Forward.

Progress: gradual betterment, especially the progressive development of humankind. It’s something we all strive for. It’s moving forward, not looking back. For women’s rights, it’s a fight that began over 150 years ago and I for one am not ready to stop. Apparently the women voting for Mitt Romney would rather travel back in time.

Mitt Romney’s beliefs on women’s rights are backwards. Women, we’ve come so far. Don’t start regressing now. The solution is simple: come Election Day, don’t vote for the Romney.

To be fair, Romney has a pretty good slogan: “Believe in America”. I do believe in America, but I believe in the future not the past. That’s why Obama’s is better. “Forward”. That’s the kind of thinking I want for our country.

Some people call him Mittens, but I think Flipper seems more fitting. No one knows what Romney’s stance on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is. Not only has he issued different statements but it seems to be that he has NO stance on the issue. How can the women of America stand behind a man who won’t stand behind them?

He can’t seem to make up his mind about abortion either. He claims to “believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother” yet says “there's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda” despite his support for the Hyde amendment, which bars the use of federal funds for abortions.

Romney promises to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood. 97% of their services are preventative care like breast cancer screening. The repercussions of eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood would be huge. The number of unplanned pregnancies would increase with lack of affordable birth control, which in turn would increase the number of abortions. Millions of women would be cut off from access to birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing, STD testing and treatment. No woman should ever be denied a cancer screening because conservatives don’t believe in abortion. That’s just common sense.

In the first presidential debate, Romney said we don’t need a board of people (or the government) “telling us what kinds of treatments we should have”. Well Mr. Romney, it seems like you’re making a pro-choice argument. With abortion being legal, everyone is able to follow his or her own opinions and beliefs. If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t get one. If someone else gets one and you have a problem with it, well, we can’t all be friends. But if Romney is elected on November 6^th, our right to privacy and control over our bodies will be threatened.

Abortion and fair pay aside; Romney’s attitude towards women is demeaning and disrespectful. When addressing gun control, Romney suggested that single mother’s could be blamed in part for gun violence because two parent families significantly reduce the likelihood of living in poverty. This misogynistic remark was disrespectful and ignorant as most single mothers (despite what Romney may believe) did not choose to raise their children alone. If poverty affects gun violence perhaps suggesting ways that he would fight poverty might be more conducive to fixing the problem than blaming women. And Romney, just some food for thought, maybe single mothers wouldn’t be raising their children in poverty as frequently if they didn’t make only 77 cents to every dollar a man makes.

Romney’s track record with women in the workplace shows just how much he cares about women; he even has a special place for them in his cabinet. That’s where he keeps his binders after all. When Romney left Bain Capital in 1999, only 9 women out of 95 vice presidents at Bain Capital. In case you are mathematically challenged, that isn’t even 1%.

This isn’t an issue just for women. It’s relevant to men too. Think about your daughters or your future daughters. What kind of America do you want for them? I want one they will believe in. One based on freedom of religion, right to privacy, and equality for all. Vote to move forward, not backwards.