The leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicates we could soon exist in an America not seen in half a century, as the legal status of abortion becomes entirely determined by individual states. If this becomes the Supreme Court’s final opinion, as expected possibly as early as next month, reproductive rights as we know them will be rewritten as individual states can then decide where or when abortions might be legal. We already know that abortions would likely become illegal in about 1/2 the states.

Anti-abortion proponents may likely be gleeful; but what about those who are pro-choice? If Roe v Wade is overturned, where then would women or girls pregnant due to rape or incest turn? What of those women who learn they have non-viable(such as ectopic) pregnancies? Or those carrying a fetus determined to have such severe abnormalities as to make life untenable?

Much has been written/said about the egregious nature of this leaked draft-but what about the egregious nature of consequences for women who cannot obtain abortions? Who is going to step up to help these women? Where are the sanctimonious anti-abortionists when it comes to financially supporting impoverished pregnant women? Where do those mostly male politicians who oppose abortion stand on the issue of paid parental leave? Subsidized child care? Affordable health insurance…or any other programs that could improve family life?

I am pro-choice. The decision to abort a problematic pregnancy should lie squarely with a woman and her health care provider and not with any politicians. Of course, if men could become pregnant, they would very well feel much differently about abortion rights. I wonder how men would feel if the availability of erectile dysfunction meds was in question due to conservative politics? Or if vasectomies were considered a form of abortion and were banned…hmmm?

Be careful Conservatives, as you roe, roe, roe, roe your boats down that stream of banned rights.

A good (by which I mean bad, as in scary) book to read about America’s turn towards authoritarianism is On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, written by Timothy Snyder, only 128 pages and available at Books-a-Million. PLEASE read.

A review: “Snyder knows this subject cold. . . . It is impossible to read aphorisms like ‘post-truth is pre-fascism’ and not feel a small chill about the current state of the Republic. . . . Approach this short book the same you would a medical pamphlet warning about an infectious disease. Read it carefully and be on the lookout for symptoms.”—Daniel W. Drezner,The New York Times Book Review

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