Dear Republicans, Please clarify: What/Who is "Human Life"?

Dear Republicans,

I have a sincere request. I'm hoping you can clarify something for me. Everyday, I hear you talk about your "respect for human life." But the more I hear you talk, the less I feel that you respect me.  Am I a human life? I perceive myself as human, I believe I am alive. I feel I am human life.  If I am human life, then please respect me as you purport you do, so that I won't perceive your assertion as a lie. If I'm not human life, then explain what/who exactly you mean by human life. What/who do you count as human? 

It would be helpful to me if you provide a list of what/who you specifically consider human life. 

Meanwhile, I will provide my own inquiry into human life:

If am a woman, am I a human life? Many in your party are telling me that if I am raped and impregnated, I will be legally forbidden to abort the one-celled zygote growing in my uterus. Along with the shame and powerlessness and fear and violence that I experienced, I must compromise the next forty-weeks of my life, and possibly the rest of my life, by honoring the "life" forced upon me by a rapist and by your legislation. I do not feel that you are respecting me.

If I am LGBTQ, am I a human life? Say I am in a ten-year relationship with the love of my life, and we would like to get married and start a family. Your legislation wants to ban same sex marriages and adoptions by gay couples, and would deny us numerous other rights and protections afforded to heterosexual couples, including protections from hate speech and discrimination in the work force. I do not feel that you are respecting me.

If I am a single mother raising two kids and living in poverty, am I a human life? If I rely on food stamps and medicaid while I work part time and attend community college funded by financial aid to try to better my life for my children and me, am I a human life? Your budget proposals would slash funding to those programs that I rely upon to better myself. I do not feel that you are respecting me.

If I am a lower-income person of all colors, all genders, all sexual orientations, and all ages, am I a human life? I do not feel respected.

If I am a person of any color besides white, am I a human life? I do not feel respected.

If I am an immigrant, am I a human life? I do not feel respected.

If I am a corporation, am I a human life? According to you and Citizens United, "Yes."

If I am an ultra-wealthy, heterosexual, white, Christian, cisgender, male, am I a human life? According to you, "Yes. Of course. After all, I'm the ultra-wealthy, heterosexual, white, Christian, cisgender, male who wrote the definition of human life and gets to decide who counts and who doesn't."

If I am a rapist's fetus, am I a human life? According to you, "Yes. This is, in fact, our prototype for the Sanctity of Human Life Act. And please take note: according to our experts, the fetus could not possibly belong to a rapist since rapists don't impregnate. This is a "legitimate" human life conceived through an "illegitimate" rape. Once the fetus is born, however, it will become an "illegitimate" child, and it will most likely *not* be ultra-wealthy and heterosexual and white and Christian and cisgender and male, and therefore automatically will cease to be human life."

So, dear Republicans, there is my interpretation of your definition of human life as I see it. From my analysis, I have determined that a) you do not respect me, b) I am not human life, and c) the only human life that counts, according to you, are fetuses, corporations, and wealthy, straight, white, Christian, cisgender men.  Once again, I ask you to please clarify my mis/understandings.  I want you to tell me how or why my analysis is wrong. And if my analysis is incorrect, then please explain to me why, if you have such strong respect for human life, you continue to so widely disrespect the majority of human lives through your policies, your rhetoric, and your actions. 

And, if indeed my analysis is correct, and the only human life you count as worthy of respect are fetuses, corporations, and wealthy, straight, white, Christian, cisgender men, then admit it and quit pretending that you have any kind of integrity. Drop out of office and do some soul-searching. Real leaders have critical-cultural awareness, self-reflexivity, and empathy. Do not speak from your pedestal unless you are prepared to speak on behalf of all human life.

Sincerely,
Diana Tigerlily