Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Film Making…

Roe v Wade, two names that became one of the most divisive rulings by the United States Supreme court in history and remains a hot button topic even today. Ruled 7-2 as a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14^th Amendment, women were legally given the right to ownership of their own bodies. Yet women continue to face scrutiny and their autonomy remains threatened as lawmakers seek to overturn the decision and give constitutional rights to a nonviable fetus housed inside a living breathing person.

One could even argue that forcing a woman to be pregnant and give birth is a violation of the 13^th Amendment as stated by Andrew Koppelman; “When women are compelled to carry and bear children, they are subjected to involuntary servitude… even if the woman has stipulated to have consented to the risk of pregnancy, that does not permit the state to force her to remain pregnant.”

The right to life entwined with the overall debate of when life actually begins, continues to be debated among leaders and voters, often pitting neighbor against neighbor. The barrage of defenses gets more radical with each election cycle as myths, rumors, urban legends and out right lies are mingled with the facts. The accusations of killing babies in a back room after they have been born to repeated untruths that tax dollars are funding it, leaves everyone with an unbalanced sense of what is really happening.

The long standing Hyde Amendment of 1976 barred all federal funding of abortions (accept in the cases of rape, incest or threat of the life of the mother) yet it has gotten lost in the crossfire as Pro-Life megaphones attempt to change the narrative with false information and outright lies.

To add fuel to the fire Georgia has introduced and passed the HB481 bill, also known as a ‘heartbeat bill’. Georgia is not alone as many other states have attempted to pass or have passed such legislation in recent years. Of course, it includes verbiage for exemptions in cases of rape, which will also require a police report that will only allow for further legal red tape as her accusation is weighed. The oppression of women continues and its mind boggling to me that in 2019 we are still fighting for equality in a country founded on the ideology of freedom.

Numerous unions and individuals from Hollywood have spoken out against this bill and threatened to withdrawal the film industry from the state, taking with it the millions of dollars it generates in taxes. The opposition, demanding these ‘elitists’ save their performances for the screen, don’t seem to grasp what the fiscal impact of this decision will have on them and their state. Governor Kemp doesn’t seem to care either, and why should he? This is a man who sought to suppress the vote of thousands in his state in order to steal an election from a woman. It’s no surprise he would support a bill that indeed oppresses women and suppresses their constitutional rights. The party of 'less government' doesn't seem to understand what LESS actually means! 

I stand with Hollywood and applaud those with a global, national and influential platform for using it for the greater good of ALL! Women must not allow their bodies to become the property of any government! *The Handmaid's Tale ring a bell to anyone?

Abortion is a medical procedure for a medical condition. Believe it or not, pregnancy is a CONDITION, one that like others is treated by a doctor until which time the condition is no longer present. All people should have the legal right to make their OWN medical decisions in regards to their own medical conditions. You can call it whatever you want, but until you have been forced to be pregnant, forced to give birth and forced to become a parent you really need to sit down and shut up!

No where in these unconstitutional bills does it ever include all factors leading to the condition. Women get pregnant and the burden falls to them. The men that participate in causing the condition are not held in any level of accountability. They are not required to put their bodies through the trauma of pregnancy and birth, or the financial hardship of child bearing and rearing. They do not face any legal or financial implications for their participation beyond an order for child support which many states don’t enforce. Pregnancy is a woman’s problem, period. If you are pregnant you are solely responsible, which is exactly why a woman should have the legal right to decide how to treat her condition.

If we are going to punish women for expelling a potential life, then men should have equal legal ramifications for every sperm they expel that does not result in a human life. Their sperms ‘potential’ is no different than a nonviable fetus’s potential after all, yet men continue to dictate the rights of women while keeping their own intact.

Let’s not forget that the same megaphone squawkers demanding women be forced to give birth are often the same radicals screaming against affordable health care, food assistance and subsidized housing. Reverberating to the masses the standard message of “We don’t want to assist you in raising a child but dammit you WILL have one!” and somehow that seems right and just.

Equality looms in the balance every day in this country and the battle is wrought with hatred and fear. When we as a society cannot accept our brothers and sisters unconditionally, how can we expect to raise another generation and ensure love is at the helm. Freedom remains an ideology that is as fluid as any ocean, one never knows what form it will take or how we will all survive the storms it brings, but one thing is certain it has never come easily or free.

May we all rise up and greet this ever winding road with peace in our hearts and freedom still outside our front doors.