老美看美国：共和党--有限政府，限制避孕！

文/他爹  翻译/他娘

（2012年2月10日）

共和党这些年的战斗号角就是为了有限政府并把政府从我们的生活中赶出去。我想大部分人会同意这一点。但如果这就是他们的战斗号角 — —他们又为何对妇女为防止怀孕而服用的“晨服”药丸那么在乎并嚷嚷不停呢？

我敢肯定人们的思维过程和推理比我在这里可以讨论的要复杂的多。但是，依我看，有一个集团，一个很大的集团想要把自己的意志强加给别人身上。他们在乎的不是有限政府，实际上是想用铁腕掌握权力，限制人民的权力和意愿。

我不明白为什么有人在乎别人是否吃药避孕。避免怀孕那是别人自己的个人决定。我是谁啊？或我们是谁啊？轮的到我们去告诉别人怎么决定自己的生命或者怎么样生活吗？

一个人的决定能够影响到我的唯一方式就是如果他们的确怀孕了，并在下面几种情形下采取行动：1）有了一个不想要的孩子 2) 在贫困中带大那个孩子 3）放弃孩子给人领养 4）孩子生活在贫困中没有足够的条件获得卫生保健，因此是不健康和需要国家援助 5） 作为母亲因为有了孩子而无法完成大学学业，因此不能挖掘她的潜力，结果需要政府援助 6） 至少其它十个理由对我有负面影响。

那么，我的观点是，所有这些情况都是不好的。他们对妇女不好，对孩子不好（如果她有了的话），对我不好，对社会不好（纳税人）。

那些想限制妇女服用“晨服避孕丸”的人的思路与我们在一些“神权”国家看到的情况是一样的—神权国家的政府本质上是建立在宗教信仰上的，不管你是否相信那个宗教。与沙特阿拉伯很像。那里的妇女是不允许开车和投票的，甚至没有老公（如果结婚了）或异性亲戚的陪同是不可以出去到公共场合的，或者会被强迫穿上严格限制不许露出脸，头发，以及身体一寸肌肤的衣服。

那是多麽可笑啊！这也许是其他国家的传统习俗。我对此绝没意见。但是在这里？在美国也这样？这是强迫一个群体，妇女群体，像另一个群体的宗教信仰投降！

我今天上午看福克斯FOX新闻时，他们的一个评论家甚至对这粒药丸说谎—把它称为“流产”药。没有一丝科学依据证明它是流产药。事实上，你如果怀孕了，这药反而没有用了。这药是用于预防，对，预防怀孕的。

但是，保守派们的观点里充满了误传，传播恐慌，和彻头彻尾的谎言，说谎的目的就是从宗教的角度把他们自己的对错观点强塞给他人。他们的观点实际上是在践踏那些人，那些受到宪法保障的妇女们。

上个星期，苏珊寇门癌症基金会决定停止给一个正在研究乳腺癌的计划生育项目提供资助—说计划生育基金会正在接受调查，然后说她们不喜欢这个基金会在乳腺癌方面进行的研究

其实，停止提供资助的原因是因为最保守的派别认为计划生育基金会只是给人做堕胎手术的。她们确实为人们提供堕胎手术，但那只是她们工作内容的5%。她们的其他工作是为妇女做健康保健—大部分是乳腺癌，宫颈癌和生殖健康—提供这些服务给那些没有保险的或穷困的妇女。她们确实接受联邦税收作为她们资金的一部分，但是她们的资金大部分都来自私人赠款和捐助人。

寇门基金会决定切断资助后，计划生育基金会收到了超过3百万美元的捐赠-相比普通捐赠是一次大规模的提高。寇门基金会受到新闻各界的诟病，他们自己的多个捐赠人也表达了愤怒。整个社会压倒性地对他们的行动表示了愤慨。那么寇门基金会做了什么呢？呵呵，他们在3天内撤销了这个切断资助的决定，并会继续对计划生育基金会进行的乳腺癌研究提供资助。他们的公共政策主任在巨大的压力下辞职了。或许是被迫辞职，不然她会被炒鱿鱼的。然而，有趣的是，这个公共关系主任曾经在2010年乔治亚州竞选过州长但是落选了。她竞选时的主要议题就是反对堕胎，她会在乔治亚州停止对计划生育基金会的资助。

对诸如计划生育基金会这样的公益组织停止资助，就等于是自讨苦吃。这个举动是小心眼的，实际上只是限制了一些妇女获得健康保健。有些妇女的唯一健康保健是从计划生育基金会获得的。但是，那些试图把自己的意志强加到别人头上的人，为了自身的利益，损害的是数百万妇女。

我发现我们社会中有着一种卑劣的现象，一个群体试图把他们的信仰强加于别人的头上，与此同时，他们却还在叫嚷其他国家的人权是如何被其他政府滥用的-不论是沙特阿拉伯以及他们对妇女的严格律法，或者是中国以及他们的宗教组织权利。 这些人手指指责别的国家，却在自己的国家违背民意，倒行逆施，这难道不虚伪吗？

对我来说，我只希望共和党能够忠实于他们所说的核心理念：有限的政府和限制对公民生活的侵犯。但是，说来容易做来难。虚伪的共和党正在每天演给我们看呢。

（原文）

REPUBLICANS WANT LIMITED

GOVERNMENT

SO WHY ALL THE CONCERN OVER A PILL?

