<\body> Stories in America: Laura Bush's Bubble

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Laura Bush's Bubble

These people really need to get out more often:
First Lady Laura Bush defended the focus on sexual abstinence in her husband's AIDS-prevention plan as she arrived in Africa to mark the election of the continent's first woman president, in Liberia.

"I really have always been a little bit irritated by criticism of abstinence, because abstinence is absolutely, 100 percent effective in fighting a sexually transmittable disease," the First Lady said.

She rebuffed a reporter's suggestion that the Bush AIDS initiative reflects a "Christian moralist" agenda, noting it's based on Uganda's "ABC" three-way plan of abstinence, being faithful and using condoms.

"In many countries where girls feel obligated to comply with the wishes of men, girls need to know that abstinence is a choice," the first lady said.
During her trip to Liberia, do you think the pro-choice Mrs. Bush had the chance to meet with a few of those girls to tell them to stop complying with the "wishes of men?" What about women who are raped by their husbands?

3 Comments:

At 1/17/2006 4:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What about women who are raped by their husbands?

I don't know much about this, but I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that that the reason the AIDS epidemic has swept across the African continent has very little to do with the "husbands raping their wives" problem.

Personally, I think Laura Bush’s message that young women protecting their bodies against disease by choosing abstinence just might be a pretty damn good idea, even if she doesn’t have anything to say about the “husbands raping wives” problem. Then again, I’m not especially sympathetic to the Black-Men-are-Rapists stereotype to automatically roll my eyes if Laura Bush doesn't have a solution to that tucked up her sleeve.

 
At 1/18/2006 12:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What about women who are raped by their husbands

or... women who want to have sex...?

 
At 1/19/2006 7:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, ultimately it's up to them. And, just like people who want to smoke or want play Russian Roulette, if they really want to avoid the risk factors -- I'd encourage them to consider abstinence as opposed to smoking light cigarettes, or loading the gun with fewer live rounds.

 

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