women’s rights

Human Rights Day, 2025

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Today is Human Rights Day, and I’m of a mind to share two quotations:

Women’s Rights are Human Rights. – Hillary Clinton

Trans Rights are Human Rights.

I’m finding it difficult to write about human rights today when the United States is violating them left, right, and center, every which way we look, on the land, in the air, on the sea.

I find it difficult directing you to the human rights watches of Amnesty International and the United Nations, both of whom I’ve respected my entire life and have now abandoned them as they’ve abandoned many of us.

I find it difficult accepting that human rights are a right for all humans when we see so many rights being torn away, stomped upon, and set on metaphorical fire.

Last week, I saw a picture online of a drunk racoon passed out next to a toilet in a public bathroom, a gas station, I think, and that seems to have summed up the last eleven months  of where we are in terms of the world, of our elected leaders here around the world, and of the human rights being taken away and destroyed before our very eyes.

No, I’m sorry, there’s no witty twist, no redemption arc. It is what it is, and it’s a dumpster fire.

Sybil Ludington’s Ride and the Erasure of Women

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Today, in 1777, two years after Paul Revere’s famous ride, at age 16, Sybil Ludington rode all night on horseback, forty miles to rally militiamen after the Brits burned down Danbury, Connecticut. Whether the ride occurred has been in question since about 1956. The accounts of the ride come from the Ludington family, possibly in an effort to promote tourism.

Last week in talking about Revere, I asked who will warn us this time? I linked to the Alt National Park Service, an invaluable source for what is going on in this administration – clarifications, corrections and call outs of the lies and falsehoods perpetuated since before Election Day.

In reference to Sybil Ludington, I have the same questions. On social media we’re told of the women, so many women who are standing up to the fascism, and yet, when a woman warns us in 1777, we dismiss it as ‘maybe it didn’t really happen.’ And to be honest, I don’t really know if it happened. I do know that when women accomplish anything there is someone there to take the credit, to claim the discovery, and to shush the little lady. We dismissed Kamala Harris, the Vice President for four years, Senator before that. We dismissed Hillary Clinton, First Lady for eight years, Secretary of State for four, Senator before that, and accomplished lawyer before that. At what point, will women be taken at face value, and I don’t mean at pretty face value.

How can the women save us if we won’t listen to or acknowledge them?

Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John, “Don’t forget the ladies.” We are not only forgotten but ignored, blamed, and pushed aside while (many, too many) men crush this country under crippling debt, ruin families, arrest women for biological functions, and allow them to die for those same reasons. We are not less than. We don’t need to apologize for existing.

If we were treated as we should be, as equality requires us to be, we wouldn’t need to constantly put ourselves in the stories to uplift us. We would already be there, and there wouldn’t be a question as to whether it is a true story or a folktale.

[Reflection on the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade]

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Yesterday was the fifty-second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. On June 24, 2023, the Supreme  Court held in Dobbs that the “Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion”, overruling Roe and Casey, and reversing forty-nine and thirty years, respectively of precedent, not only in law, but in women’s physical safety.

When I was born, Roe didn’t exist, but do you know what did? Women dying from blood loss, sepsis, and incompetent medical persons (I hesitate to use the word “professionals,” who either weren’t proficient in women’s reproductive health care or didn’t care and were only there to make a quick buck off the backs of desperate women and girls.

There is no such thing as banning abortion. Abortions have been happening since pregnancy; since the dawn of time, whether elective, medically necessary, and/or spontaneous (what is sometimes referred to as a miscarriage). I would suggest that Dobbs is a not-so-spontaneous abortion – a miscarriage of justice. A step away from women’s bodily autonomy. A step in the wrong direction. It should not be dismissed that in Alito’s opinion, he quotes Sir Matthew Hale, a long discredited abusive misogynist and witch trial judge, and someone excoriated in his own time (the 17th century).

When then-Senator Kamala Harris asked then-nominee Brett Kavanaugh if he could think of any law restricting a man’s medical decisions, he thought for a moment and said no. The moment he “thought” about it was performative. No one needs to think about the answer to that question: it is most definitely no, there has never been a law that restricts a man’s bodily autonomy.

Women have died.

Women are dying. Right now.

Women are being arrested for having a miscarriage, and that’s after attempting (more than once) to get medical care.

Women are being lied to about what is and isn’t physically possible. For example, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard politicians tell women that for an ectopic pregnancy, the fetus can be replanted in the uterus. This is NEVER the case.

Another example is the disgusting rhetoric surrounding “post-birth” abortion. There is NO SUCH THING! No one is killing babies in the maternity ward after they’re born. NO ONE. Who believes this nonsense?!

The biggest problem is that politicians are not doctors. They don’t know how women’s bodies work, and they prove that every time they open their mouths to debate and pass legislation against women, and let’s be clear – that is exactly what it is; it’s not anti-abortion or “pro-life,” it is anti-women and girls. Even the trans bigotry shows this. They don’t care about the safety of girls or the “sanctity” of girls’ sports.

If you don’t believe that, just look at the ignorance at the most recent executive order claiming that there are only two genders, but then in the same order requiring that people identify their gender as the one they had at conception. The new president (and his cronies) just made the male gender illegal since biologically we are all female at conception.

