The Coalition for Life in Bryan-College Station, Texas holds an annual fundraiser to finance its anti-choice agenda, and each year the even usually attracts about 1,500 people to hear a pro-life speaker. Last year former Arkansas governor and 2008 Republican primary presidential candidate Mike Huckabee spoke at the event. This year it is expected that former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson will speak at the event, but it was announced that the keynote speaker will be former Florida governor Jeb Bush.
According to the Coalition for Life’s web site the reason that they have invited the former governor to speak at the event is because "Jeb Bush has been very consistent in keeping a pro-life record." Among the reasons that the Coalition cited for this invitation was also the former governor’s "attempted to have the unborn child of a severely disabled woman be appointed a court guardian."
In 2003 22-year-old woman living in a group home in Florida was raped, the woman was mentally disabled and had the cognitive and emotional capacity of a 1-year-old child. In addition to this she also suffered from cerebral palsy, autism and was prone to violent seizures. These conditions would make it very difficult for a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, in fact death is a real possibility if a woman with these conditions where to attempt to deliver the baby. Despite these facts then Governor Bush decided that it was more important to ensure that the pregnancy was carried to term, and that the abortion that could save the mother’s life should be prevented from happening. Because of the ensuing legal battle the woman was forced to carry the pregnancy to term despite the risk, but a Florida appeals court panel later ruled that the action could not be taken by the state.
Another reason cited by the Coalition was that the "Governor lamented the loss of life of an unborn child when a 13-year-old in his state was given permission by a judge to have an abortion." The risks involved with a thirteen year old child carrying a pregnancy to term are higher than for adult women. These risks include preeclampsia, also called toxemia or pregnancy-related hypertension, and anemia, low iron levels in your blood. Once again this shows that former governor Bush clearly does not care about the well being of the mother, but is more concerned with the politics of abortion.
The Coalition also cites the fact that "last year, the younger of the Bush brothers unveiled a counseling plan for women considering abortion to help them consider alternatives such as adoption." This is no different from the crisis pregnancy centers that provide factually inaccurate information about reproductive health care. From promoting "post-abortion syndrome" that is not recognized by any medical organization as an actual condition, to giving false information about a connection between abortion and breast cancer that has been refuted by several studies.
So, why does Jeb Bush carry more about a fetus than a woman? Because women’s rights and feminism are nothing but "victims movements." In the book that Bush co-authored, Profiles in Character, he wrote:
"Since the 1960s, the politics of victimization has steadily intesnified. Being a victim gives rise to certain entitlements, benefits, and preferences in society. The surest way to get something in today’s society is to elevate one’s status to that of the oppressed. Many of the modern victim movements-the gay rights movement, the feminist movement, the black empowerment movement-have attempted to get people to view themselves as part of a smaller group deserving of something from society."
I guess women having the audacity to think that they might be deserving of equally rights from society is simply because they apart of an oppressed minority. That might be because they actually have been oppressed by people that are invested in maintaining the status quo of a patriarchal society. People like Jeb Bush.
Political and Social Thought...
to the Left of College Station