Guest Opinion: Newtown Twp. supervisors support the freedom of women

The Intelligencer
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Here are comments I sent to the Newtown Board of Supervisors in support of their resolution to support women’s reproductive rights, which eventually was passed:

I am a resident of Newtown and am very proud that our Newtown supervisors are considering passing a resolution in support of women’s reproductive freedom. Women have had reproductive freedom for over 50 years and now it is an embarrassment to the world that our country is going backwards. What is worse is that innocent women may get sick and die due to the fear the medical community will have concerning getting prosecuted under this regressive initiative.

And again, are the men suffering at all? Are they being forced to take care of the children being born? No. It is the woman who is the target of the law and the woman who will suffer. How would you like to carry a child in your body from a rapist? How would that make you feel? But politicians don’t consider that at all. It is not their problem. They would rather force women to do the unbearable simply to get votes. Why aren’t men being subjected to strict controlling restrictions about their bodies? After all, a woman can get pregnant only once in nine months, but men can help create babies several times a day every day.

And what sense does it make for anyone to go to a politician for medical advice? The true motivation behind all of this is the subjugation of women. In Iran the government forces women to wear a hijab; in America will we force women to carry babies of their rapists? I thought America was the 'land of the free.'

I am glad you are standing firm and showing our Newtown residents that you support the freedom and equality of women. Over half your constituents are women and many, I am sure, will be grateful as well.

Please pass this resolution and show the world that Newtown defends and respects its women to make the right choice about their own bodies. We don’t need politicians in government to order us what to do in the most personal of all matters.

Susan Cickay lives in Newtown.

This article originally appeared on The Intelligencer: Guest Opinion: Newtown Twp. supervisors support the freedom of women