Many of us have never met. A lot of us do not agree on political matters. Too many of us are not taking this election as seriously as we should be. I have talked with many of you and even though I may not agree with everything you believe in, we are still rowing in the same boat. Most of us are mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts. We all have the same future ahead of us depending on this election. Are you bored and fed up with the abortion subject? Let’s be real about it. Every circumstance is different and every woman or young girl and sadly in some cases, other children still face the same question. What would you do if faced with a decision that will affect you for the rest of your life?
Let’s look at it for what it is. It is not about “killing babies.” We Democrats have never advocated killing babies, nor has a Democrat ever put a bill on the floor of Congress to terminate the life of a child. Never. What we Democrats do believe in and support is a woman’s right to choose. If you do not want to have an abortion, don’t have one. We can’t lump all of this into one big pile of “yes” or “no” because we don’t know how we would react until we are put in the situation to make that decision.
Some of your political leaders are saying “No abortion under any circumstances.” That is a downright ignorant point of view. You are not going to tell me that any Republican man who loves his wife, daughter, or sister would say to a doctor to let his loved one die if an abortion would save her life. There are complications in pregnancies and these decisions have to be made. A fetus in a fallopian tube is a pregnancy that has implanted outside of the uterus and is known as an ectopic pregnancy. This is a medical emergency that can result in a miscarriage and usually requires treatment to remove the pregnancy. If the fetus remains in the fallopian tube, it cannot develop into a baby. If the embryo is left in the tube it will become large enough to rupture the fallopian tube causing abdominal bleeding and most likely death. This is a medical situation that requires the termination of the pregnancy to save the mother’s life. In a State where the law is clear that no abortions under any circumstances, it is no less than the murder of the mother who is at no fault. In the best of circumstances, the pregnancy is terminated and the mother can get the healthcare she needs and be physically capable of having a family with no complications.
As repulsive as it is, some young girls live in abusive homes where they are sexually abused by family members. Some of these girls are as young as twelve years old when they are sexually assaulted by their fathers. Their little bodies are not mature enough to carry a baby to term. Their lives are turned upside down by being forced to have a baby when they are not much more than a baby themselves. The mental drama that they go through with the abuse and forcing them to birth a child from incest is a cruel punishment for being in a helpless situation.
The most humiliating thing that can happen to any female is to be a victim of rape. It doesn’t matter if it’s date rape, gang rape, or forced to have intercourse against her will. Rape is something that no one ever gets over. It changes her for the rest of her life. It only makes it even more humiliating if a pregnancy is the result of the assault. Sometimes, she won’t even know who it was. Too many times, she is abused by someone she knows and is intimidated by his power over her. This is a time when it should be her decision if she wants to carry this fetus to term. She is entitled to have that control over her own body to know what is best for her. You may say, have the baby, give it up for adoption. That too is a very traumatic decision for a young woman to make. The point is, that she should have that choice.
Alabama is one of two states with no statute terminating parental rights for a person found to have conceived the child by rape or incest, a fact that has gained fresh relevance since our Republican lawmakers adopted the nation’s strictest abortion ban in the nation. Can you imagine having to share a child conceived from rape with the man who abused you?
Your candidate is a man who has no reservations about bragging about sexually assaulting women, grabbing them by the genitalia, and even admitted that he is more sexually attracted to his daughter than he is to his wife. He has been convicted by a court of law for sexually abusing a woman. This should be very concerning to all of us to think that a man with this kind of sick character could go back into office with his dangerous ideas. Project 2025 is written as the game plan for the next Republican president. Your candidate claims that he has nothing to do with Project 2025, however, most of the men who have written it are connected to your candidate. In this plan, there will be a ban on abortion and birth control. Women will be forced back over fifty years in equal rights. This is not just us, but ALL of us. It will not matter that you are a Republican. You are a woman. That’s all it takes.
You need to think long and hard about this decision. What you decide on November 5, will change all of our lives. If your candidate is elected, we risk losing our equality in this country forever. It doesn’t stop with abortion and birth control. It goes way beyond that. We will lose our civil rights to equal pay, healthcare, and the right to own property or our own business. Some Republican candidates have even said they want to take our right to vote away from us. Is this the kind of nation that you want your daughters, and granddaughters living in? This is up to you. If you elect Donald Trump as our next president, you have voted against me, yourself, and every woman and girl in America. This election is ours. Women hold the outcome of this election. Vote for yourself.
Lynda Kirkpatrick
Marion County Democratic Party Chairlady
House District 17 State Democratic Executive Committee Rep
Alabama Democratic Party