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3.282012 I The Blue Banner I 15
The Blue Banner’s View
Female lawmakers take stand for equality in health care
House bill 1116 in Georgia states,
“Thousands of children are deprived of
birth in this state every year because of
the lack of state regulation over vasec
tomies.”
That’s right, this bill proposes to
prohibit vasectomies.
Sounds crazy, right?
How about an amendment proposed
in Oklahoma which states, “Any action
in which a man ejaculates or other
wise deposits semen anywhere but in
a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted
and construed as an action against an
unborn child.”?
Across the country, news of these and
several other proposed bills might be
making people wonder, “Are these for
real?” or, “Is this a joke?”
In reality, it’s neither.
These laws weren’t proposed with the
intention of being passed.
In fact, the amendment in Oklahoma
has already been shot down.
Female Democrats proposed these
laws to make a statement.
We won’t stand aside and let you con
trol our health care without a fight.
So in answer to the numerous
debates, laws, amendments and bills
(C
Thousands of children
are deprived^ birth in this
state every ye^ because
of the lack of sjate regulation
over vasectoMies.”
-House Bill 1116, Georgia
concerning abortion, contraceptives and
other means of health care for women,
these women are taking a stab at men’s
health.
Sure, these laws sound utterly ridicu
lous. But that’s exactly the point.
If lawmakers can pass laws prohib
iting aspects of women’s health or
making it more difficult for women to
access certain types of health care, why
can’t we do the same for men?
If you want to tell us it’s immoral to
provide women with free contracep
tives, then the same can be said for
vasectomies.
Both prevent pregnancy; both should
be subject to the same regulations.
Chances are, these proposed laws will
epically fail in a vote. But they have
already served their purpose.
It sounds ridiculous to make amend
ments targeting aspects of men’s health
care.
Just as ridiculous as targeting
women’s.
Sure, plenty of arguments exist
against making contraceptives available
for free. And even more arguments exist
against abortion rights.
But the point is, all of these recent
laws and amendments have a huge
impact on women’s health and the
majority of legislatures passing these
laws are men.
A recent quote to hit Tumblr, Face-
book and other social media networks
poses this question to anti-abortion ac
tivists; “People say abortion is murder...
Does that make condoms kidnapping?’
The witty quote probably induces
laughter, but the underlying message is
serious.
How far will these laws and amend
ments attacking women’s sexual health
rights be allowed to go?
To the women who proposed these
laws, thank you for standing up and
making a point.
And to the conservatives who con
tinue to fight against women’s health
care rights?
Keep it coming.
We can think of a few more ridicu
lous laws, too.
The Blue Banner Editorial Board
Karpen Hall 019 (828)
Hall Ledford, Editor-in-Chief
hdledfor@unca.edu
Auburn Petty, Managing Editor
alpetty@unca.edu
TVevor Metcalfe, News Editor
temetcal@unca.edu
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aradcox @ unca.edu
Sarah Gentry, Sports Editor
segentry @ unca .edu
Dustin Stuart, Photography Editor
destuart@unca.edu
Morgan Nirenstein, Copy Desk Chief
manirens@unca.edu
251-6586 WWW. thebluebanner. net
Jackie Starkey, Assistant News Editor
jstarkey@unca.edu
Tyler Sprinkle, Assistant Sports Editor
tsprinkl @ unca.edu
Jessica LaRue, Co- Arts & Features Editor
jlarue @unca.edu
Maisey Cooley, Co- Arts & Features Editor
mdcooIey@unca.edu
Amarra Ghani, Ass/sfaof Campus Voice Editor
aghani@unca.edu
Gabriel Ainslie, Assistant Photography Editor
gainslie@unca.edu
Michael Gouge, Facuity Adviser
mgouge@unca.edu
Have a news tip?
send to hdledfor@unca.edu
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