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"Abortion wouldn't be a
problem if religious organizations weren't against it"
Stephanie Mardell
"We can't live in fear
and have our rights taken away. We need to live in freedom, and
therefore our fears will go away." Stephanie Mardell
Talk It Out with Jodi
Leib
Stephanie Mardell and Megan Brooks
Photo by Jodi Leib
April 24, 2004, March for Women's Lives, Washington D.C.
While the rest of the
activists were marching past the White House, my friend Lori and I were
making our way across the mall, excited to encounter anyone who seemed
like an interesting Talk It Out find...who did we meet? Two
students from American University in Washington D.C., proudly displaying
a sign reading "I'm a Pro-Choice Republican"....the nerve of
them to stand out in a sea of Democrats and Indies. I was engaged,
and so inspired.
Jodi: I'm at the
March for Women's Lives with Stephanie Mardell, who is a Pro-Choice
Republican. Right on. And what's your name?
Megan: Megan Brooks.
Jodi: Hi Megan, nice to meet you. Are you also a Pro-Choice
Republican?
Megan: Yes, I am.
Jodi: Very cool! As Pro-Choice Republicans, what brings you to the March
for Women's Lives?
Stephanie: Number one, Bush's past amendment to cancel out abortions
after the first five months of pregnancy. I think it's a woman's
right to choose what she wants to do with her body, especially when it
comes to children. You should bring a child into this world unless
you know that you can provide for them, bring them into a world that is
going to be good for them, grow up in a good environment. We have
so many people around this world that are just so focused on bringing
life into this world, which is a beautiful thing, but at the same time,
look at how many children are up for adoption at this point in time.
We can't keep doing that. I think abortion, number one is
outrageous, because it costs about $350 to get an abortion, and already
that is outrageous, because it already lessens a chance for a woman to
do what she wants to choose. If Bush thinks that he's going to go ahead
and make it illegal completely, it's not freedom. It's not the
woman's choice. We are in the United States of America. Look at
every person here, we are all here stating our speeches. This is
the Freedom of Choice. The First Amendment dictates that we can do
this, we should also have some freedoms to do what we want to do with
our own bodies. No one should regulate that.
Jodi: Do you think that President Bush is acting
unconstitutionally when he uses his religion to make biased decisions
against our country?
Stephanie: I think that's exactly what President Bush is doing.
I think that, number one, he is using religion as a cause within his
policy, even though he might not outwardly say it. Abortion
wouldn't be a problem if religious organizations weren't against it,
abortion, gay marriage, nothing! Any type of Freedom of Choice
that's kind of controversial, can always be blocked by some kind of
religious affiliation, and I don't that that's right. We have a
Separation of Church and State. So therefore, being able to choose
what we want to do as human beings, as living in the United States of
America, we have the choice to do what we want, and we shouldn't have
laws regulating what we can do with our own bodies. We can't have
people taking away our freedoms. It's not just Gay Marriage.
That's another reason why I'm here. Not only am I here for Women's
Rights, but I'm here for the rights of every American. So many
people are here for so many different reasons, and women is one of them.
I think that's one of the main things that President Bush really does
need to take into account, that religion is not part of the State.
You can have faith, you can have religion, that's wonderful. You
cannot incorporate it into law!
Jodi: Every time he gets up on the stage, and denounces Gay Rights
to be married, he is using his job to promote discrimination, do you
agree?
Stephanie: I believe that President Bush does discriminate.
He has discriminated against women, with our right to choose. He
has discriminated against gay marriage - where if two people love each
other - I mean, over 50% of the population is divorced, what does that
tell you? It shows that, number one, the sanctity of marriage has
not been upheld. So how does gay marriage get incorporated into
that? How can he say that he's trying to protect the sanctity of
marriage, when a male and a female can't even provide the sanctity of
marriage in the United States. I think that when two people love
each other, no matter what, they should be able to do what they want,
and they should have the rights that go along with it.
Jodi: Awesome. What makes you a Republican?
Stephanie: I'm more moderate than anything. I am fiscally
conservative. I don't agree with a lot of the things that Bush is
doing right now. I feel as though he is making a bad name for the
Republican Party. I think that once we get Kerry in there, he's a
little bit more of a conservative Democrat, and he's not too liberal,
and I think he's a great guy. As a Republican, I am not going to
vote along party line. I'm going to vote for the candidate who can
best lead our country.
Jodi: Do you think there are a lot of Republicans that are going to vote
for Kerry?
