All writers in Op Ed are here to inform and acknowledge issues of importance to our communities, however these writings represent the views and opinions of the authors and not necessarily of The Advertiser.

By Linda Nidiffer

Disclaimer:  This column is not for children, Christians, Conservatives, or men.

That being said, I don’t know who will be reading this but Texas and their abortion law has me in a snit! What are four or five steps beyond a snit?  I am livid! What do old white men know about women’s reproductive rights?  Will this stupidity creep to the rest of the country like a bad case of dysentery? 

After Tom and I were married for a while I got pregnant.  We were ecstatic as all young marrieds are.  At five months on April Fools’ Day I suffered a miscarriage. My principal thought I was pulling a prank. (another old white man heard from) My mother, being my mother, told me to snap out of it—I was depressed—because “a baby is not a baby until you hold it in your arms.”  Tom’s mom was much more sympathetic. With my next pregnancy I knew right away that I was pregnant.  The minute I opened the refrigerator and the smells made me gag, I knew I was pregnant.  That happened well before the six week time.

Most married women with regular cycles don’t know they are pregnant before the six week limit.  They don’t start peeing on a stick before eight to twelve weeks.  So, hello Texas, do the math. That is just married women with regular cycles.  Let’s talk about the millions of women who have irregular cycles.  They have no idea when to start checking out sticks!

Maybe the old white Texan men are making a comment about the morals of the unmarried women of Texas. Maybe these geezers have figured out that they are losing control of their borders (too many Californians moving in), oil wells, schools, etc. and now they have to control their women.  I don’t know about you, but I have been autonomous for quite some time. I have an unmarried niece living in Texas and some married ones too. I can guarantee that none of these fine women are going to let a bunch of codgers  into their bedrooms

So if Sally my unmarried niece finds herself pregnant does she have to give up school to raise this unplanned for child?  Does her boyfriend have to give up school too to help raise this child? Or does she seek out a back alley abortionist in Houston with filthy instruments and sketchy technique?  Do we slip back into the Dark Ages of women’s reproductive health because a bunch of old men have made a decision in a room without a woman present?  Are we in a time warp? Please don’t let this Texas disease spread to South Carolina! Women be ready to fight for your rights to live in the 21^st century if not for yourself then for your daughters and granddaughters!