Women\'s Right to Vote Women\'s

Women's Right To Vote

Women's rights have been one of the most fundamental parts of democratic society in the United States since the suffrage effort in the early 19th century was successful. Many fought and died to ensure this privilege for their descendants, and many did not live to see success. So the female right to vote is considered one of the most important rights that women enjoy today, in addition to the right to enter the professional job market, manage their family choices, and live the lives that best reflect what they consider to be a happy and fulfilling existence. A 2001 statement made by Kansas State Senator Kay O'Connor, however, seems to deny not only the current fundamental rights of women, but also to deny the significance of the effort and sacrifice it took to arrive at this point (Jacobs, 2001).

At the same time, Ms. O'Connor's statement that women should be taken care of by men and should not vote seems to echo many of the recent policy changes positioned by the Republican Party in the country. Most importantly, Mitt Romney and other Republican leadership figures have suggested several health care changes that could significantly impact the rights of women.

Particularly, one such suggestion is the extreme pro-life position that all abortions should be made illegal. This includes legal pregnancy terminations such as those resulting from rape or incest. This significantly impacts upon a woman's right to make choices for her own mental and physical health and, in some cases, for the health of her baby (Gehrke, 2012).

Another recent controversial policy suggestion is to cut funding for planned parenthood, in effect removing the right of women to access birth control. Again, a woman's right to plan her home obligations and to balance these with any sort of professional life is in effect removed. It appears that this is a move towards strengthening the family structure. Weak family structures, it appears are being blamed for most of the social ills currently experienced in the United States.

When these and other anti-women policies come into effect, women will effectively be bound to homes that they have not chosen or would not necessarily choose for themselves. This, in turn, could lead to a general sense of frustration and unhappiness. As a remedy for the economic difficulty that would result, Ms. O'Connor has simply stated that men should take care of women, which would leave women "free" to take care of their homes and families full time. The fundamental fallacy here is, however, the assumption that such a life would make all women happy. If this were the case, no woman would ever have joined the struggle for suffrage.

The fact that the "old-fashioned lady" that Ms. O'Connor claims herself to be is also a white, middle-class woman can also be used to contextualize her remark. The way in which she suggests that men take care of their woman has traditionally only been possible for white middle-class males. Other ethnic groups, such as African-Americans, Indian-Americans, and others have not had the traditional historical privileges that have long been the exclusive domain of the white middle classes. Hence, removing the right to vote from women is tantamount to removing the right of minority ethnic groups not only to vote, but also their right to health care, employment and education choices, and the like.