By Tadie

The battle cry for years of the Republican party has been for limited government and to get government out of our lives. That’s something I think most people would agree with. But, if that is their battle cry – why all the concern and screaming about a little “morning after” pill for women to take to avoid pregnancy?

I’m sure the thought process and reasoning is much more complicated than I could discuss here but for a group, a large group at that, to want to impose on someone their own personal beliefs strikes me as not being limited government but actually to be more like an iron grip on power and limiting the rights or wishes of the people.

I fail to understand why someone would care if someone else took a pill to avoid a pregnancy. That individuals decision to avoid a pregnancy is their decision and theirs alone. Who am I, or who are we, to tell another person what to do with their decision making process or how to live their life?

The only possible way that this persons decision could affect me is if they did get pregnant and put in motion the following possible scenerios: 1) have an unwanted child  2) bring that child up in poverty   3) give that child up for adoption   4) child lives in poverty and doesn’t have adequate access to health care and is therefore unhealthy and needs state assistance   4) the mother has the child and fails to complete college and thus does not reach her potential and ends up on government assistance   5) at least 10 other arguments that could negatively affect me.

Now, the point of this argument, my argument, is that all the scenarios are bad ones – they are bad for the woman, bad for the kid if she has one, and bad for me and society ( the tax payers ).

The thought process of those who want to limit the woman’s access to a “morning after pill” is much the same as we see in countries that have a “theocracy” – a government essentially based on religious beliefs, regardless of whether you believe in that religion or not. Much like Saudi Arabia where women are not allowed to drive or vote or even be out in public without being with a spouse ( if married ) or a male relative, or being forced to wear restrictive clothing to hide their faces and their hair and every inch of skin on their bodies.

How ridiculous is that? It may be custom and tradition in other countries, I’m ok with that, but here? In the USA? It’s forcing a group, women, to give into the religious beliefs of another group.

I was watching Fox News this morning and one of their commentators even lied about the pill itself – calling it an “abortion” pill when there is not one piece of scientific evidence that notes this. In fact, the pill doesn’t work if you’re pregnant, it only works to prevent, yes – prevent, a pregnancy.

But, so much of the argument from the conservatives is so filled with misinformation, fear mongering and outright lies, that the purpose of the lie is to feed their own sense of right and wrong from a religious point of view that their view actually tramples the rights of those people, women, that are guaranteed under the Constitution!

Last week the Susan G Komen cancer foundation decided to stop funding Planned Parenthoods efforts in studying breast cancer – saying that Planned Parenthood was under investigation and then saying that they didn’t like the studies and research that the group performed on breast cancer.

Actually, the reason for stopping the funding was because most conservatives think of Planned Parenthood as performing abortions only. They do perform abortions but it is only about 5% of their work. The rest of their work is for womens health – mostly breast cancer, cervical cancer and reproductive health – giving these services to women who do not have insurance or are poor. They do receive federal tax dollars as part of their funding but the majority of their funding comes from private grants and donors.

After the Komen foundation  decided to cut off funding Planned Parenthood received over $3 million in donations – a massive increase in normal donations. The Komen foundation received very bad press and outrage from many that donate to their foundation. Society overwhelmingly was outraged at their move – and what did Komen do? Well, they rescinded their “defunding” in 3 days and will now continue to fund research for breast cancer to Planned Parenthood and their director of Public Policy resigned over massive pressure ( probably forced to resign or she would have been fired ). Now, the interesting part about the Director of Public Policy is that she ran for Governor of Georgia in 2010 but lost, but her major theme that she campaigned on was to be anti abortion and that she would defund Planned Parenthood in the state of Georgia.

To defund an organization like Planned Parenthood is literally cutting your nose off to spite your face. It’s a mean move and actually only limits the options that some women have towards health care. Some women’s only health care is from Planned Parenthood. But, for those who try to force their own personal beliefs on others do so only for their own benefit to the detriment of millions of women.

I find it despicable in our society that one group tried to force their belief systems on others while at the same time screaming about how the rights of people in other countries are abused by other governments – whether it is Saudi Arabia and their strict codes on women, or China and the rights of religious groups there. It’s not only hypocritical for these people to point fingers at other countries but even worse when they do it here in their own country to the detriment of their own people.

For me, I just wish the Republicans would be truthful to what they say their core belief is: Limited Government and Intrusion into citizens lives. But, saying it is easy – actually practicing is much more difficult, as the hypocritical Republicans continue to show us every day.