Equality

Robert P. Watson

Perhaps the most important functions of government are to provide essential rights to all citizens while protecting their civil liberties. But we are now faced with a challenge virtually without precedent in American history – that being the attempt by extremists to turn back two centuries of progress. For the past several years under the Bush administration, essential rights are under attack: civil rights, women’s rights, human rights, consumer rights, patient rights, and even religious freedoms.

Watson’s Women’s Bill of Rights Better rape-shield laws Better "dead-beat dad" tracking systems, especially across state lines Establishing sexual harassment-free workplaces Providing affordable, accessible, quality pre- and after-school care programs Fighting for comparable work and equal pay Enforcing anti-violence against women measures Keeping family planning and reproductive health legal Expanding rural and urban breast cancer screening and education programs Offering tax credits to employers who offer new mothers flex-time Increasing R&D efforts on women’s health issues

The evolution of our legal system – until the last few years – has been defined by a gradual march toward the inclusion and enfranchisement of all people in the great American dream. After the bloody Civil War our nation took the proper steps of ending slavery with the 13th Amendment (1865), extending equal protection under the law in the 14th Amendment (1868), and granting black males the right to vote with the 15th Amendment (1870). In 1920, voting rights were finally extended to women by the 19th Amendment, and the 1960s saw a number of important advances in equality thanks to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Yet, there is much more to be done and this is certainly not the time to be dismantling equal rights.

A number of important gains in equality made by women are now under assault by the Bush Administration and Rehnquist and Roberts Courts, but the most visible is that of reproductive health. Sex education programs that teach teenagers about safe and responsible sex, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual health are being replaced by "abstinence-only" programs even though most students enrolled in such classes break their abstinence pledge, have pregnancy rates as high as and often higher than other teenagers, and are far less knowledgeable about sexually transmitted diseases. Family planning initiatives at home and abroad have been cut and protective "anti-harassment" safety zones around women’s health clinics are threatened, and the widespread availability of birth control is in jeopardy.

The traumatic decision and fundamental right of abortion, quite simply, is not a choice. A choice is whether one orders vanilla or chocolate ice cream. The description of "pro choice" and "pro life" is inaccurate and it trivializes what is an important women’s issue, legal code, public health and safety matter, and freedom. One cannot claim to be "pro life" and at the same time oppose pre-natal care, early childhood nutrition, and school lunch programs. Such a position is more accurately described as "pro birth." A "culture of life," after all, demands that we provide needed healthcare, vaccinations, nutrition, and other services to children and mothers, and that we provide family planning services to all women and men.

Just as the Bill of Rights extended important rights and liberties to the citizens of the young nation, I believe a "Women’s Bill of Rights" would help extend important rights and protections to half our population, while codifying equality of the sexes. Beyond the ERA, I support a Women’s Bill of Rights with 10 necessary initiatives for equality (see box):

I am a father, husband, son, and brother. As such, I am fully committed to the rights of women. I often ask others – especially men who, like me, have daughters, wives, mothers, and sisters – how can you not be a feminist? We live in a society where women still earn less than men for the same job, where an alarming percentage of women are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or rape, and discrimination in the work place.

In turn, I am often asked why, as I white, heterosexual male, I teach a college course on civil rights and women’s rights, why I organize public programs on equal rights, why I support the rights of gays to marry and adopt, and why I frequently write and lecture on the subjects. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that an injustice anywhere was a threat to justice everywhere. Quite simply, I am committed to realizing the American dream and I know that the strength of this country lies in her people having equal rights and the equal opportunity to pursue their dreams. Moreover, I have always believed one should not take lightly the rights others fought so hard to secure. When it comes to protecting civil rights, human rights, and women’s rights, we cannot be too vigilant in making sure the great American dream pertains to every one of our citizens.