Romney is Not a Friend to Women

Last week I defended Obama's poor debate performance by suggesting that he had a job that might possibly take up some of the time that Romney spends preparing for the debates and running for President. 

This week I am pleased that Obama seemed back in the game and Romney seemed more like himself.  You know, the self who can't stand women.  This guy actually suggested that single mothers are to blame for gun violence.  WHAT?  And when asked about pay equity, the now famous "binders full of women" phrase was invented.  Rather than address actual documented pay inequity, he felt compelled to address the need for flex time so that women can get home and cook dinner and take care of their kids after their long day at the office.  WHAT?

We can also talk about how Romney does not support contraception or the right to an abortion.  This man is no friend to women.  I love it when Republican women are interviewed on NPR and they say that they aren't "one issue" voters and that they need to look to larger issues, like the economy in their decision on how to support for President.  I'm sure the right to control your family size has NOTHING to do with economics, right? 

I also like how the notion of reproductive freedom, rights or choice is always lumped into "one issue."  This topic is full of issues from the access to birth control for poor women, coverage for abortion, the right to prenatal care, the right to make decisions about your birth plan, the right to stay in a hospital after you have a baby, the right to have a vaginal delivery after a C-section, and the right to be sterilized, or not. 

As a woman who has never been pregnant, I take this "one issue" pretty seriously.  I see my friends in their mid-30s and early 40s trying to get pregnant in a country where hormones have over populated our food.  I see young women, where I work, unclear how to advocate for themselves as fertile women who don't yet want to have a baby.  I see young men refusing to wear condoms.  I see couples struggling over whether they can afford a second or third child. 

I religiously read Margaret and Helen, a blog by two women who have been friends for 60 years.  She recently wrote this about Mitt Romney being a liar "I respect and will protect a woman’s right to choose… Roe v. Wade has gone too far… I am pro-choice… I am pro-life… I never really called myself pro-choice…When I am asked if I am pro-choice or pro-life, I say I refuse to accept either label…"  

Beware of this man when you head to the polls on November 7th.  He is not a friend to any woman, except maybe Ann Romney.