I have no doubt that Roe will be chipped away, if not right out overturned, with a new Supreme Court appointee. That will send it back to the states, but I doubt Republicans will be satisfied with that victory for long. In fact, I know that the “States’ Rights” party will morph into anti-states’ rights in the blink of an eye.
Does anyone really believe that Trump’s pick for SCOTUS won’t be the deciding vote against Roe? Does anyone feel comfortable placing the fate of women’s autonomy in Justice Robert’s hands? What I think will happen (sooner, rather than later) is that the SCOTUS moves abortion rights back to state control.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, in 23 states, the right to abortion is at the highest risk of loss—these states could ban abortion outright. In 9 states (including the District of Columbia), the right to abortion is at risk of loss, and in 19 states, the right to abortion appears secure.
If that happens then we’re looking at women (with the means necessary) crossing state lines for reproductive care – altho, I fully expect Republicans to pass laws that require women attempting to leave anti-abortion states to undergo a pregnancy test before crossing state lines – they’ll make crossing state lines for an abortion illegal. I’d also expect doctors be required to make a list of every women who has a positive pregnancy test, so their movements can be tracked.
That will result in women avoiding having their pregnancy confirmed by a doctor, relying instead on home pregnancy tests, which will then result in these tests having to be purchased like behind-the-counter Sudafed – sign your name on the dotted line so we can track you. We’re already punishing women for miscarriages – which tells you that what I’m saying isn’t far off the mark. Here are a few examples:
A critically ill, 27-year-old Washington D.C. woman was 26 weeks pregnant when a judge ordered her to have a Cesarean section. He did so with the understanding that the procedure would very likely kill her. It did. The baby died as well.
A severely depressed, pregnant 22-year-old woman in South Carolina tried to commit suicide. She was jailed for child abuse.
A pregnant woman in Iowa fell down a flight of stairs and went to the hospital. The hospital reported her to the police who arrested her for “attempted fetal homicide.”
A Utah woman gave birth to twins, one of which was stillborn. Her doctors blamed the death on her decision to delay a C-section. She was arrested for fetal homicide.
If you think this sounds fantastical then you haven’t been paying attention. This is, and always has been, about controlling women. It sure as hell isn’t about babies or children – a quick look at the programs Republicans want to cut (and have cut) puts this lie to rest.
We are talking about forced birth, and punishment for miscarriages. Which means Planned Parenthood and birth control are under threat as well. It’s the natural progression for a political party that doesn’t believe women should have control over their bodies.
If your only thought of Planned Parenthood is abortion you can bow out of this discussion now. Planned Parenthood is a vital health source to millions of women and men. It is how many people receive medical care. Defunding PP means denying poor people access to health care.
Let’s be clear, women with means will always have access to abortion – just like in the past. It’s poor women who will be denied. I can’t wrap my head around why Republicans want to create more children/people in poverty? This strikes me as a huge disconnect from their desire to cut SNAP, Medicaid, etc.. What am I missing with this plan?
The next step (which is already underway) is going after birth control. In 2012, Rick Santorum said aloud what many Republicans whispered:
“One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country.” And also, “Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that’s okay, contraception is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”
Restricting, and in many cases outlawing, birth control is the next step. Don’t believe me? Well, it’s already started.
The Hobby Lobby decision that views corporations as having religious views while actual people’s religious views don’t matter.
Trying to rescind the part of the ACA that provides free birth control – a part that insurance companies were A-Okay with since it saved them a ton of money.
Lying about the IUD, Plan B and The Pill being abortifacients. They aren’t. If you believe they are then you don’t understand science.
And the Trump administration is on board:
As Salon has previously reported, the Trump administration has been steadily pushing policies and messaging focused on the idea that sex is for procreation only — at least for women. Both people Trump has appointed to run the Title X program are religious-right ideologues who have taken the public position that all people should wait for marriage until they have sex and also that government policy should be built on that premise. Title X grant programs have been rewritten to eliminate any mention of contraception, and Trump officials have argued that instead of sexual health care, women should be taught “refusal skills” — i.e., sexual abstinence — if they want to avoid pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases or HIV infection. [emphasis mine]
None of this is a new ideology. Take a look at many of the articles/papers written about Griswold v. Connecticut. There’s the pathway, and I doubt it won’t be taken.
When it comes to Roe, PP and birth control we cannot pretend these aren’t economic issues. They are the very foundation of people’s economics and deserve a place next to the vitally important battles of increased minimum wage, union rights and income inequality. They go hand in hand. Unless… you can make a case that having a baby doesn’t impact a person’s financial situation? Didn’t think so.
Trump, his administration and the GOP are all about denying rights to women, LGBTQ, black and brown people, non-Christians, poor people, etc.. Any professed Dem voter that wants to carve this group up by ignoring certain people is putting forth a losing strategy by eliminating the Dem base. Let’s not go down this path again.
Another *Culture War” issue I was told we had already won. Right? That voting for the Supreme Court was short-sighted and relied on scare tactics. RIGHT?
In the meantime we have Susan Collins telling everyone that she won’t vote for an “activist” on the court when she has a track record of voting for nothing but.
On the other hand, this is one more example of government that is responsive to special interest groups — completely ignoring the fact that majorities of Americans do not support rolling back R v W. Three in 4 Americans think that “the laws enacted by our national government these days mostly reflect what powerful special interests and their lobbyists want. Half of Americans think the United States is in “real danger of becoming a nondemocratic, authoritarian country.” A majority, 55 percent, see democracy as “weak” — and 68 percent believe it is “getting weaker.” Eight in 10 Americans say they are either “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the condition of democracy here. (Same poll.)
You misunderstand what winning a culture war does. It doesn’t mean rear-guarders stop fighting against you and, if they capture the government, passing laws to try to stop you. It means your position has the support of the majority, making those laws difficult to uphold for long.
Culture-war issues are those that are immune to legal solutions. The post-Civil War amendments did not eliminate anti-black bias because the issue was cultural, and the majority-white Southern culture resisted cultural change despite the law.
You realize, of course, that much of the never-Clinton sentiment you’re reacting against was promulgated by bots. And that lots of us who didn’t like her or her politics voted for her anyway. Those folks in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania who voted for Trump weren’t Bernie Bros, they were Reagan Democrats. What happened anywhere else didn’t matter.
I was told we had won the Culture War as a *specific* argument as to why we should stop privileging these arguments about civil rights. I believe that some call this “Identity Politics”. Majorities of Americans think we should fix Social Security too, but I don’t see any legislative effort to get this done. Majorities of people who support a position is no longer a solid bulwark against those who want to rule on behalf of the minority. White supremacy was on the ballot and there were folks specifically telling me afterwards that I really did not see that. And here we are.
Not sure why I needed the never-Clinton lecture, since everything I wrote in my first post was said to me by real people, whose names I know and who I can find. Not one of them a bot.
This sounds amazingly like Gilead. Aunt Lydia can’t be far behind. #blessedbe
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/07/03/usa-five-corrupt-justices/