Members of the state House
of Representatives, all men of course, are proposing bills to counteract the
executive directive given by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, to force
pharmacies to fill prescriptions for birth control medication called Ōthe
morning after pill.Ķ The pill must
be taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse or it will not work, and the sooner,
the better. Some druggists have refused to dispense the medication because they
say it conflicts with their religious beliefs. Rep. Ron Stevens, R-Mulberry, is
quoted as saying, ŌThe governor is forcing a few pharmacists to choose between
their religion and their livelihood.Ķ
I say that in the public
arena, religious beliefs do not trump individual civil rights, and if you
question that, I suggest you study the United States Constitution. And if
pharmacists cannot fill legal prescriptions from physicians, they had better
get out of the business. Notice that I called this medication a birth control
pill because that is what it is – a very heavy dose of the ordinary birth
control drug. It does not cause an abortion, it prevents pregnancy, and according
to such groups as Planned Parenthood, more widespread use of the emergency
contraception could prevent as many as 800,000 surgical abortions a year.
This whole debate is never
about great concern for human life, because the same bunch likes guns and war. It
is just another slap in the face of womenÕs rights and a lack of concern for
the lives of women. Consider the woman in Tucson, Arizona who tried to get the
medication after she had been raped. She called dozens of pharmacies and found
many did not stock the drug and refused to direct her to a drug store that did.
Walgreen druggists in Illinois have refused to fill prescriptions and have been
suspended from their jobs because Walgreens doesnÕt want to break the law.
It happens that because of
our biology, women are the most responsible for the consequences of sexual
activity. What people still canÕt handle is that women can now have sex without
getting pregnant, and for men, that is such a loss of control. Apparently
society still thinks it has to dictate to a woman how to behave, even while
trampling on her individual rights as a United States citizen.
In this context, the most
responsible act of a woman is to practice birth control. The most responsible
act of a couple is to practice birth control. The most irresponsible act of a
man and woman is to have children who are not wanted or cannot be provided
for.
We know that religion is used
as a front for lots of disgusting and dictatorial statements and actions in
this country, and these people have every right to say and do what they want,
in the privacy of their own homes, church or even on the street corner, but not
at the expense of the civil rights or religious beliefs of the rest of us.
We must remember that in this
country, 25 percent of our children live in poverty. To help prevent AIDS and
poverty in countries in Africa, for example, we should not just be sending
money, but handing out condoms by the truckload. However, under the direction
of the current administration in Washington, our country will not support a
foreign policy that includes education or equipment for birth control. No
wonder the rest of the world views us as world-class idiots. We have less
respect for our own citizens than any other modern, industrialized country and
many of the developing countries.
More than 50 percent of our
population is women, but active discrimination and prejudice are still with us.
None of the victories for womenÕs rights came without tremendous battles and
opposition. All one has to do is look at the lack of women in the Illinois
legislature and Congress to sense the underlying sentiment in this country, and
certainly in the Midwest, that women are still considered second class citizens
whose lives are not as important as an egg and sperm that havenÕt even formed
another life.
Make no mistake; this is a
battle against women. Please contact your state legislator and ask him to
support our civil rights – and not undermine Governor BlagojevichÕs
proper action to do so.
Caroline
Porter is a freelance writer from Galesburg who can be reached at
cporter@galesburg.net. Other columns are online at www.thezephyr.com
02/02/06