2.23.2006
"Abortion should always be illegal"
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I feel like a broken record, but it really needs to be stated again and again until we all know it by rote: pro-lifers don't care about babies. Of course, they don't want you to know that, so lucky for us that their complete disregard for babies is so glaringly obvious whenever they get the chance to legislate abortion. Take South Dakota's pro-lifers, for instance, whose duly-elected
After more than an hour of fierce and emotional debate, the senators rejected pleas to add exceptions for incest or rape or for the health of the pregnant woman and instead voted, 23 to 12, to outlaw all abortions, except those to save the woman's life.
Well, it's nice to know that if it comes down to my life or the little bundle of conceptus, South Dakota's got my back. But if Daddy rapes his little girl, sorry, but she's shit out of luck. Do you really think these people care about kids? There is no exception for incest! Where are all the baby worshippers when a thirteen-year-old girl is raped? Where is the hand wringing about saving her life? To quote Bill Hicks, "What, they reach a certain age and their off your fucking love list?"
Abortion bans are fundamentally punitive, and South Dakota makes that very clear by declaring that they don't care how the evil sluts got knocked up, they'll have to endure their womanly burden anyway. More importantly, anti-abortion rhetoric underscores that, for pro-lifers, life is nothing more than existing. Terri Schiavo was alive because she existed, and for all of those pro-life activists trying to reinstate her feeding tube and keep her hooked up to machines, the quality of her life was never even a question. Fetuses exist, and as such should be allowed to continue to exist, their line of thinking naturally follows, despite the horrific conditions in which they might end up living, and in spite of the lives of their mothers who are far too often still children themselves. The quote which I've used for the title of this entry is from South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, who is the only person standing in the way of the ban becoming law. It's scary to think that a law which bans all abortions unless pregnancy will kill you might actually be too lenient for this guy.
Just like every time other time an abortion ban or restriction has been passed, Planned Parenthood will seek an injunction preventing the law from being enforced and a nasty court battle will ensue. But South Dakota has something that no state in the years since Roe has been fortunate to have: four little aces up their sleeves called Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito:
Lawmakers opposed to abortion rights here and advocates opposed to abortion rights around the country have been split over timing questions. Some argue that the arrivals of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on the Supreme Court and speculation that Justice John Paul Stevens might soon retire, made now an ideal time to challenge Roe.
Others, however, have said a challenge should wait, for the arrival of additional justices who might be open to overturning Roe and for a shift in public opinion.
Of course, throw in Kennedy who voted in Stenberg to uphold a so-called partial birth abortion ban despite its lack of health provision for the woman, and you've got the five votes necessary to overturn Roe.
One of the favorite arguments of those who want to see Roe overturned is that the decision was judicial tyranny, imposing abortion on the unsuspecting masses who should have been given the opportunity to allow local standards to inform abortion law. Leaving aside the obvious argument that if we allowed "local standards" to dictate civil liberties there would still be whites-only drinking fountains in the South, the pro-life argument is still specious since South Dakota purposefully ignored calls to "allow South Dakotans to decide the question in a referendum and an effort to prevent state tax dollars from financing what is certain to be a long and expensive court battle." So, not only did they tell the citizens of South Dakota that their local standards won't be necessary here where all the big boys are making the tough and important decisions, but also that they will have to pay for the "long and expensive court battle" that they may or may not have wanted.
But I can't let South Dakota have all the anti-choice fun today--just take a look at Michigan's stellar record. Don't worry Jen, this time I'll say it for you: your state is better than mine.
Thanks to Feministing for the Alito cartoon
Labels: Keep Your Rosaries Off My Ovaries
annamaria at 7:12 PM
1 Comments
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at Monday, February 27, 2006 2:50:00 PM
annamaria said... Normally, I would immediately delete any comments that dare waste my time by trying to sell me something. But Ben here is selling Bill Hicks products so I'll let it slide.
Just don't do it again.
