely this affects the poverty rates in Mississippi. The poverty rate in Mississippi is 19% and females account for 57% of that number. Abortion and poverty intersect whether lawmakers believe this or not. Denying women their reproductive rights has its consequences and this is only one of them. It is a woman's rights to choose if and when she decides to parents and the nature in which she chooses to parent. This is why I love fighting for reproductive justice; the need is prevalent! We must continue to fight the war on women!!

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