Wednesday, May 4, 2022

What did you expect?


     The U.S. Supreme Court being poised to eliminate American women’s legal right to have an abortion was not on my totalitarian bingo card for this week.
     It shouldn’t be a surprise, because we’ve been headed in that direction for decades. Such a development, if true, would be in perfect harmony with our repressive times, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine abroad, while at home free elections are curtailed, teachers muzzled and books banned.
     What’s the common thread? Authoritarianism strikes at weakness. That’s why it imposes such a topsy-turvy kind of morality: attacking gays but not adulterers, undocumented immigrants but not those who cheat on their taxes. The bully doesn’t pick on someone stronger.
     Hence women. It might be news to you that women occupy a degraded, second-tier position, still, in 2022 America. But they do, obviously, and overturning Roe would be ample proof. Here, honey, we’ll decide that for you ...
     Otherwise, this push would be off-brand for libertarians. The same people who collapsed writhing and crying over the intrusion, the oppression, the tyranny of the state demanding they wear a cotton mask during a deadly pandemic manage to jump up, revivified, and rush into your gynecologist’s office, plop themselves onto a low rolling stool, and invite you into the stirrups.
     That the news leaked, a draft Supreme Court judgment shared by Politico Monday night, is significant. While Washington beltway types, of course, bemoan the departure from standard legal practice, it is a reminder that when zealots are allowed to steer law away from the will of the people — 59% of Americans think abortion should be legal — the first casualty is the law.

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7 comments:

  1. Abortion was legal in the US from the beginning in 1776 until Connecticut outlawed it in 1821. So Alito has no idea of what actually was the law in the early US.
    And the main reason to outlaw it was it was more dangerous to the woman than continuing the pregnancy, not some asinine religious belief that the fetus is sacred.

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  2. Topsy-turvy morality.
    That, sir, is a keeper!

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  3. "What did you expect?" Indeed. The pursuit of this outcome has been the basis of much of the Republican rhetoric for at least the last generation. The fact that the Supreme Court majority required to implement it was provided by a completely immoral reality-TV star with no previous political experience is too preposterous for fiction and pretty hard to believe even having watched it happen.

    Below is a link to a long Twitter thread (from 2018) making the rounds again that's one of the best things I've read about the issue of undesired pregnancies. It involves concepts and language you won't find in a family newspaper, but you don't have to be "on" Twitter to read it.

    "In summary: STOP TRYING TO CONTROL WOMEN'S BODIES AND SEXUALITY. UNWANTED PREGNANCIES ARE CAUSED BY MEN."

    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1040363431893725184.html

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    1. I'm not pretending that at all. I certainly realize that much of the grass-roots anti-abortion support comes from women. And I'm continually amazed by the number of women who support the Biggest Loser.

      That being said, the thread I linked to referred to the under-considered role that men play in unwanted pregnancies. I obviously can't argue with your personal experience, but if it weren't for male Congresscreatures and male Supreme Court justices who do plenty of arguing against legal abortion, Roe vs. Wade would not be on the verge of being overturned.

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  4. Well it looks like I was wrong and Neil was right. Based on previous rulings of Justice Gorsuch I assumed he would be pro-choice and respect a woman's right to control her own body, at least up until the fetus is viable.
    As far as libertarianism goes a large majority maintain a woman has the right to choose. A prominent promoter of libertarian principles is the Reason Foundation. Their magazine Reason.com promotes libertarian principles of individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law. They are adamantly pro choice in all the articles on the subject. Critical of Alito's draft opinion for the majority.
    There are people who believe they can do whatever they want whenever they want, regardless of the rights of others, and proclaim themselves libertarians.

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    1. "Then if Roe v. Wade is overturned, feel free to mock my naivety." -- Bernie, 4-8-21

      Well, it hasn't happened quite yet, but it's sporting of you to call our attention back to that Bernie, regardless...

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  5. Well, having unmoderated comments was fun while it lasted... D'oh!

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