In a downpour of Republican Anti-Choice and Anti-Women bills that drench the news, a ray of truth shines through.
Rep. Doug Cox of Oklahoma, a rare Republican lawmaker who supports a woman's right to choose, responded to a new onslaught of Oklahoma laws that aspire to deny women birth control, contraception and abortion. Cox, who is also a physician, wrote to Oklahoma's NEWSOK. In his letter he made some pretty bold statements, which are quite contrary to the majority of his party:
“All of the new Oklahoma laws aimed at limiting abortion and contraception are great for the Republican family that lives in a gingerbread house with a two-car garage, two planned kids and a dog. In the real world, they are less than perfect.
As a practicing physician (who never has or will perform an abortion), I deal with the real world. In the real world, 15- and 16-year-olds get pregnant (sadly, 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds do also). In the real world, 62 percent of women ages 20 to 24 who give birth are unmarried. And in the world I work and live in, an unplanned pregnancy can throw up a real roadblock on a woman’s path to escaping the shackles of poverty.
Yet I cannot convince my Republican colleagues that one of the best ways to eliminate abortions is to ensure access to contraception. A recent attempt by my fellow lawmakers to prevent Medicaid dollars from covering the “morning after” pill is a case in point. Denying access to this important contraceptive is a sure way to increase legal and back-alley abortions. Moreover, such a law would discriminate against low-income women who depend on Medicaid for their health care.…
His quote below surely ruffles the feathers, and exemplifies the hypocrisy, of Anti-Choice lawmakers, extremists and religious zealots. Cox talks about his own experiences dealing with the issue of abortion.
Experiences like having a preacher, in the privacy of an exam room say, “Doc, you have heard me preach against abortion but now my 15-year-old daughter is pregnant, where can I send her?” Or maybe it was that 17-year-old foreign exchange student who said, “I really made a mistake last night. Can you prescribe a morning-after pill for me? If I return to my home country pregnant, life as I know it will be over.”
What happened to the Republican Party that felt that the government has no business being in an exam room, standing between me and my patient? Where did the party go that felt some decisions in a woman’s life should be made not by legislators and government, but rather by the women, her conscience, her doctor and her God?”
This is not the first time Cox has spoken out for women's reproductive rights, as well as expressed disdain for Republican policies that betray women. He supports Planned Parenthood, to the extent that Cox recently received the Barry Goldwater Award. I imagine this does not sit well with party members known for going to extreme measures to defund Planned Parenthood.
In a Huffington Post blog, Cox says:
“Over the years Planned Parenthood has provided services that have helped the overall health and well being of Oklahoma’s women and children. Their health centers have also provided valuable training sites for our medical students and resident physicians. The “morning after pill” has helped thousands of women prevent an unwanted, unplanned pregnancy, and perhaps an abortion”.
Deep down, I think many of us ‘leaning to the Left’, realize not all Republicans have signed on to the current Right-Wing insanity. Several of my sane Republican friends (Yes, they do exist – And I have some) cringe when hearing the same news the rest of America hears about the latest GOP attack on women. Perhaps Doug Cox will serve as a precedent for change. He says some of the members of his party agree with him:
“I have people who tell me they feel the way I do, but are afraid to vote the way I do.”
Oh, the many wonderful things we could all do if we only acted out of strength, rather than fear. Thank you, Rep. Doug Cox. You are an inspiration to all.
Here Are Four American Women’s Rights Organizations That Work Had To Protect and Maintain The Reproductive Rights Of Women:
NOW
NARAL
Planned Parenthood
UniteWomen.org
Original Source:
National Memo
Also:
Huffington Post,
NEWSOK
Diary Is Cross-Posted