As I’m only one generation removed Texan — my mother is from El Paso and I have a chunk of family in the Lone Star State — I hope I won’t feel too out of place marching today with the Texas delegation.
Actually, if anything, I’ll feel out of place because I’ll be encountering some famous Texans… at least, in my opinion. Of course, there’s my pal Sara. But also this morning we’ll be hooking up with former Texas governor Ann Richards (a pistol if ever there was one) and the fantastic columnist Molly Ivins (who I consistently parenthetically love on this blog).
I’m gonna have to get myself a Texas twang, at least for a few hours today.
Speaking of Molly, here’s what she has to say about today:
Women of America. This Sunday, April 25. Washington, D.C. The March for Women’s Lives. Be there.
… Anti-choice policies threaten the lives of women around the world. Kofi Annan said, “HIV infection and AIDS are spreading dramatically and disproportionately among women. Today, AIDS has a woman’s face.” The first official action George W. Bush took as president was to reinstate the global gag rule of the Reagan years — no clinic that so much as mentions abortion, even to women who will die without it, can receive U.S. aid. Between 1972 and 1989, Planned Parenthood used USAID financial assistance to provide 330 million cycles of birth control pills, 1.3 million condoms, 14 million IUDs and provided $92 million in financial assistance to over 439 family planning agencies around the world. The gag rule cut all funding to Planned Parenthood. Of course more abortions were the result.
… Anyone who thinks the anti-choice movement is only about repealing abortion rights has not been paying attention. Their agenda includes limiting both knowledge about and access to safe contraception. Everything from “abstinence only” programs to the FDA’s delay in approving emergency over-the-counter contraception is part of their agenda.
… Over 335 new state laws restricting a woman’s right to choose have been passed in the last eight years. Eighty-seven percent of U.S. counties have no safe abortion provider. Twenty-four states have mandatory delays and state-prepared anti-choice propaganda. Anti-condom policies not only result in unwanted pregnancies but an increase in AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Right-wing legislation gives fertilized eggs more rights than women. Doctors are prevented from giving accurate information about birth control and abortion rights to their patients. Anti-choice terrorists continue to murder and bomb, intimidate and harass, but the Department of Homeland Security has no time for those terrorists. This is for our lives. Be there.
I may be only an honorary “Texas Woman” today, but I’ll be there.
