The anger and frustration sweeping across America after the Supreme Court overturned Roe exemplifies minority rule politics.
A crooked, twice-impeached president who lost the popular vote appointed 3 justices, which was enough to overturn a decision that most Americans agreed with.
Since the federally protected right to an abortion was stripped away, right-to-lifers and pro-choice advocates have been battling over women’s reproductive rights in states nationwide.
What we’re seeing in states like Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin is majority rule politics — where abortion rights are being codified because that’s what the majority of citizens in those states want.
The fight over abortion will intensify and undoubtedly impact the 2024 elections. Abortion is a hot-button issue because it’s inextricably tied to religion and freedom, two things Americans care deeply about.
Right-to-lifers believe life is sacred and God-given. They believe life begins at conception, and a zygote has the same inalienable rights as a fully developed human. And because a zygote is defenseless, right-to-lifers see themselves as self-appointed and divinely anointed protectors of the unborn.
It’s a crusade for these people.
With placards and posters splattered with images of aborted fetuses, they march at pro-life rallies, scream at, harass, and intimidate women at abortion clinics, and vote only for pro-life candidates (regardless of the candidate’s character or qualifications – see Donald J Trump).
Conversely, pro-choice advocates feel as strongly about women’s autonomy over their bodies. Pro-choicers believe any decision around pregnancy is solely up to the woman – her body, her choice. They believe life begins outside the womb after the baby is born and that being forced to carry a pregnancy to term, based on someone else’s philosophical or religious views, is an unacceptable assault on autonomy and human dignity.
Pro-choicers march at rallies, support organizations that provide reproductive health services to women, and vote only for pro-choice candidates.
From a plumbing and religious perspective (male/atheist), I don’t feel invested enough to opine on either side of the issue.
But maybe a lower emotional investment makes me more objective?
I’m not one for telling others what to do or how to think, especially about personal reproductive rights. Ultimately, we make our own decisions.
Well, hopefully, we do.
As I mentioned, I don’t believe in God, heaven, or the notion of a soul – I see no evidence of these things. I believe we are born of biology, just like every other animal. I believe our lives are shaped primarily by what happens (the good and the bad) after entering the world.
That said, none of us can deny that we all begin in the same manner, moving from a fertilized egg to an embryo, from an embryo to a fetus, and finally, from a fetus to a baby. Disrupting that process through abortion prevents a natural biological transformation. Without that disruption (if all goes well), the result is a baby – soul or no soul).
There can be many reasons for disrupting that biological process. And those reasons can run the gamut from the profoundly emotional to the detached and dismissive.
I imagine how a woman feels about her pregnancy depends on the circumstances surrounding it and that those circumstances can vary greatly. Maybe it’s a pregnancy from a casual and consensual fling, a meticulously planned pregnancy with a life partner, or a pregnancy resulting from violent rape. Maybe it’s a planned pregnancy that becomes unviable.
Each circumstance is going to evoke different emotions and thought patterns.
In addition to the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, the individual woman’s situation is unique. Is she emotionally stable and physically healthy? Does she have a solid social and familial support system? Is she financially independent? Can she and her partner (if she has one) emotionally, physically, and financially support another human being?
Right-to-lifers say the circumstance of the pregnancy and the woman’s situation is not what matters most. Regarding pregnancy, the focus is not on how or why the woman became pregnant or whether she can support a child. Instead, right-to-lifers put all their focus and support on the unborn child.
Regardless of how the seed was planted, in the eyes of a pro-lifer, the woman transforms from an autonomous human being to a vessel – as soon as fertilization occurs.
Imagine having no say. No voice. This is the most important and challenging thing for men to wrap their heads around.
Imagine being told by the state that regardless of the circumstance of your pregnancy or your physical, emotional, and financial status, you have no say in your pregnancy after reaching the six-week marker.
After six weeks, you will do what you’re told.
You will have that baby whether you want to or not.
Whether you can care for it or not.
Whether you were raped or whether you and your partner were a little careless with your birth control.
It. Does. Not. Matter.
You have no say.
Imagine how that makes a person feel.
Stripped.
One group believes that from conception, the woman’s role is that of a vessel. The other believes all the goings-on in a woman’s body (including fertilizing that egg) is the woman’s business and nobody else’s.
Neither side will budge from their firmly held beliefs, and legislation won’t change minds. All legislation does in the case of abortion is make access easier or more difficult. It never changes minds.
The legislation in Texas clearly makes getting an abortion more difficult.
But let’s be honest, a wealthy woman in TX who wants to terminate her pregnancy will not be deterred by legislation. As has always been, women with means will find a way. They’ll get on a plane to go “visit” their cousin. But, like so many other laws, the law in TX will have a far more significant impact on those without means.
The real fight is not about abortion but female autonomy and freedom of choice.
I think what we’re seeing in states where reproductive rights are being put on the ballot is that freedom trumps religiosity. I think voters are saying it’s okay for individuals to follow their religious beliefs, but imposing those beliefs on others is not. In other words, if you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one.
And finally, if we were serious about reducing the number of abortions in America, we’d be looking at national standards for sex education in public schools, with frank discussions about sex, responsibility, and consequence.
bendingtheneedle 