Roe vs. Wade as a Global Imperative

The right for a woman to choose whether or not to give birth and to have access to safe, legal abortion services is not only a human right but a global imperative.  As reported in the Stanford [University] News recently, Stanford biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich maintain that global civilization is moving toward a collapse.

The key drivers of collapse, they maintain, are worldwide overpopulation and overconsumption, putting an incredible strain on the planet's natural systems, and threatening to negatively impact all future generations.
A critical first step of the Ehrlichs’ roadmap for avoiding society's total collapse emphasizes equal rights for women worldwide.  "This will allow us to include more of their brainpower to help solve these problems," Professor Paul Ehrlich said. "And studies have shown that when women are given full rights, they have fewer children, which will help slow birth rates."  (The Ehrlichs gathered research from over 150 published papers to support this thesis.)

A woman’s right to choose is a powerful and positive weapon in the need to create population sanity.  It is a big part of the discussion.  

Said Professor Ehrlich, “The U.S. just had a presidential election in which the crucial issues facing society were not debated. Instead the focus was on financial problems easily solved by negotiation among people. You can't negotiate with nature."

Agreed, nature is at stake here.  As pointed out in Independence Ring: Rock the Female Revolution, it is natural for women to express their innate power.  This power should naturally be expressed in leadership including social, political, media, economic, educational and scientific arenas.  It is natural for women to choose the timing, frequency and occurrence (if at all) of child-bearing. 

There was a time, not that long ago, when child-bearing was a requirement in order to pass on a family lineage, to work a farm, to run a business.  Women might bear ten children and only three would survive to adulthood.  Safe, simple abortions were impossible to come by.  That time is over, and we live in another time – a ticking clock towards planetary destruction unless women sit at the table with their wisdom, intuition, leadership, articulate communication skills and complete control over their own bodies.   To regulate the biological functions of a woman and tell her what she can and cannot do with her own body is not only absurd but unsafe for the world we live in.

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Liz Lewinson is an author, speaker, teacher and technologists.  Her recent book is Independence Ring: Rock the Female Revolution.

Do You Really Want to Do This?

Do you really want to do this?  The question flashed on my computer screen.  I’d been deleting old apps off my laptop, but suddenly the question took on a broader meaning.

Did I really want to publish the Independence Ring: Rock the Female Revolution?


I started with the pros:

• I am writing about truth that most people don’t seem to know about.
• The planet is being torn apart and bashed under male rule; we need women leaders in order to survive.
• Even understanding a little part of the Independence Ring would make a big, positive change in most men’s and women’s lives.
• The book will help unravel many of the current gender inequality issues; it will speed up the success of the rising women’s movement.
• I’ll be challenged to learn video and podcast broadcasting
• I care.  I care about people.  This is my selfless giving

Then went on to the cons:

• Some people may get angry.  I’m suggesting that societies learn to tie their shoelaces in a new way.  Anger burns my skin, I don’t like being on the receiving end.
• This is my first book.  Big learning curve lies ahead.
• What if I go on “The View” and they don’t like the book.  Nah, that wouldn’t happen.  They would love the book.
• I’m a quiet person.  If I start doing interviews, podcasts and videos, I’ll become more public.

 PROS outweighed CONS by a longshot.

Tonight I watched a short film of Anita Sarkeesian’s presentation at the Tedx 2012 convention.  For the last several years, Anita has been creating videos to call attention to the overt misogyny and sexism in video games.  As a result of her work, she has received thousands of threats of murder and rape, yet she still persists in educating people about the video game gender problem, in which young children are exposed to violent, demeaning portrayals of women. 

Anita is a heroine.  She exposes a real problem for men and women, boys and girls.  The violence of the attacks against Anita prove her point. There are many people in the women’s movement today doing remarkable work, and each person, I am sure, had to ask themselves, “Do I really want to do this?”

Like me, their answer has been a positive, life-changing and empowering, YES.