If you are woman, before you head out to cast your ballot in the 2012 election think long and hard about the recent record of the GOP and what that means to you. Through all the vitriol and rhetoric of the campaign some stark truths emerge, chief among them is that the GOP lead 112th congress, the same class that ran on a campaign of focus on the economy and jobs, chose to ignore the economy and instead focus upon attacking women's issues with a gusto.A recent congressional report identified 55 separate votes taken by the GOP lead House of Representatives on bills and measures that sought to roll back women's rights in a variety of ways. Among these is the bill sponsored and written by Reps. Paul Ryan and Todd Akin which sought to redefine rape. Other bills sought to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood who provide a multitude of medical services to women which include cancer screenings, STD prevention and treatment and other routine gynecological services. They serve primarily low income women and others who are priced out of the medical services market though the lack of health insurance.
On other occasions they sought to weaken provisions of the Patient's Affordable Care Act which stipulated that health plans cover well woman exams and contraception without a co-pay. Birth Control pills have become a therapeutic treatment for a number of conditions which result from hormonal fluctuation. Like much of the rest of the pharmaceuticals market, prices have risen steadily as new and improved options make their way into the marketplace when the patent-holder holds near monopolistic rights to set pricing on the product. Ensuring that women have access to these therapies ensures that the only constraints upon the treatments available to them are what their doctor and them decide as the best course of treatment based on the patient's needs.
The GOP are still showing opposition to the first bill President Obama signed into law, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which provided more recourse to women to pursue equal-pay grievances against their employer. Some GOP candidates call initiatives like this intrusive, thereby defending the notion that women should be paid substantially less than their male counterparts. All this while economists point out that closing the gender wage gap would pump more money directly into the economy than the Bush and Obama tax cuts combined.
The record bears it out, the GOP have been attacking women's rights and issues like President Clinton used to attack Big Macs and McDonald's fries. If you are a woman think long and hard before voting for a candidate with the big "R" next to their name. That vote is a vote against the progress that women have made in the country since they won the vote in 1920. That vote is tacit approval of the attack on those hard earned gains and for many against your own interests. Mitt Romney has never disavowed these attacks on women and not only has he chosen Paul Ryan, who wanted to redefine rape as his VP candidate, but in his only endorsement of a Senate candidate this cycle, chose Richard Murdock who believes that babies conceived during rape is "God's Plan" which by extension makes the rape God's plan as well under his logic, unless he subscribes to the notion that Ted Akin espoused that "during legitimate rape, women's bodies have a way of shutting things down"
