Off-color? Possibly. Inappropriate for an elected official? Maybe. Absolutely awesome? Definitely.
At a personhood rally at the Oklahoma Capitol on Tuesday, Senator Judy Eason McIntyre of Tulsa, earned an audible “You go, girl!” from yours truly when she held up a sign reading, “If I wanted the government in my womb I’d fuck a senator.”
Senator McIntyre didn’t bring the sign to the rally herself, but stated that when she saw it, she just had to have a photo with it. The rally (which had close to 1,000 people in attendance) was in protest of the state’s Senate Bill 1433, which asserts that life begins at conception, and that the unborn have rights– rights that apparently trump the rights of the women who carry them.
As a young woman living in the good ol’ US of A, I’m continuously confused by the transformation of my body and reproductive organs into a political battleground for a mostly white, middle-/upper middle-class male government. Beyond the point that these men will never be in the situations they are attempting to regulate, it’s just so freaking baffling that a government that doesn’t want to trust a woman with autonomy over her own body would want to entrust her with a child – a living, breathing, screaming child that will eventually require food, shelter, schooling, as well as an insignificant little thing called money to pay for it all. At this point, I really wish I could muster up the fury appropriate for the situation, but all I am is baffled. I mean, really?
The sign– my favorite sign ever to be held by a government official– may have been offensive, Senator McIntyre acknowledged; but then again, so is the personhood bill. She also pointed out the hypocrisy of a political group that preaches small government but wants to pass legislation on the reproductive rights of women– a move I think we can all agree is just about as invasive as it gets.
What do you all think of Senator McIntyre’s decision to hold up the sign? Thoughts on Oklahoma Senate Bill 1433? General opinions on the discussion of repro rights? Sound off!
(Image via newsok.com)
