There is much to be written about the potential, and now probable, loss of Roe v Wade. As a woman who was young person in the pre-Roe time, fought against the concept that laws should control the female body, and have extended family members who have had abortions for extremely valid, personal reasons, I am horrified. Most importantly, it will result in a great loss of life of women and fetuses. There are many reasons for this: the loss of Planned Parenthood Clinics that provide so much extended health, maternity, and contraceptive care to women (it was never just abortions); the personal attempts to end unwanted pregnancies that go wrong, the back-alley unskilled abortions, the suicides.
The fact that many existing and proposed laws do not allow for any exceptions in the case of incest, rape, or to save the life of the mother is criminal in itself! You’re saving a fetus and letting the mother die? This is patently insane. You’re making a young, often teen-age girl carry a child to term from incest from a close relative (basically incest is rape by a relative), in which such inbreeding usually causes birth defects? But the thought of having to live with that for 9 months or to have to relive the horror of a rape every day for 9 months. I can’t imagine anything more sickening. Way to go white, Christian men (and some women)!
But the logic behind ending Roe v Wade is actually the ending of the evolution of our “Great Experiment,” our democratic Republic. The Founding Fathers, as those white Christian men were called that brilliantly wrote the Declaration of Independence, later the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, were wiser than the ones today. They knew the country would grow, would change, would face issues they couldn’t even imagine. They built into those documents room for expansion, and that’s certainly what happened. THEY ALSO STRONGLY WANTED A DISTINCT SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!
Make no mistake, but what is happening today is that a minority are attempting to create a white, Christian nation with few civil rights as we know them today. And they have coopted the Supreme Court in their court, thanks to Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Next will be Congress, then the White House. The three separate branches of our government: Judicial, Legislative, and Executive in lock step. It won’t be long before you won’t recognize this country. Nor will you want to live here, IF this is allowed to happen. It will only happen if we don’t vote, checking candidates’ stands carefully to make intelligent decisions. Rights have always had to be fought for, and I certainly don’t mean physical, gun-slinging ‘fighting,’ but with votes, peaceful protests, showing up, supporting fact-based media, letting our representatives know who and what they are representing! That’s what a democratic Republic is all about. It is NOT forced governing by a few with a specific minority agenda. I don’t know if it’s a majority or not, but many Christians decry the thought of a monotheistic nation.
It’s also critical to realize that this is not just about losing constitutional rights. It has a serious impact on the economy as 58% of the workforce today is women and only because they have access to contraception, education, and, if absolutely necessary to control the number of children they can manage to support, abortions. This truly draconian action will change the lives of thousands of women, as well as their children.
Not only will this affect women’s lives, but it will radically change the impact on unwanted children who may be unwanted only because they cannot be supported. Foster care has never been an answer for those children with no home and no parent. There are few of these supporters for anti-abortion legislation that have adopted any number of these children. These children will grow up in extremely negative and unhealthy conditions and may often turn to crime and drugs to escape the unpleasant reality of their lives. OK, all you Christians in favor of denying women control of their own bodies, what are you going to do about these millions of children, because you’re certainly not doing anything about the ones that exist now, and this is going to create many more. How are you going to provide the psychological care that will be needed not only by these children but by the women you are forcing to complete unwanted pregnancies whether due from a crime or lack of information about contraception? No one on the far right seems to be addressing these issues, but you better get started on them because it’s happening very soon. The results of your actions belong in your court.
Note the link to the Levi Strauss article below. Bravo to them. At the same time, it’s been reported in Popular Information that Zeno, a large PR firm with also large corporate clients including Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Netflix is advising its clients to remain silent on the issue. Zeno CEO Barby Siegel, has stated that the firm’s mission is to “champion the courageous to achieve something better for humankind.” Nevertheless, an email sent to Zeno staff stated: “Do not take a stance you cannot reverse, especially when the decision is not final. This topic is a textbook “50/50” issue. Subjects that divide the country can sometimes be no-win situations for companies because regardless of what they do they will alienate at least 15 to 30 percent of their stakeholders.” Included was a sample email to share with client contacts. The 50-50 is inaccurate. In poll after poll, the majority of Americans support keeping Roe v Wade, e.g., the January 2022 poll by Marquette Law School showed 72% OPPOSE overturning Roe. In a March 2021 corporate website statement, Zeno stated: “More than ever before, each of us must #ChooseToChallenge by making a commitment to a gender equal world. Whether reflecting on potential gender biases, mentoring the #nextgen of women leaders, or speaking up in the face of inequality in our everyday, everyone can—and must—play a part in the pursuit of gender equity.” Much of this information is courtesy of Judd Legum of Popular Information and all the quotes are accessible.
Corporate hypocrisy is rampant. DO NOT BELIEVE their gender equality, green, do-good PR without solid proof of its reality!
Links:
www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
www.levistrauss.com/2022/05/04/protecting-reproductive-rights-a-business-imperative/
www.businessinsider.com/republican-senators-scotus-same-sex-marriage-abortion-obergefell-2022-5
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/04/culture-wars-diminishes-danger/
Such important information that needs to be read by every citizen of the U.S!