There’s a gender divide ripping through the GOP – and it’s quite obvious in West Virginia.
Too many women don’t feel as though they’re being given a voice. When the state legislature is comprised primarily of men, there’s no one looking out for women’s rights.
Just this past weekend, there have been women with signs outside of the chambers in the WV legislature. Many of them are holding signs with uteruses and talking about “bans off our bodies” and “abortion is essential.”
The lawmakers who were within the chambers were discussing what was to be done about abortion – and most of them were men.
Many Republican-led states claim that they are in support of banning abortion. Yet, some of those who are voting Republican say that isn’t true. There’s a gender divide emerging in quite a few states following the end of Roe v. Wade. These divides are found not only in West Virginia but also in South Carolina and Indiana.
As The Associated Press reported, “As male-dominated legislatures worked to advance bans, often with support of the few Republican women holding office, protesters were more likely to be women.”
Senator Owens Brown was quick to notice what was going on. As the only Black lawmaker within the Republican-dominated Senate, he told his colleagues to look around before passing a bill that would ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy.
Brown commented that he looked around to see middle-aged and elderly men around the room. And yet, those who were out in the hallway were young women. He said, “We’re here making a decision for all of these young women because you’re never going to have to ever face this issue yourself.”
And the senator is absolutely correct. The men are never the ones involved in the decision.
Many Republican states are listening to those who want to keep abortion legal – and deals are being struck. It ensures that abortion is allowed in some instances or up until a certain point in the pregnancy.
West Virginia doesn’t want to listen to any of it – which is why they’re ready to ban abortion at any point.
The gender divide is unmistakable – and women have had it. They don’t want their fate to be decided by men.
And as supporters of the ban say, abortion doesn’t just affect women but also children – and that’s true all throughout society. But still – should it only be men making this decision?
Republican Kayla Kessinger is one of the biggest supporters of the abortion ban in West Virginia. So, what does she have to say about the gender divide? “I wish that the left would stop trying to silence conservative women who are pro-life and believe that empowering women doesn’t require us to kill our children.”
There are clearly two very unique thought processes to what’s going on – and there’s not going to be any way to come to a decision that both sides will like.
Either you can kill your baby, or you can’t. And that decision will be made regardless of whether it is all men or an even distribution of men or women. And one side won’t be happy with what is decided.
As one mother by the name of Roni Jones said, “I’m tired of older, rich white men deciding our fate. They have no idea what working-class people go through.”
While she feels strongly about this, there are just as many conservative women who believe that abortion is never the solution.
The gender divide is only making an impossible decision more hostile since there isn’t a clear direction forward.
