Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Return of the Coat Hanger

As I noted in my post on Roe Versus Wade "RIP" , the right wing has been steadily mainstreaming increasingly strident policies on women's rights. Even as recently as a few election cycles ago the Right would disguise their end game, as I noted when critiquing Romney during his Presidential Campaign 3 years ago ["Romney's 'Evolution'"].

At this point they are pretty up front about not only wanting to criminalize outright abortion, but in using the invented notion of "life begins at conception" to also criminalize and ban most forms of birth control. The result is as predictable as it is vicious. The back alley abortion is making a return in those states where restrictions on access to Obstetrics and Gynecology services and abortion services are so great that only the wealthy have the option.

It is not only tyranny for Government to intrude into people's personal life, it is bad policy. If folks don't want women having abortions the women who wind up seeking that option need to have other options. The Right Wing are rightfully hyper-conscious about the pain and suffering of the innocent foetus, but that concern stops at birth. And there is something unbalanced, vicious and sick about the obsession with abortion. There was consensus on the subject, but that wasn't enough. We keep it legal to acknowledge that women have the right and duty to protect their own bodies and care for the young. What we are doing is barbarous.

Like all forms of prohibition and abolition, any law that impedes real needs, creates or aggravates real gaps and the wishes of the people concerned, is oppressive and creates an underground economy that criminalizes unavoidable choices. Abortion is a catch 22 decision at the best. Abort the fetus and the mother will feel awful about the incipient life she's killed. Bear it to term and she's forced to either put it up for adoption or raise it when she's not prepared to be a good mother. Taking away that choice just makes the catch 22 part even more vicious.

Further reading: post on Roe Versus Wade "RIP" [http://holtesthoughts.blogspot.com/2015/02/roe-versus-wade-rip.html]

No comments:

Post a Comment