by Lauren Van Til

Created on: October 15, 2008   Last Updated: October 17, 2008

John McCain's pick of a running mate was a slap in the face to a woman's ability to choose her candidate based on issues versus anatomy. I think for many of us, Sarah Palin wasn't the silver bullet the McCain camp was hoping for. It seemed at first that her addition to his ticket would help garner support of undecided women voters and the fringe PUMA voters but after the initial wave in the polls, she's been an immense drag on his campaign. Women aren't stupid. We know when we're being patronized.

Sarah Palin the Feminist - Abortion

We all know the social stigma attached to being a feminist. Saying you're a feminist in mixed company can result in sneers and snide remarks from men and women alike, who assume that it automatically qualifies you to buy sleeveless flannel shirts and get a discount mullet at Great Clips. Many women spell women the correct way, not womyn, and in most ways live a normal life. That's why we were surprised to see Sarah come out of the closet as a feminist.

She's a member of Feminists for Life. That's similar to being a Republican for Longer Hair on Men. It's pretty rare.

Abortion was never an option for me - but I would never stand in the way of a woman that feels that she simply cannot raise a child. It's unfair to both the woman and the child. As a feminist, you would think that I'd sit in a peculiar place in this debate. I am not a fan of abortion as a means for birth control (no one is pro-abortion, mind you), and I think that better sex education should be available to diminish the number of abortions needed.

But until that sex education is reached, I'm fine saying that I don't like abortion. It makes me feel icky talking about it. No one likes to think about it or talk about it but it's a necessary evil. But not ever has it crossed my mind to vote for a candidate that might have a hand in taking the right away that would make it illegal for another woman to make the right choice in her life.

Similarly, feminists by and large vote based on who's promised to do what to our rights to our bodies. Palin's record doesn't inspire confidence. Or her stance - or lack of one, depending on who you talk to - on rape in general. But does anyone that identifies as being prolife actually think a woman should carry the baby that results from a rape to term? And then what? Give the baby up for adoption? She's said that she supports abortion only in the case that the mother's health is at risk. What about the mother's mental health? This may not seem like much of an issue if you truly just read the text without absorbing what it says. Women brutalized during a rape attack not only has to suffer the indignity of deciding whether or not to go to a clinic, but once she finds out that her attacker got her pregnant she is supposed to carry that baby to term. Alaska leads the nation in rape cases, frequently in the case of the economically disadvantaged Alaskan Natives.

Perhaps her tap for VP wasn't an attempt to garner the votes of moderate and undecided women. Could it have been an attempt to show us just how far to the right can go? The rest of the GOP seem moderate in comparison. In the 24 hour a day news cycle, though, Palin's brief moment as a spokeswoman for well, women, was a blip. She's done.

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