I am beginning to take it all personally.

The attacks on contraception and the Girls Scouts particularly. My child bearing days are pretty much over and I never was and will never be a Girls Scout. But I have an 11 year old daughter. She has been a Girl Scout for the past couple of years. I missed the day where they promoted abortion and handed out Planned Parenthood propaganda. But I will tell you what they really do that upsets the conservative, patriarchal right wing. They teach young girls to be competent, independent and successful women who care about those less fortunate than themselves. And we couldn't have that could we?

Over and over I have been impressed with the quality of the Girl Scout program. The popular cookie sales program has been a great tool for my daughter to learn basic business skills; marketing, supply and demand, simple accounting, goal setting and working with a team. They have long term philanthropic projects that they plan and execute. They collected supplies for abandoned animals last year. This year they prepared and served a meal for a group of homeless men. The big curriculum focus this year (she is with a slightly older troop) has been identifying and addressing bullying. In short, she is learning to be a competent, professional woman who is not going to be bullied, nor is she going to be a bully, who cares about the less fortunate.

Contraception is a huge societal good anyway you slice it. Statistically, almost all women use it at some point in their lives. It helps keep families out of poverty. It reduces the need for abortions. We have the medical knowledge to do this safely, effectively and a reasonable cost. It is all win. But they want to limit access to contraception and expose a whole new generation to the stress and potential poverty that accompanies unplanned births. They want my beautiful, bright daughter, the one who writes exquisitely sensitive poetry and and taught herself to read at three, to be a mindless baby machine. I want her to be a parent someday if that is what she wants. But who does it benefit if she is held hostage to her reproductive system? It reduces her ability to get educated and earn a living. It increases the burden she might place on society. And although it looks like a great way to control women, it will burden her eventual partner who will also have to figure out how to raise and pay for the unplanned children. Why, why why do they want this? It makes no sense to me.

I have always considered myself a feminist, but for whatever reason, I have been more likely to fight for campaign finance reform. But now it is personal. They are threatening my daughter at a time when she is becoming most vulnerable. I vow to fight.