How many other laws are being passed that violate our rights because of the ignorance of right wing no-nothings?!

Abortion bans at six weeks when most women don’t know that they’re pregnant.

Heartbeat laws when there is no heart.

They want to ban abortion from the moment of conception.

Roe v. Wade saved women’s lives.

Dobbs is killing women.

It really is that simple.

And if you can’t see that, I ache for the future of such an ignorant world, and hope to all that is holy that my daughter’s generation is paying attention, and can reverse this misogyny which has been built into the fabric of our country from the beginning.

Election Connection: The Weekend Edition: Last Minute Information re: Biden/Harris Administration

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This post will have several pages, which will be linked. This is so that when you click on the “read more” you won’t be bombarded with a wall of text and you can read the information in bite sized chunks.

Below, you will find:

  • Jack Smith’s Final Report (clicking the link below will automatically download it to your device)
  • Statement from the US & Canada regarding the Haudenosaunee’s independent participation in the Olympics.
  • The language of the 28th Amendment
  • Statements from both the President and the Vice-President on the new amendment to the Constitution.
Continue reading
Pages: 1 2 3

Election Connection – 12 Days

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We can do this!

We’re Not Going Back! (c)2024

In our house, we have a first time voter! We are very excited to have her vote for HER rights and who we hope will be the FIRST WOMAN President.

In 12 days, she, her father, and I will walk together into our polling place and watch her “pull the lever” for Democracy. She knows the issues; she knows what’s at stake, and she’s ready to add this civic duty to her growing list of growing up milestones, following graduation from high school, getting a driver’s license and buying herself a car, and working in her chosen field.

We are so proud of all of our kids who are choosing their ways through life, and we are proud that they all know that equal rights are for everyone, and civil rights are human rights.

Take the responsibility and the privilege and go out and vote on November 5, and let’s turn this country around.

BRING THE JOY!

Election Connection – NYS Prop 1

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19 Days

I belong to a group that is a religious based group. I get that I am on the outside of the norm for doctrine, for civil rights, and other issues, but for the most part we amicably disagree and I only correct factual errors. I have never, as far as I know, given my views on abortion. I do speak forcefully on trans rights.

So, here we are.

I was on a conference call last week when one of the members asked to make an announcement, and then proceeded to express a political ad in opposition to New York’s Proposition 1 that will appear on the ballet this Election Day, November 5, 2024.

An announcement would be something akin to informing what the proposition is and where to find more information to make your own judgment call. This was not the usual Catholic call to vote your conscience. This was an out and out vote no, and here’s why.

I listened anyway. I have an open mind, and I want to know where others are coming from. But when he began spewing misinformation, I blew a gasket. Silently, of course, we’re all muted, and I wasn’t going to call him out when 90% of the call would be against me, but I did hang up, and that is something that everyone on the call could hear.

I was really furious.

Yes, of course, vote your conscience, but learn the facts about an issue. Telling a captive audience that this bill is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” and making it about “girls’ sports” and of course, the behemoth single issue, abortion, I just can’t.

Proposition 1 is:

This is the complete text that you will see printed on your ballot.:

Adds anti-discrimination provisions to State Constitution. Covers ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy. Also covers reproductive healthcare and autonomy.

 [Italics mine.]

This is an official summary of the measure provided by your election administrator:

This proposal amends Article 1, Section 11 of the New York State Constitution. It prohibits any person, business, or organization, as well as state and local governments from discrimination pursuant to law. The current protections in the Constitution cover race, color, creed, and religion. The proposal will add ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy. The amendment allows laws to prevent or undo past discrimination.

 [Italics mine.]

Combatting Misinformation

Myth#1: This will increase abortions.

This will NOT increase abortions. This will save women’s lives. It will decrease the unnecessary deaths of women (look up Amber Thurman of Georgia). It will give everyone bodily autonomy and enable them to make their own medical (and other) decisions. Women are not second-class citizens. When Brett Kavanaugh was asked during his confirmation hearing if there were any laws restricting a man’s choices for his body, he could not name one. That’s because there are none. Equality is for everyone.

Reproductive rights include the decision of when and if to have a family, the use of fertility procedures and contraception. Bodily autonomy includes cancer treatments and vaccinations. Some contraception drugs are used for other ailments. Those decisions are between a patient and their doctor.

And don’t forget that more than a few Republican politicians including the candidate for VP, Senator Vance has said they will require girls and women to submit to a pregnancy test before they are allowed to travel across state lines.

Myth#2: Loss of Parental Rights due to anti-age discrimination laws

This is a ludicrous argument. Children will not be able to do whatever they want any more than they do now. Parents will still have a say in their children’s decisions. This is no way that will change that.

Your 5-Year-old still cannot get a tattoo. Your 15-year-old still cannot have breast enlargement (or reduction) surgery. Your 10-year-old cannot now drive a car. When you say these things, you sound stupid unless you’re just fear-mongering which frankly is worse.

Myth#3: Trans Rights will threaten girls’ sports

And while we’re on the subject, I mean, why no concern over boys’ sports?

