Equal rights for women in the US have come too close to leveling the playing field for set-backs now.
How can we allow ignorance to reverse laws that have been in place for up to forty years – unproven, unscientific claims of rape and pregnancy, domestic violence and abortions? Have we forgotten the price that many women paid prior to laws protecting women? I still recall the horror stories of domestic abuse from my grandmother. And I recall my mother working to train her bosses as computer programmers and managers while being paid as a keypunch operator. I recall returning to work ten weeks after giving birth to my son so I would not loose my job, so I would be taken seriously as a professional. And a preventive mammogram detected my breast cancer before it could metastasize into a deadly cancer.
My life, and the lives of all women in the US are better off these past four years because under Obama-Care: Women receive preventive health services without additional cost, including domestic violence screening and counseling; Insurance companies can no longer classify domestic violence as a pre-existing condition. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act give’s communities life-saving tools to identify and treat child abuse or neglect. The Obama Administration announced an unprecedented coordinated strategy across Federal agencies to prevent and stop violence against women; empowers survivors to break the cycle of abuse with programs to help them become financially independent; and prevents victims of domestic violence from being evicted or denied assisted housing after abuse. Our country needs to continue to recognize and strongly support President Obama on his leadership.
Kathleen Pynn
Hampstead
