There are only a few more weeks until one of the two presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, will be elected to office. The final debate, which took place on Oct. 19, shed light on the discussion of women’s health and how it will be addressed by either elected candidate.
The quotes below highlight each candidate’s take on this important topic that has been contentious in the past and will likely continue to be fought over in years to come.
“The government has no business in the decisions that women make, in accordance with their faith, with medical advice, and I will stand up for that right,” said Clinton, according to Variety.
“Stay out of my checkbook and stay out of my bedroom” is a commonly used phrase in regard to governmental intrusion. So why is it that this phrase doesn’t hold true when talking about women’s bodies? Clinton made a great point in saying that it is not the government’s business to decide anything in regard to women’s bodies. As a woman myself, I say it’s my body, my rules.
“Donald [Trump] thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity, their self worth, and I don’t think there’s a woman anywhere who doesn’t know what that feels like,” said Clinton, according to Politico.
Typically, presidential candidates who have discussed women and their rights in debates have discussed them as policy matters because, as men, they have no real experience to base their opinions off of. This election is different though, as Clinton is a woman. Clinton understands the battle that women face every day. That makes her an important leader in regards to women and their rights. What does Trump do? Call them “pigs?” Force himself on them? Women of America, ask yourself: do we want a president who will disrespect us, or a president who will empower us?
“I think it’s terrible if you go with what [Hillary] Clinton is saying; in the ninth month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby,” said Trump, according to Politico.
There are so many things wrong with this statement. This is not what happens in third trimester abortion. For one, the fetus is not “ripped out of the womb” as Trump so vividly described. The procedure is done through a Cesarean section that is safe and common in the United States. Additionally, there is no such thing as a ninth month abortion, according to Jen Gunter, an OBGYN. More often than not, late term abortions are for women who, after their pregnancy has reached full term, have discovered a problem with the fetus that would make it very unlikely that the baby survives after birth, or are for when there is danger to the mother herself. With Trump leading our nation, the availability of women’s health will surely plummet, and in turn, our basic rights probably will, too.
Women make up almost half of the United States’s population. Do we want a candidate who knows so little about our health? Who has so little respect for us? This last debate showcased Trump’s true feelings and beliefs about women and they were disappointing and alarming, to say the least.
With accusation after accusation hitting the news about Trump forcing himself upon women, he is not going to the be the one to help women in this country. With his speeches on “punishing” women after getting abortions or his supporters chanting that the 19th Amendment should be repealed, he is not going to be the one to fight for women’s rights in this country.
Clinton passionately defended women and their right to choose in this debate. No matter your political affiliation or who you vote for, there is no doubt that Clinton, as president, will be a leader and a woman who will defend American women and their rights.
