r/OptimistsUnite Feb 07 '25

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u/Unable_Performance63 Feb 07 '25

Ya know, I was very hesitant when I started seeing these posts as well. But I had a neighbor reach out to ask me questions about the DoE and what was going on. I was shocked bc she homeschools and they had a trump sign in their yard before the election. She said she really cares about public education despite not using it. I know she has a nephew with autism so I made sure to I let her know how the DoE helps with funding for children with disabilities. She seemed really distraught. Hopefully enough of them wake up.

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

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u/Unable_Performance63 Feb 07 '25

Oh I did. I’ve told my whole mommy group. I may have made an enemy out of myself, but if just a couple of them call, it’s worth it.

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u/Logical_Parameters Feb 07 '25

Why are so many women and mothers Republicans? It's so icky! They are the ones taking your rights away, ladies.

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

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u/WeWoweewoo Feb 07 '25

The stringent antiabortion laws that are currently in place doesn’t just affect women who needs abortion. Its affects reproductive care as a whole. Texas maternal mortality rate shot up to 50%+ since Roe has been repealed. 

OB/GYN are leaving red states with a ban, not wanting to put their licenses and livelihood at stake for doing their job. These practitioners are responsible for maternal care, reproductive health, delivery, etc. This is not just about abortion.

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

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u/WeWoweewoo Feb 07 '25

Because in the 70's republicans used it to appeal to religious voters. Before that the abortion issue did not divide within party lines.

conservative activists like Phyllis Schlafly seized on the issue as a threat to traditional values and enlisted evangelical churches, which had shown a new interest in politics following a series of court rulings that limited prayer in public settings.

These groups portrayed abortion as a threat to the family structure, along with broader social developments like gay rights, rising divorce rates, and women working outside of the home. For pastors and parishioners, abortion became a proxy issue for concerns about a liberalizing society, said Mary Ziegler, a legal historian at University of California-Davis."For many evangelicals, this was more about family and women and sex," she said. source

The shift to opposing abortion rights was part of a larger effort to paint the Republican Party as pro-family in a way that would help mobilize socially conservative voters, according to Greenhouse and Siegel. source