"God" Enters The Debate

It was only a matter of time before God entered the debate…

If you follow politics you are no doubt familiar with the latest nonsense coming out of the Republican Party. 

Republican Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock has informed us that if rape leads to pregnancy it’s “something God intended.” 

Mourdock’s comments come on the heels of the assertion offered by noted biology expert, GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin, who said that in the event of “legitimate rape a women’s body has a way of shutting that whole thing down so that pregnancy doesn’t occur”… thereby inferring that if a woman DOES get pregnant there is no possibility that she was actually raped.

These well researched conclusions dovetail with the opinions of Republican state legislators in Virginia who believe that a woman should be required to submit to a trans-vaginal ultrasound before being granted legal abortion services. 

They also fall neatly in line with Republican surrogates like Rush Limbaugh who referred to a college co-ed who lobbied for free contraceptives as a “slut” and a “prostitute.”

Governor Romney has distanced himself from Mourdock’s claim…sort of.  Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said:  “We disagree on the policy for rape and incest but still support him.”  There were no plans to demand that Mourdock pull down a Romney testimonial ad that began running in Indiana earlier this week.  After all Republicans can’t let crazy talk and common sense stand in the way of re-taking the Senate.

Mitt Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan has sponsored anti-abortion bills with the aforementioned Todd Akin.  He is pro-life with no exceptions…a view that is an integral part of the Republican Party platform. Mr. Ryan questions  how one can in good conscience separate his public policy from his faith; saying that life begins at conception no matter how that conception occurred.   Yet Mr. Ryan has shed his “no exceptions” faith based views in favor of governor Romney’s more pragmatic allowance for rape, incest and the health of the mother.  Apparently faith matters except when you are running for national office.

The misogynistic rhetoric being bandied about by the MEN of the Republican Party is offensive.  The Party’s policies threaten a quarter century of progress on women’s rights.  And when they start bringing God in as the rationale for their beliefs they have taken the conversation about “big government” to a whole different level.

There are two things here for you to consider.

First, the whole conversation about exceptions for abortions…rape, incest or the health of the mother…is pure BS designed to make the Republican Party appear more moderate and reasonable on the subject.  Let’s say a woman becomes pregnant as the result of what she claims was rape or incest.  Who decides if she is telling the truth?  Is she the sole decider?  What if the man claims it was consensual?  Does he have final say?  Does the matter go before the courts?  Does a judge decide?  How long does this take?  After all there are term limits as to when a woman can have a safe abortion.  The fact is that the exception for rape or incest is no exception whatsoever.

Now let’s talk about God.  Many of us believe in God even though the existence of a “Supreme Being” cannot be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt.  That’s why we call it faith…not science.  The belief in a Supreme Being is a matter of personal faith.  In this country we have the right to practice and demonstrate that faith in whatever self serving manner we choose.  Those who do not believe find another path.  That is their right. 

Many of us who believe that there is a God will admit to having personal conversations with him/her/it.  Most often those conversations occur when our ass is in a sling and we are promising to turn over a new leaf if only he/she/it will help us to get through our most recent screw up.  Many of us will use whatever revelations we may receive from those personal conversations to shape our future path.  But no matter how clear the path may be to us…it does not give us the right to impose that path on others.

Republicans believe that the government should control a woman’s reproductive rights.  That’s bad enough.  But using "God Will" as the cornerstone of their policies is an insult to all who believe that God is an independent.