Women’s Rights Continue To Crumble
-By Ed Kociela
There is no such thing as wading into the abortion debate. You either jump in with both feet or you tiptoe gently around it, not really taking a stand.
I’ve never really addressed the issue in a column because Roe v Wade was in force as the law of the land and there was little reason to comment on something that was really not in the docket.
That is changing, however, with new legislation in Texas that could result in changes nationwide at the state level.
The new Texas abortion law, which bans abortions after six weeks of gestation, is, arguably, one of the most constrictive in not only the United States but on the entire planet. It makes no exception for victims of rape or incest and allows a private citizen to bring a civil suit against anyone who assists a person seeking an abortion. Anybody who successfully sues a provider can be awarded at least $10,000. They are serious about this brown shirt enforcement. The Texas Right To Life organization has already set up a website where you can turn in your friendly neighborhood medico or facility that terminates a pregnancy. Take them to court, sue, win and count your money.
In short, the new law is narrow-minded, restrictive, a crushing blow to women’s rights, an offense to decency. Be assured, this is not a moral decision, it is a political decision with the intent of securing the vote from the religious right, which, in reality, is neither.
It neglects the fact that not everything is a matter of black and white, that there is this gray area that, as we grow older and hopefully gain a bit of wisdom, we understand is much larger than we once believed. We learn, hopefully, that while it is easy to be judgmental and unyielding, there is this thing called fairness and, believe it or not, equality, that must be honored for our humanity to advance.
I’ve been around a very long time, known a lot of women, listened to a lot of their very personal and emotionally debilitating stories. It can be heartbreaking.
I’ve been around a very long time and been infused with vindictive, calculated, guilt-ridden religious indoctrination that, in all honesty, made me fear our creator and pushed me outside the sphere of wonder and miracles and grace because I wasn’t good enough and would never be. It’s what we were frightfully taught by the nuns who told me and my catechism classmates that the odds were we were all condemned to hell unless we were these perfect, spotless vessels of innocence and purity, that the best we could probably hope for was an eternity in purgatory where maybe, just maybe, we could earn our wings after a few millennia.
I’ve been around a very long time, long enough to feel safer wrapping myself in the comforting blanket of spirituality rather than the vengeful clenched fist of organized religion.
I’ve been around a very long time, long enough to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all solution or law or response that solves everything; that there is context, layering, nuance that must be a part of our moral fabric. And, believe me, if you want to unravel the hem of moral fabric, start a discussion about abortion.
So, let’s do just that.
You cannot equate a woman who uses abortion as a form of birth control to a woman who is a victim of rape or incest. For one, the procedure is a clinical solution, to the other, it may solve a problem but does nothing to remove emotional scars that never heal.
The Texas law not only sets back a woman’s right to control her own reproductive health care decisions but offers no assistance to those economically stretched to help feed and care for these births, placing the yoke of poverty upon yet another generation. It will also force many to find illegal abortions in places that may not be adequately staffed or controlled or even sanitary. Backstreet abortions will, like in the good old days, take an untold number of lives.
And, what happens when a decision must be made when a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life?
What about all of those kids? Who will feed them? Educate them? Care for them? The Texas Legislature? I doubt it.
The religious brethren, of course, will argue that abstinence is the answer, but I am willing to bet every single one of the Texas lawmakers who passed this law were at least nominally promiscuous in their younger lives and did everything possible to slip between the sheets with the girl next door. And, I wonder how many of them were responsible for unplanned pregnancies that ended up being aborted, all religious facades to the side.
The compassionate side of me looks at the victims of rape and incest becoming victims again as a result of this legislation. How many times should we allow them to be violated because of a draconian law? How many times must they revisit the violence perpetrated against them? There is no resolution and it never really goes away while the perpetrators, as a result of centuries of “boys will be boys” coddling, get away Scot free.
Our laws – legislative as well as religious – are supposed to be a reflection of our society. According to our society, most Americans – 59 percent, as a matter of fact – responded to a Pew Research Center poll last May saying they support the right to abortion in all or most cases. Combine that with the mixed bag on how various religious organizations view abortion – some are condemning, others leave it as a matter of choice – and, well, that conversation becomes more difficult, more perplexing, more unsatisfying.
John Kerry and Joe Biden are good examples of how religion, in their case Catholicism, has tried to steer their political path by threatening to withhold church sacraments from them because they support a woman’s right to decide their reproductive health issues. Many other religions are less judgmental.
But not the good, Christian folks in the Texas Legislature who are now pushing for changes that would suppress the minority vote as their next act.
It wasn’t long ago that Texas wanted to secede from the Union.
It’s a shame they weren’t successful.
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