Last week, the College Republicans wrote an article in The Badger Herald urging the females of this campus to vote for incumbent Gov. Scott Walker, and gave several reasons therein. While I found the piece to be wildly entertaining, there were a couple aspects that particularly caught my eye. The two claims that I found to be especially questionable posited that Walker was both fighting to make abortion safer for women and working to help them become financially independent. If both of those seem ridiculous at first glance, then you have a fairly astute first glance, because that’s exactly what they are.
I’ll begin with a focus on the claim that Walker is fighting to make abortion safer. As evidence of this, the author cites a bill our governor signed into law in 2013 that required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic.
Now, while countless gynecological experts have agreed a measure such as this would do nothing to make abortions any safer, it is the next claim made by the author that I take the most issue with. They say the law “did nothing to restrict abortion.” This goes beyond just questionably interpreting the opinions of medical professionals and moves into the realm of a full blown lie.
The truth is that if this law ever found its way into fruition, it would have the effect of closing two of the state’s four abortion clinics. If the College Republicans see removing access to abortion by the closing of half of the state’s relevant clinics as this law doing nothing to restrict abortion procedures, then I think they need to seriously re-evaluate their way of thinking, or recruit a few more math majors.
In the following paragraph, the author addresses Gov. Walker’s tumultuous relationship with the idea of equal pay for equal work. In the first sentence they say that the “mainstream media,” which is the Republican way of saying most people, has depicted Walker as being against pay equality. Now, pay close attention, because this is when the writer’s logic goes completely to hell. As proof of the governor’s support, they say that discrimination in the workplace based on gender is illegal in the state of Wisconsin. It was illegal when he came into office, and it’s still illegal now. Problem solved, right? According to this argument, why are we still worried about addressing the issue of drug addiction in our society? After all, drugs are illegal and, therefore, no one must be doing them. While we’re at it, why are we paying all this money to run a Child Protective Services office in this state? It’s illegal for parents to abuse their children, so, if we follow the College Republicans’ line of thinking, that problem does not exist. In case you didn’t catch the sarcasm, this argument is frustratingly flawed.
The actual facts go as follows. In 2012, when Gov. Walker signed the repeal of a Wisconsin law that allowed women to sue for workplace discrimination in state courts, Wisconsin women made 78 percent as much as men. So, while I would love to believe that everyone in our state follows every one of the laws (including a certain law disallowing people from campaigning while on government time), I don’t live in a fantasy world.
Ultimately, my final objection to this article is that it is strictly targeted at women, because these are issues that should matter to more than just the females of our state. As an American, I am offended that Gov. Scott Walker has worked to restrict access to a practice that the Supreme Court has deemed to be completely within the bounds of the Constitution. As a man who has several women in his life that he loves very much, and as a human being, I am appalled to have a governor who has been complacent at best when it comes to ensuring equal rights for women, in the workplace and elsewhere. Every man who reads this article, or who otherwise educates himself on these issues should join the women of this state, and many others around the country, in the fight against these horrific restrictions. All in all, when problems arise in the realms of health care and equality, they are no longer just women’s rights issues, but human rights issues.
Do you think Max is right on Walker’s actual stance on these issues? Is he missing a key point of Walker’s policy? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
