My vagina monologue: what Michigan GOP lawmakers didn't want to know
If Michigan Republicans think they have the right to control women's bodies and reproductive rights, they can hear me out
As a state legislator, I have spoken out often and
passionately on the things that matter most to me and my constituents. I
have spoken out against the defunding of our public schools and against
tax increases to middle-class families. So I was shocked to learn
Thursday that the leadership of the Michigan House of Representatives had decided to silence me and keep me from doing my job because I had uttered the one word they couldn't stand to hear: vagina.
Let me explain. The day before, we were debating a new anti-choice law that would over-regulate
women's health clinics to the point many could no longer offer
abortions. It would require doctors to make the equivalent of funeral
arrangements for foetal remains, both in the cases of abortion
and miscarriage; and it would hinder women in rural areas or who don't
have transportation from getting early abortions by prohibiting doctors
from prescribing abortion drugs by phone.
When it was my turn to
talk, I explained my opposition to the bill. As a Jew, I said that I
follow my faith's teaching that when a pregnant woman's health and life
is at stake, it's her life that comes first. As a member of a religious
minority, I understand that not everyone shares my views, and I respect
that. In turn, I asked that they not force their religious views on me.
In closing, I told them that I was flattered in their interest in my
vagina, but no means no.
Apparently, that was too much for House leadership to bear.
The
next day, I was told I wouldn't be allowed to speak on behalf of my
constituents on the House floor. Thursday was the last day of session
before legislators went home for the summer, and a lot of work was
getting done. There were proposals on funding teacher pensions and
reducing income taxes – issues my constituents find very important. But I
wasn't allowed to speak up for them. Because I had dared say "vagina"
the day before.
To hear some talk about it, you'd think I'd said a
dirty word. One of my counterparts, Representative Mike Callton
(Republican–Nashville, Michigan)
said he couldn't even bear to repeat what I had said because it was "so
offensive, I don't even want to say it in front of women. I would not
say that in mixed company." Callton, by the way, holds a bachelor's
degree in biology. Imagine what he went through in anatomy class.
If
he thought the legislature was a safe refuge, he's bound to be
disappointed. At least three times, Michigan lawmakers have passed laws
containing the dreaded V-word: once in describing body cavity searches,
once in offering a legal description for birth, and another time in
describing criminal sexual conduct.
Shouldn't we be able to
discuss body parts if we're going to pass laws about them? Am I really
to believe that my opposition is undone at the mere mention of a woman's
anatomy?
I don't think so. I think what's going on is even worse.
Some legislators – mostly male – will go to great lengths not to hear
women's voices when it comes to legislating our health and catering to
extreme special interests. They don't want to hear us, and when we speak
out anyway, they try to shut us down.
I'm not about to let them stop me. I wonder if they hear us now?
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With a red ribbon "V" on the steps at the State Capitol Building in Lansing, State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, far left, Rep Barb Byrum, center, in black, and State Rep Lisa Brown, at right with red top and black skirt, read from the play "The Vagina Monologues" Monday 6/18/2012 as thousands gather . The event was a response to the recent ban of State Rep. Lisa Brown from publicly speaking in the State House after she used the word "vagina."
With a red ribbon "V" on the steps at the State Capitol Building in Lansing, State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, far left, Rep Barb Byrum, center, in black, and State Rep Lisa Brown, at right with red top and black skirt, read from the play "The Vagina Monologues" Monday 6/18/2012 as thousands gather . The event was a response to the recent ban of State Rep. Lisa Brown from publicly speaking in the State House after she used the word "vagina."
More
than 2,000 people, most of them with signs, turned out for a rally on
June 18, 2012 at the state Capitol. The event was a response to the ban
of State Rep. Lisa Brown from publicly speaking in the State House after
she used the word 'vagina.'
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