Is it that we honestly don’t care? We certainly didn’t care when Michael Phelps won award after award, and no one batted an eye despite his “natural advantage,” something genetic, with which he was born. (Google it.)

Trans girls and women are not “men in dresses”. They are women and girls, and they deserve to spend their childhood playing the sports that they want to (just like the boys do).

Let me ask you a few questions:

Do you color your hair? Cut it? Wear nail polish? Makeup? Choose a style of eyeglasses? Do you shave your legs? Or face? Or go to the gym?

These are ALL examples of gender-affirming care.

For Catholics (which is the group on my conference call), there is nothing inherently anti-doctrinal about trans people, but there is and should be an issue when you are bigoted and when you misinform about who and what trans people are, and transness is.

You can call it freedom of speech, you can call it parental rights, you can call it protecting girls’ sports, but what it really is, is bigotry, plain and simple.

Saying everyone should be equal, and passing laws that do just that should be a positive thing; we should be striving towards equality for all, and not creating a caste system of second-class citizens.

Equality for all means EQUALITY. FOR. ALL.

I will be voting YES on Prop 1 in New York state, and I hope you will too.

Travel – Following in Susan B. Anthony’s Footsteps

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One year, on our way to Canada, we stopped in Rochester, New York. My boys wanted to visit a comic store (of course), and since we were in Rochester, I suggested we visit Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite (Section C, Plot 93). I wanted my daughter to see a symbol of one of the pioneers of suffrage and women’s right to vote. Especially because when I mentioned that she had been on the dollar coin, there was a little confusion and looking up the difference between the Anthony dollar and the Sacajawea one. Driving to Niagara Falls and the Canadian border, west on I-90, there are several signs for women’s history from Seneca Falls, NY (birthplace of women’s rights) to Auburn, NY (home of Harriet Tubman).

I’ve written before about Susan B. Anthony and suffrage. They can be found by searching my tags in the search bar to the left. Below find some places to visit related to Susan B. and women’s rights as well as the surrounding area.

There are no falls in Seneca Falls.

Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite can be found at the Mount Hope Cemetery. Frederick Douglass may also be found in his final resting place here.

National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House

Near her house is the Susan B. Anthony Park.

Women’s Rights National Historical Park

                Things to do there

National Women’s Hall of Fame – reopening in the spring

Spend 48 Hours in Seneca Falls (from the I Love NY site)

Also visit this online, virtual, “museum without walls”: National Women’s History Museum

And this online feature at the New York State Museum: Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial

Rochester Region Suffrage Timeline

Play Women’s Hall of Fame Solitaire

Finally, use the Freethought Trail to plan your journeys for the following (more available on the website):

                Women’s Rights Sites

                Women’s Suffrage Conventions Trail

     Susan B. Anthony Sites

                Seneca Lake Sites

Mourning

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I have come to realize that “pro-life” is a misnomer. The people who espouse it, who embrace it, who shout it from the rooftops, don’t actually know what it means. When I hear the phrase “pro-life” I’m supposed to think that the person shouting it believes in life. But they don’t believe in life when the life is gay, when the life is Black, when the life is an immigrant or someone who’s accented, when the life is poor or homeless or addicted to drugs. They don’t believe in life when they allow three people, three human beings, a mother and her two small children drown while watching, and actively stop help from getting to them. They don’t believe in life if they are killed by guns, which are more sacred to them than the life it takes. They claim to care about the life of people who aren’t people yet, still unborn, still getting their life from their host woman, but if that woman dies because she can’t receive a lifesaving abortion, well, that’s life. But it’s not pro-life.

They lie about the services at Planned Parenthood.

They lie about the activities inside “crisis pregnancy centers.”

They lie about women’s* bodies or they simply don’t understand how women’s bodies work, which should be the first clue that they shouldn’t be legislating on women’s bodies.

I’ve seen legislators who don’t understand the basics of puberty or menstruation or how babies are conceived, thinking that the only party is the woman who holds the responsibility for her actions and the future of three people.

They sound pathetic and stupid, and it’s embarrassing.

On this anniversary of the now reversed Roe v. Wade, I’m in mourning. I’m in mourning for what pro-life people did to Roe, the person: manipulating, gaslighting, and abandoning. I’m in mourning for my daughter. I’m in mourning for her friends. I mourn for the residents of Texas and Florida especially.

The only pro-life option is safe and legal abortions for anyone who needs one.

Why is there upset and indignation when the “pro-life” set is called pro-birth or forced birth, but what else are they if not that? No one comes to pray outside of social services or the WIC offices for the children once they are born. No one prays outside of counseling centers, real counseling centers for victims of sexual assault and incest. The only prayers are for doctor’s offices and clinics that offer full service reproductive health services. Why is that?

How can you be anti-abortion and pro-death penalty?

How can you be pro-war?

Things to think about because your hypocrisy is showing, and it has been for a very long time. With the Dobbs ruling, women are dying, women are being prosecuted and persecuted for having miscarriages, women are being denied life-saving care, women are left to die of sepsis, are left to infertility, and families are just left.

*When I say women, read: all child-bearing people.