Democracy’s dilemma: freedom of choice

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A WOMAN SHOULD BE FREE to choose motherhood on her own terms. She should not have the course of her life determined by a cabal of aging men who are totally unqualified to experience or truly understand either childbirth or abortion. Nor should she be sacrificed at the altar of the self-righteous of both sexes.

More on the illustrations above: One prominent sign in a St. Louis protest march May 30 bore the observation “Irresponsible ejaculation causes 100% of all unwanted pregnancies.” If you’d like to read a graphic extension of this contention, something old male senators aren’t likely to be talking about, see this lengthy account by a mother of six.
I delayed this blog awaiting court news from Missouri, which came on Friday (May 31), to wit: “A Missouri judge issued an order Friday ensuring the state’s only abortion clinic can continue providing the service, acting just hours before the St. Louis Planned Parenthood facility’s license was set to expire. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (prompted by Gov. Mike Parson) had not renewed the clinic’s license, citing concerns with ‘failed abortions,’ compromised patient safety and legal violations at the clinic.

“Planned Parenthood pre-emptively sued this week to prevent a potential gap in abortion coverage. St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer heard arguments Thursday. His ruling prevents Missouri from becoming the first state without an abortion clinic since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide.”—Chicago Sun-Times

Apropos here seems to be this conclusion of an op-ed article by Aaron Katz (actually writing on another topic) in the June 1 Seattle Times: “If we are to progress as a country we must have a fuller understanding of what it takes to build and defend the institutions of freedom, institutions that are more often threatened by tyrannical and oppressive forces within than enemies abroad.”

Being male, I have been reticent about broaching this subject. However, women have yet, it seems, not been totally freed from slavery—despite advances on some fronts—and won’t be as long as we have the maniacal albatross that is Donald Trump barging about unchecked in a position of power.
More men of conscience must begin standing up and flexing muscle on behalf of womanhood. We’re either with ‘em or against them. It’s not that they’re asking for our help, but that they shouldn’t have to—considering how women have supported and enabled us men for so many years.

The life we should be saving isn’t a not- yet-significantly-formed fetus; it’s a teen-age or young-adult woman.

The state of Alabama has just instituted the most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed in the United States since Roe v. Wade was decided by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1973. The legislation bans all abortions in the state except when "abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk" to the woman. No exemption is made for rape or incest. It criminalizes abortion, reclassifying the procedure as a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison for doctors.
The Alabama senate’s favorable vote on the statute was 25-6. All 25 of those voting “aye” were men. Other red states pushing through abortion restrictions of a draconic nature lately include Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio . . .

Abortions after six weeks will now be illegal in Georgia. In the normal scheme of things, six weeks can go by before many women know they are pregnant. The Georgia law, which would take effect in 2020, prohibits most abortions once doctors can discern a fetal heartbeat. Louisiana also passed a six-week law. Ohio’s mirrors Alabama’s except for the felony bit.

This entire major disturbance in the force that is our democracy can be traced directly to Donald Trump. He campaigned as “pro-life” and promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would repeal Roe v. Wade. In his final debate with Hillary, he said overturning of the 46-year -old abortion-rights landmark would “happen automatically” because “I am putting pro-life justices on the court.” Which he has done in Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

So the various conservative states are pushing to fruition the upheaval in the matter of women’s rights by instituting outlandish restrictions that likely will force the subject to be taken up by the Supreme Court. The appointment of Associate Justice Kavanaugh appears to have been the tipping point.

Passing extreme anti-abortion laws and overturning Roe will leave poor women desperate and the children they bear bereft of what they need to flourish.—Rob Schenck, evangelical minister