I’m interrupting my own series on the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth to help spread word in the women’s health community about the atrocities committed in Wisconsin.
After more than three weeks of an aggressively upheld stalemate in the Wisconsin capitol, on Wednesday, March 9, 2011, the Republican Party took steps to reverse 50 years of democratic progress. By removing certain components of Governor Scott Walker’s highly controversial budget plan, the Republican Senators were able to sneakily vote without waiting for the Democrat Senators to return to Madison. As a result of this vote, the unions’ rights to collective bargaining has been dismantled (thereby leaving teachers, nurses, and public workers vulnerable and unrepresented), programs that support middle and working class people have been eliminated, and constituents have been designated as second-class citizens. This underhanded procedural trick was a blatant assault on the democratic process, an affirmation that this legislation has nothing to do with addressing the state’s budget deficit and everything to do with Walker’s desire to dismantle unions, and a direct blow to the state’s workers, families and – of course - women.
I do not wish this article to be a complete soapbox speech. Instead, I wish to urge every one of you to get educated. Whether you identify as a Republican, a Democrat or something else completely, it is your responsibility to understand what is transpiring.
Still unclear about why this is an issue worth investigating? Without even touching on the main issue of collective bargaining rights and workers’ protection, for the sake of space, let me give you just a couple poignant reasons:
1. The vote was illegal – it was held in violation of the state’s open meeting laws. (Learn more here: www.doj.state.wi.us/dls/.../2010OMCG.../2010_OML_Compliance_Guide. Pdf.) Republican Senators did not offer the mandated 24-hour notice to their fellow policy-makers or the public before opening the vote.
Wisconsin is serving as an example to states around the nation. If we allow our politicians to blatantly disobey legal procedures to force through legislation that disregards their constituents’ desires, we send a message that there is no need for our politics to be by or for the people. We give the richest 1 percent of our population the right to control our livelihoods with no method to curb their decisions. No matter where you live and what you believe, these decisions and actions will change how democracy looks in the United States.
2. Programs that have provided crucial support to women, children and families in the past decades are being eliminated, specifically those that pertain to health and well-being. Removal of these “medical assistance” programs will result in communities that are ailing bodily, emotionally and economically. It will be a huge step backwards in the effort to promote a more equal, more holistic, more just community. These programs include but are not limited to:
BadgerCare – the state’s insurance program that ensures women and children have access to health care or assistance when necessary
The WI Family Planning Waiver – a program that provides education and access to birth control methods for women who are unable to afford it
The Wisconsin Well Women Program – provides cancer screening services to women without other access to medical attention, and often predisposed to be high-risk
(See more about the actual budget proposal here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/insession/insessiondocs/docs/JR1AB11-CA1.pdf)
The budget that Wisconsin just passed has almost nothing to do with your ethical beliefs, whether they are conservative or liberal. If you are a woman, Wisconsin needs your voice. If you are a working person, Wisconsin needs your voice. If you support the rights to education, health care, and democratic representation, Wisconsin needs your voice. Our power is in the ballot box and we must take action to let all our leaders know we elect them to represent, not ignore us. Be empowered – stand in solidarity and prevent the spread of policies that are dangerous to our health.
If you have questions about what you can do or on the general situation, please don't hesitate to comment below.