For this week's issue, we'll look at candidates' platforms on Equal Rights and Women's Health. Once again, all information and videos are taken directly from the candidates' websites, either in part or in whole, unless otherwise noted, with minimal alteration to clarify and streamline information.
Barack Obama
Summarized from Obama's Website
- President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help women fight back against pay discrimination. He understands that when women are paid less than men for the same work, it hurts the entire family.
- President Obama was the first sitting president to publicly announce his support for marriage for same-sex couples, and has always believed LGBT Americans should be treated fairly and equally
- President Obama repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” so that gay and lesbian service members no longer have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.
- President Obama endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act, signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and extended hospital visitation and medical decision-making rights to LGBT couples.
- President Obama has enacted policies that promote the hiring of people with disabilities, increased funding for students with disabilities, provide Americans with access to affordable health care, and improve accessibility standards.
- President Obama is putting an end to the health insurance company practice of charging women more than men for the same coverage.
- Thanks to Obamacare, many insurance plans are beginning to fully cover birth control without co-pays or deductibles as part of women's preventive care—potentially saving women hundreds of dollars every year.
- President Obama believes a woman’s health care choices are personal decisions, best made with her doctor—without interference from politicians.
- President Obama fought back against Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, one of the largest providers of women’s health services, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, and birth control. Under Obamacare, health insurance companies now cover recommended preventive care like mammograms and cancer screenings, and are beginning to cover birth control without co-pays or deductibles.
Romney's Rebuttal
Romney offers no rebuttal to Obama's Equal Rights or Women's Health platforms on his website, so here an small interview by Romney from May, 2012 for as close a rebuttal by Romney on Obama's Equal Rights Platform I could find. I couldn't not find anything from Romney specifically addressing Obama's Women's Health platform, so if anyone knows of anything let me know and I'll update this article.
Mitt Romney
Romney offers no opinion about Equal Rights or Women's Health on his website, so here are some videos of Mitt Romney on the subjects. Apologies for the lack of straight up Romney-only debates
speech, his lack of any official releases makes that difficult to do, but his position should still be made clear.
Obama's Rebuttal (Summarized from Obama's Website)
- Mitt Romney refused to say whether or not he would have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law.
-
Mitt Romney would enshrine discrimination into the Constitution with an amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples.
- Mitt Romney refused to support the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and would have left the policy in place.
- As governor, Mitt Romney cut funding for hate crimes prevention and abolished a hate crimes task force.
- Mitt Romney would repeal the Affordable Care Act and slash Medicaid, which many Americans with disabilities rely on.
- Mitt Romney would let employers, insurance companies, and politicians limit women’s health choices.
- Mitt Romney would repeal Obamacare, and give employers the authority to limit women’s access to common forms of birth control.
- Mitt Romney believes that Roe v. Wade should be overturned,
and backed an extreme proposal to outlaw abortions even in the case of
incest and rape.
- Mitt Romney would eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and roll back all the benefits of health reform.
Conclusion
So in summary, Obama has been giving women more rights, in both the work place and with their medical needs and equal rights for LGTB people, while Romney literally supports making discrimination against women and LGTB people legal. That kinda sickens me...
Turn in Friday for the Superhero opinions. I don't think there will be any question which way the heroes side on this one though...
~James
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