Venus View

A Round of Applause for the NOW protesters in Nashville

O'Connor nomination arouses fears of losses

The Now Convention in Nashville seems to be stirring up feminist passion. Today more than 200 women marched on the state capital bearing signs with slogans proclaiming their intent to fight against the Bush administration's apparent attempt to roll back women's rights to pre-Second Wave status.

Check out Tennessee Guerilla Women's blog for background.

Following the announcement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement earlier in the week, local evening news coverage showed women of all ages protesting the current administrations policies and vowing to fight diligently against the appointment of an extreme right-wing judicial nomination to the United States Supreme Court. Many fear the scales which have been precariously tipped on the side of peace and justice (5-4 in many cases) will now swing decidedly in favor of a distinctly conservative high court with disastrous effects for women including the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1974 decision that gave women the right to abortion.

Yes, I said the right to abortion. It is a choice that many women opt for in the face of unwanted or unsafe pregnancy. The fact that the extreme right wing fundamentalist politicos in the US have managed to indocrinate an entire generation into believing that every time sperm meets ovum there is a human life involved, does not negate the very real issues women face including economic hardship, prohibitive health conditions, unstable life situations, existing numbers of children, and the often minimized unwanted pregnancies that occur as a result of rape or incestous rape.

We will not cease in our efforts to maintain this right for women in the United States. It will not be taken from us.

Mark my words.