The Women’s March does benefit women, and as a woman, if I were thinking only of myself, I would march. However, I am not selfishly fighting for myself; I am fighting for equality, justice, and human rights. These values are all violated by the objectives of the Women’s March. Although there are numerous principles officially held by the Women’s March, they have three large aspirations that concern me.
- “Free” Birth Control
First, let’s agree that “free” birth control is not free. “Free” birth control is paid for through taxes which come from the wealthy in disproportionate percentages. In essence, the people who have higher incomes are forced to pay for regular birth control for those with lower incomes. Taxes are necessary for a functional government to exist, but using them to forcibly redistribute wealth by making one person buy goods for another is an abuse of the tax system. Humans are born with natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They are not born with the right to take things from other people because it makes their own life easier. The end cannot be used to justify the means, and alternatives such as voluntarily investing in non-profits and charities must be pursued.
- Increased Availability of Abortion
Abortion should not be seen as a form of empowerment for women; it is a tragic loss of life. From the point of fertilization, a baby with unique DNA has been created. Because the DNA has been created, the child’s sex, hair color, eye color, skin color, and most physical characteristics have already been determined. According to most personality psychologists, genetics are also the biggest driver of personality, so it is also likely that this child already has a framework for their personality that they will grow into. In addition, even biologists and embryologists can attest to the fact that a human embryo is undeniably a living, human organism. Thus, by ending a young, developing life, abortion is murder because it takes that life away without justifiable reason.
- Reducing the Wage Gap
As far as the wage gap goes, since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women have had all of the legal backing that they need to earn the same as a man for the same work. The notion that women earn 20% less than a man can mostly be explained by things such as career choice and number of hours worked. Any legal attempts to further increase women’s wages would likely only give women an unfair advantage over men.
Therefore, although I am a woman who would benefit from the Women’s March, I am avoiding it. Not because it has nothing to offer me, but because I despise the things it offers me. I do not want to force other people to buy things for me, I do not want the ability to murder without consequence, and I do not want an artificial, government-imposed leg up over my male counterparts who work just as hard in the job market.
Photo from AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma
THE STATESMAN 