What happened to private citizens truly being private citizens? Lately, it seems that every facet of our personal lives is up for debate, to later be regulated.
As a young woman, the debates on reproductive healthcare have been lifelong phenomena. What should be a personal choice or discussion between myself and my healthcare provider, is more often than not used as a political talking point come election season.
For reasons beyond me, we set a precedent for old white men to be the decision-making authority on experiences they can not and will never endure. We quite literally legislated the uterus and eggs, but not their necessary male counterparts. I digress.
Since the Dobbs decision, women in many states around the country have been facing murky legal waters in an effort to get reproductive healthcare. Some states are attempting to punish women for receiving reproductive care from out-of-state providers, even going so far as to restrict travel.
At what point is it too much? At what point does policy infringe on our physical autonomy, and moreover, our privacy?
This sentiment can be applied to a multitude of issues. The rhetoric surrounding the transgender community has only become more volatile and inflammatory. To my knowledge, however, transgender individuals make up less than one percent of our whole country’s population. Less than one percent. There are possibly 11 transgender athletes in the NCAA, the (National Collegiate Association of Athletics).
Even if there was a sudden statistically anomalous increase of transgender people in this country, guess what? I really wouldn’t care. It’s not any of my business, and I would wish them well in their transition.
Personal choices, whether that be about sex, relationships, identity and love, are becoming increasingly debated on the political stage, which is a slippery slope in my view.
Perhaps we are all distracted by our ongoing descent into neofascism. Here’s a fun tidbit for us all: our sitting president has denied disaster relief for three blue states including our own, Illinois and Maryland, while approving relief for the red states of Alaska, Nebraska and North Dakota. If our democracy still functioned, he’d have been impeached for this by now.
Again, I digress. More importantly, the U.S. Supreme Court will revisit same sex marriage on November 7.
Again, in my view the government should not be allowed to legislate against the personal choices of private citizens.
No one is asking or has ever asked to implement same-sex marriage exclusively, so why should we subject queer individuals to the same sweeping regulation of their personal lives?
I’m sure many questions like these will arise within the next three and a half years, and I am grateful to be in a position to ask such questions.
However, it is important to remember the true credit lies with both the historical pioneers of civil rights, like Marsha P. Johnson or Rosa Parks and those who are continuing that fight every day, such as Vermont 50501’s Geri Peterson, Mari Copeny of Flint, Mich., or international activists Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg.
Raymonda Parchment, Hardwick Gazette reporter
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
