Last Sunday, hundreds of thousands of women and men marched in Washington, D.C., to support a woman's right to choose. And abortion was not the only issue on the agenda at the National Mall that day.
Protesters also voiced the need for sex education, birth control and health care for women.
Unfortunately, the Bush administration does not want to hear this.
In 2001, our warrior president - and his obnoxious wife - hailed the invasion of Afghanistan, saying we would liberate Afghani women from tyrannical oppression by misogynistic Taliban rule.
Nearly three years later, things are not much better for women there, according to the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.
In fact, things are not too great for women anywhere right now. That is what the march was about: The civilized world, as supposedly represented by the United States, has not made women's rights a priority.
Our own administration, supported by Bible-Belt social conservatives, has proven to be downright anti-woman in its policies.
For example, the ultra-conservative Bush government expects us to hide behind a veil of hypocrisy by pushing for abstinence-only education in schools.
I am not saying that abstinence is not OK; but it is not the only option out there. And let's be honest - it is not the world's most popular choice.
An independent study in Minnesota found that sexual activity doubled among junior high school students taking part in an abstinence-only program. Meanwhile, teaching both abstinence and contraception has reduced teen births 30 percent over the past 10 years.
Students need all the facts about sex and birth control in order to make informed and responsible decisions. Turning sex into something dirty and evil by refusing to discuss it openly (and saying don't do it doesn't count as discussion) is a regression to Dark Age thinking.
Governments leading ignorant populations are governments free from criticism of their policies, so of course they want to keep us in the dark. And religious fundamentalism is as dark and ignorant as it gets.
But I will not be ashamed of my sexuality. Those of us for whom sex is a natural and joyful part of life will not be intimidated by the narrow-mindedness of social conservatives. I love my body. And it belongs to me.
We need a president, not a pope. Morality has no place in the debate over abortion and sex education, but unfortunately, conservative Christians are the driving force behind the push to overturn Roe v. Wade and to remove contraception information from schools.
Even with careful planning, unexpected things can happen. Unplanned pregnancies terrify teenagers, abused wives and other vulnerable women. Abortion offers them a second chance.
Reproductive rights are not written explicitly into the Constitution, but they are implied. The framers did not want intrusive governments telling individuals how to run their affairs, particularly private ones.
Before our country's laws became choked with the tangle of what we cannot do, the Bill of Rights was written to assure the people of their basic freedoms.
In defense of this ideal, we must vigorously oppose attempts to banish women into the shady back alleys where botched amateur abortions killed many, before the procedure was legalized.
I implore Congress and the courts: As the Afghan saying goes, If you can't do something good for us
please don't do us any bad. 17
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Lindsey McKay
