I want my granddaughters to grow up in a country that values women for their contributions to society, whether they be to keep house and raise a family, or work outside the home and keep house and raise a family. It’s interesting to me that “The Handmaid’s Tale” stands in juxtaposition to the extremes of religious zealotry at a time when religious zealotry threatens the impartiality of the Supreme Court. What would Bret Kavanaugh have women do, now that he is in a position to overturn laws that protect women’s basic privacy and reproductive rights? Will my granddaughters live their lives in a society not too far removed from the fictional Gilead? I want to see all girls and women offered the choice to live their best lives, whatever that may be. Home raising a family? Certainly a valuable way of life if that’s their choice.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to life my life as a woman who chose to do both: raise children full time and return to the work force when they both went off to school. I chose the number of children I had, the number my husband and I could support and love without strain. Now that I am in my mid-60s, I look back on this choice and feel confident that I did the right thing for my family – with deep gratitude that I had the freedom to do so. That freedom should and must exist for all women.
My granddaughters deserve a government that stays out of their lives and lets them make those choices. Everyone’s granddaughters do.
