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If nothing too grand comes up tomorrow, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence may well have the honor of gaining the most ground this week in the fight to recover women's rights, thanks to a busy few days in the spotlight.
As the New York Times reported, Pence provided the deciding vote on Senate legislation today, making it his second time this year, and allowing the body to pass a bill reversing an Obama-era rule. The law, which kept conservative states from blocking federal funding to health and family planning facilities that offer abortion, was targeted in "one of a string of showdowns to reverse Obama-era regulations, [and] unfolded with all the drama of numerous past conflicts over abortion funding," according to the Times.
Voting against the bill were 48 Senate Democrats and Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who've spoken out against the impact of such measures on low-cost clinics like Planned Parenthood, government costs and facilities, private health infrastructure, and, of course, their millions of patients. They were met, Senator Patty Murray recalled to the Times, with "[a] deafening silence from the group of almost entirely male Republican senators [voting] today to make it harder for women to get health care they need ... Not one spoke today to justify this vote."
The Times noted that one dedicated Republican senator even "gingerly made his way to the Capitol [from Georgia] with the aid of a wheelchair and a walker" to make the whole balance-beam possible with his own 'Yea.' The Vice President, however, seems to have mostly stolen the show with his industry-sweeping tie-breaker.
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See also: GOP Law Forces Doctors To Plug 'Abortion Reversal,' Disclose It's Unproven To Work
On Tuesday, Ashley Parker's widely noticed profile of Second Lady Karen Pence also drew attention to the Vice President's female-relations, offering a look into his wife's steadfast role in the administration, their years of working marriage, and his practical views on women. The fact that Pence is unwilling to dine alone with women other than his wife, or to attend events that serve alcohol without her alongside, has particularly driven discussion across social media and traditional outlets, including the Post itself.
The women upset by Mike Pence treating his wife like a queen only wish they had a man like Pence. Women should be respected. #Jelly
— Marie McKenzie (@Mmarie2539) March 30, 2017
Criticisms and defense of Pence's stance have been mounted by persons of numerous genders, exploring it from appearance to core. Paul Waldman reflected for the Post, "I’m sure Pence would say that he’s just being careful. But I wonder if he realizes the discriminatory consequences of his rule ... A woman who hoped Pence would be a mentor to [her] wouldn’t be able to avail herself of [relationship- and trust-building] opportunities, since he can’t even have lunch with her."
"It’s easy to make jokes about [but] there’s a deeply troubling worldview at work here, one that has profound implications for policy — and we’re already seeing it play out at both the state and federal levels," he added. "He obviously thinks that every interaction he has with a woman is so sexually charged that it’s safe to be around them only if there are other people there, too. Unless someone might be drinking, in which case even the presence of a crowd isn’t enough."
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Waldman compared Pence's personal rule to ones maintained by certain Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Muslims, which may use cultural and legal enforcement to keep women's appearances or mere presence under tightly unerotic wraps. Though such measures seem meant to ensure that both men and women 'can be trusted,' regardless of whether an impropriety or invitation for attention exists, women mostly seem to bear the onus and punishment involved, both at home and afar.
To be sure, learning to trust in oneself and in others can be a long and difficult path; some journeys likely involve facing far more broken trust than others.
It is only through this journey, however, that we may finally gain the skills needed to invite the communal trust involved in public guidance and, in some cases, even the shaping of life-or-death law. Such skills are especially important, of course, when you're crafting laws aimed directly at somebody else's business.
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