Today in the War On Women, Wisconsin GOP state senator Glenn Grothman (R- West Bend) introduced a bill to make the act of single parenting a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect. How does this contribute to the GOP's War On Women? As of 2006, over 80% of single parent households were headed by women. Recent data shows that number is increasing, as marriage rates decline and more women decide to have children outside of marriage.
Are you a single parent in Wisconsin, or elsewhere? Take a gander at the legislation that was heard in the WI Senate Committee on Public Health, Human Services and Revenue today, and could be headed to a state legislature near you:
SB 507 states as follows, in pertinent part:
Section 1. 48.982 (2) (g) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
48.982 (2) (g) 2. Promote statewide educational and public awareness campaigns and materials for the purpose of developing public awareness of the problems of child abuse and neglect. In promoting those campaigns and materials, the board shall emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.
Section 2. 48.982 (2) (g) 4. of the statutes is amended to read:
48.982 (2) (g) 4. Disseminate information about the problems of and methods of preventing child abuse and neglect to the public and to organizations concerned with those problems. In disseminating that information, the board shall emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.
Since most of you probably don't personally follow the workings of Sen. Grothman's mind, let me assure you that train-off-the-rails line of thinking is not new to him. In 2007,
he penned an article (warning: PDF!) in which he states:
“The Left and the social welfare establishment want children born out of wedlock because they are far more likely to be dependent on the government.”
Sen. Grothman then went on to propose the elimination of vital programs like low income housing, food stamps, WI Earned Income Credit, Wisconsin Shares (Daycare) and School Choice.
As one of my favorite writers on Jezebel, Erin Gloria Ryan, wrote: "The actions of socially conservative lawmakers across the country have painted a pretty retro picture of what they expect and demand of women. They don't want us to have abortions, but they also don't want us to have sex education that teaches us that having sex can lead to pregnancy. They don't want us to take birth control, but they also don't want us to use emergency contraception. They don't want us to have children outside of marriage. So they must want us to be virgins until we get married to a husband who we allow to impregnate us constantly." I couldn't have put it better myself, Erin.
Criminalizing single parenting is simply preposterous. We need to be on the lookout for similar language creeping into otherwise innocuous legislation all over the country. I'm certain that there is an organized movement behind all of these recent actions against women in America, and they must be stopped.
Final word to our friends in WI: You all have been through so much already, and there's still so much to come, and I'm sorry to have to add this nutjob to the list of stuff you're already working on, but it had to be done. I hope Sen. Grothman is on the list of GOPers facing serious challengers this year, or very soon.