Stephanie: I believe a lot of Republicans are going to vote for
Kerry. You either have the really hard-core, the conservative
Republicans that are of course going to stay by Bush. But then you
have more of the moderates, that understand that what Bush is doing
right now is not something that we as Americans should be following.
Bush is taking away our rights. Look at the Patriot Act. He
is infringing upon our rights as Americans. I don't think a lot of
people see that. Granted we should be protected from the September
11th attacks, but we should also be able to still be free. We
can't live in fear and have our rights taken away. We need to live
in freedom, and therefore our fear will go away.
Jodi: That's so brilliant. I think Bush is a misleader, and
it's unfortunate for us all.
Stephanie: I think the Republican Party is still a great Party.
No matter what Party you affiliate with, sometimes there are people that
misrepresent what you stand for. And I think that as a Pro-Choice
Republican, I believe in Women's Rights. I believe in Gay
Marriage, and I don't think the Republican Party should be strictly
against those things. I don't think people should view the
Republican Party as that type. Just because you have a leader that
incorporates a lot of religious ideology into his platform, I don't
think you should completely disregard Republicans. I think
Republicans - we don't think differently. I think the same way as
probably every other person here when it comes to marching right now for
Women's Rights, for Gay Marriage. A lot of people are against gay
marriage, a lot of Republicans are, but it's part of freedom, it's part
of someone's rights. You can't take that away from people.
We live in America, that's why we're here!
Jodi: That's so beautiful. How many young people feel the same way
you do?
Stephanie: Being in D.C. it's a lot different. My generation
is very apathetic, and I think it's very hard for people to get out
there and speak their mind. And when they do speak their mind,
it's a beautiful thing, because we are able to sit here and take our
rights. I think that with a thing like this, with the March for
Women's Lives, it takes a lot of young people, especially because I go
to American University, it took by storm. The entire campus was
like, "I'm going to do this! It's fabulous! I'm going
to march for my rights!" All of my guy friends were like,
"I support you as a woman. I'm marching for your
rights!"
Jodi: It's amazing to see so many men here.
Stephanie: It is. It's amazing. I think it's fabulous!
I think young people, especially today, are showing that they do care.
Around the world...this is going to be broadcast all over the United
States today, and so many people are going to see how many people care
about this. People are going to be watching going "Wow!"
There are over a million people here. Something needs to change.
Jodi: I hope so!
Stephanie: God willing! God willing!
Jodi: Exactly! Are there a lot of Pro-Choice Republicans out
there?
Stephanie: Yeah, I'd say a good number.
Jodi: Do you think the majority of the amount of voters who are
registered as Republican are Pro-Choice?
Stephanie: Yeah.
Megan: Yeah. I think the older generation are more conservative,
but the younger generation are Pro-Choice.
Stephanie: The younger generation are not following along with the
strict Party guidelines. We're trying to improve the fight.
We're trying absolve the Party into something that a lot more Americans
can stand for.
Megan: My dad is very Republican.
Jodi: I grew up in a Republican home too, for the most part.
Republicans, to me, have always stood for protecting the Constitution,
and it's completely ironic to see a President who is completely
disregarding the Constitution and acting unlawfully.
Stephanie: Republicans typically believe in less Government.
Jodi: Exactly.
Stephanie: I think what Bush is doing right now is taking the Government
to a completely new level. Not only is he imposing his Government
upon the rest of the world, but he is imposing his Government here at
home, and he's taking away a lot of the freedoms of a lot of the
citizens.
Jodi: He's not a Republican! He's a Christian Politician!
Stephanie: He's very, very conservative.
Jodi: I think there should be a Party called the Christian Coalition,
and Bush should be in it. I don't think he qualifies as a
Republican. Do you?
Stephanie: I think he qualifies as a Republican, because a lot of his
viewpoints are along that type of party line. There's no way that
he could be a Democrat. But at the same time, I think that he
takes a lot of his viewpoints a little bit too far. I, personally,
will not vote for Bush in the next election, and elect him as a
Republican. I will vote for Kerry, because I believe he will lead
our country to a better place.
Jodi: To sanity.
Stephanie: Yeah.
Jodi: Thanks for being on Talk It Out! I really appreciate it.
Stephanie: Oh, yeah. No problem!
Jodi: And for your voice, and your opinion.
Back to www.jodileib.com
Talk It Out with Jodi Leib's
Pro-Choice Republicans Interview with Stephanie Mardell and Megan Brooks
was taped on April 25, 2004. Talk It Out (c) Jodi Leib, 2004.
Reprint by Permission at talkitout@jodileib.com.
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