Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/93854
Sarasota News Leader November 16, 2012 Life Act — to reclassify the fertilized egg as a living person by establishing that life begins at conception, which would make it possible for states to criminalize abortion and in vitro fertilization. Many activists have interpreted these endeavors and their varied levels of suc- cess as part of a concerted effort to roll back women's rights. The actions often are referred to in the news media as a "war on women." Asked her thoughts on that viewpoint, Fuen- tes replied sharply. "You'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know that there's a war on women by the Republican Party. I think it has made feminists angry, doing all they can to see that Barack Obama is re-elected." A FEMINIST ICON Not quite three weeks before the election, a personal friend of Fuentes and another femi- nist pioneer came to St. Petersburg to address some of the same issues Fuentes discussed with the News Leader. Author and journalist Gloria Steinem spoke on Oct. 20 during a pro-choice rally organized by the "I Am Choice" campaign in opposition to Florida's proposed constitutional Amend- ment 6. The many attendees were enthusiastic and vocal in their support, cheering loudly when Steinem proclaimed a sentiment they shared. The crowd comprised women and men of di- verse ages and races. Steinem voiced her concerns about ultra so- cial conservatives' efforts to use the Republi- can Party as a vehicle to enact legislation that already has impacted or would infringe on the rights of women. Page 66 "It is so dangerous to have one of our two great parties controlled by extremists ... because, when we naturally are not 100 percent hap- py with one group, we just vote for the other one without understanding that we are voting against ourselves," she said. "The great cen- trist Republican Party needs to come back," she added, reminding audience members of a few of the more progressive, pro-equality views that Republican presidents of the past have expressed. Of the many issues Steinem discussed at the rally, comparable pay for women was at the forefront. "It happens that equal pay for wom- en of all races is the greatest economic stim- ulus that this country could ever have," she said to enthusiastic applause. "I have never ever seen, even in the Eisenhower era, any- body who refused to say they were for equal pay! Even if they didn't do anything about it, they at least said they were for equal pay," she continued, referring to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's evasive responses to ques- tions about his stance on equal pay for wom- en and the Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009, which helps women who have lost wages as a result of pay discrimination in the past to legally re- cuperate their losses. Steinem also focused considerable attention on attempts by conservatives to enact legisla- tion to reclassify the fertilized egg as a person and the major consequences this would have for women. It would "effectively nationalize women's bodies throughout our childbearing years" and "give the government the right to legally search our wombs to see if we were pregnant or not," she said. "If you think that's impossible, think about the transvaginal probe that is legalized rape!"