Across the Aisle

I heard that State Senator Vincent Sheheen made an appearance at SC Pride yesterday.  Not surprisingly it has not been widely reported, especially by the Sheheen camp.  Sheheen made news earlier this month by reaching across the aisle to Governor Haley in his support of the ban on gay marriage.  The public outcry apparently stunned Sheheen, who wants more than anything to be governor, to the point of making the appearance at the Gay Pride event.

The problem with Senator Sheheen as I see it is that his values lie on the other side of the aisle, but his political affiliation is with us Democrats.

While Sheheen unabashedly seeks support from women's groups, unions, and gay rights groups, he wants to do it without making it too public, and without having to compromise his lack of support for same.

Pardon me but my rage is showing.

It would be a simple matter even for a proud Catholic like Sheheen to support women's reproductive privacy and freedom.  Even Pope Francis, who has to deal with the ultra-conservative archbishops who elected him, has figured out a work-around to the Church's obsession with contraception and abortion.

With Pope Francis, his own Church's leader, as the model, now is the time for Senator Sheheen to take a stand that sets him apart from the rabid Christian republicans, like Senator Lee Bright, who would bring back the Inquisition (for women only) which looks a bit like his fantasy of Sharia Law.

In other words, women's reproductive choices should be as private as are those of men.  They should be as fully covered as those of men (When was the last time you heard an argument that vasectomies should not be covered by our state health plan?).  Women's health care -- the promotion of discriminatory practices against women -- has no place in the legislature.

Abortion and contraception are private matters, to be addressed by the woman, her doctor, her family, her church, and not by government.  God did not appoint lawmakers to make God's rules.  In fact, there's that whole "render unto Caesar" idea that pretty much means the state should stay out of God's business, and God will do the same for the state.

Meanwhile, the state's business is to see that those who choose to have children are not made to suffer needlessly.  In other words, health care, education, a living wage, those are the issues that need to be addressed by government, not what goes on in the doctor's office, or in one's church.

We need to suggest this to Senator Sheheen, to insist in fact that he listen to us -- and to the Pope -- and stop obsessing about women's reproductive parts.  We need to let him know, on Facebook, on Twitter, by email and in person, that church and government, his religion and his role as a public servant, are separate entities.  We need to call and write to the media.  We need to light up this issue, while there is a chance that a Democratic candidate might listen.

A Pro-Choice Governor for South Carolina

You may have heard about all the idiotic anti-abortion bills floating around the SC Statehouse.  Sadly, this is business as usual for many of our legislators.  Bills like "personhood" and "preborn" and commissioning monuments to birth keep popping up, and like whack-a-mole, our good legislators continue to vote no.  But last year, one of the bills passed the House before being rejected by the Senate.  Pure single-mindedness could actually get one of the hair-brained bills turned into law.

Meanwhile, in 2010, Vincent Sheheen ran for Governor against Nikki Haley.  He's a good guy, a loyal Democrat, but talks too long and hard about cooperating, and while he claimed to be pro-choice before the primaries, he became far more wishy-washy before the general election, a fact that Haley was more than willing to use to her advantage.

We don't need a watered down republican in the Governor's mansion; we need someone who will unflinchingly defend a woman's right to reproductive freedom.

Here is a draft of a letter to Senator Sheheen encouraging him to stand up for a woman's right to choose, and vote no on any bill that infringes on that right:

___________, 2013

Senator Vincent Sheheen

504 Gressette Building

Columbia, South Carolina 29201

Dear Senator Sheheen:

I am a Democratic voter in South Carolina who is concerned about bills regarding women – and families – right to reproductive privacy. I am concerned that our state legislature has taken upon itself to redefine “life” to an absurd degree, in order to dictate mores that certain of our legislators believe to be Christian, but which are contemporary inventions.

Here in South Carolina there is much importance placed on “freedom.” Yet there are those elected by us that would vote to impose their presence within the bedroom and the doctor's office. There are bills that seek to determine unreasonable criteria for doctors who might perform abortions, which are legal procedures, and for those clinics that offer that service.

This is not only a travesty of the concept of individual freedoms These bills would jeopardize our right to religious freedom. They presume that our legislators are a religious authority, and not merely people elected to preserve the welfare of the citizens of this state.

Meanwhile, this battle over the control of a woman's reproductive choices is taking place while our quality of life in South Carolina continues to suffer. Poor education, high unemployment and low wages, inadequate health care are all issues that our legislators need to be addressing. Criminalizing a woman's reproductive health choices does in no way improve our quality of living. Rather, it drains our resources.

I understand that you are considering running for governor in 2014. I would be delighted to support someone who truly reflects Democratic values. I believe that a Democrat fights for our freedoms, and that includes the freedom of a woman, and her family, and her doctor, and her religious beliefs, in making her reproductive choices.

I would be unable to support your campaign if you vote for any of the anti-choice legislation that is proposed.

Thank you for your serious consideration of these matters, and I looking forward to your reply.

Very truly yours,

We would like to encourage you to send this letter, or some version of it, or your own original letter, to Senator Sheheen.  Snail mail will have more of an impact, but email will work. The more letters he gets, the more aware he will be of how important this issue is, not just to the women of the state, but to his election campaign.  Now is the time to let him know where we stand.

To paraphrase Arlo Guthrie, if three people did it, he might think it's some kind of an organization, and if 50 people did it, he might think it's a movement.

And it is a movement.

Controlling Women By Controlling Doctors

Our SC Senate is already hard at work punishing women who need abortions.  S 204 was introduced yesterday, and would require physicians who perform abortions to be board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, and if performing that abortion outside of a hospital, must have privileges at a certified hospital.  This is another blow for clinics.

The further absurdity of this proposed legislation is that in South Carolina, certified midwives are allowed to deliver a child at home, and are considered qualified by DHEC to carry out life saving measures.  Yet it will take a board certified physician to perform this typically routine procedure.

Now might be a good time to contact our own anti-choice democrat Senator Vincent Sheheen, and let him know that we women (and the men who love them) are unlikely to support him for governor in 2014 if he's going to vote against women's reproductive rights.

* * *

And on the national front, Paul Ryan has just co-sponsored a "personhood" bill that gives zygotes full human rights from the moment of conception.  How can this be worse, you might ask?  He could have been our Vice President.