The Anti-Choice Revolution
What the HELL is going on in Texas and Ohio?
Twice during the past week I have watched with sheer, unadulterated amazement. Literally, my mouth gaping, as the Republican ruled states of Texas and Ohio proceeded to shed the reproductive rights of women like the monthly ritual of a uterus. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a bloody fucking mess.
Texas Democratic Senator Wendy Davis, the pink-tennis-shoe wearing, filibustering virtuoso, spoke for eleven non-stop hours on the floor of the Texas Senate in order to derail a Republican vote that further erodes a woman’s right to choose. During this time, she was not allowed to leave the Senate floor. She could not touch the podium, sit, or in the least bit veer off topic. Senator Davis, a single-mother herself, became an overnight sensation. Alas! A blue glimmer of hope in a giant red state that has yet to come to terms with the fact that the Civil War is over, and that yes, we do have a federal, bicameral form of government. As expected, within hours of adjournment of the Senate, Republican Governor Rick-I-Can’t-Remember-The-Third-Government-Agency-I-Would-Abolish-If-I-Were-President-Perry, called a 30-day “special session” of the Texas Senate for the sole purpose of reintroducing the aforementioned abortion bill. Given this time frame, another filibuster is not possible. The Senate, in its infinite wisdom, has also changed the voting rules for the “special session.” Instead of requiring a two-thirds majority vote, a simple majority will do. How nice would it be if in real, everyday American life, we could simply get a mulligan when things don’t go our way, AND get to drop the ball in the cup with our hands! Perfect!
Just when I thought that all the crazy had been spent in Texas,I looked on in astonishment as Ohio Governor John Kasich, surrounded by middle-aged, white men, and assisted by a four-year old child, signed a state budget into law that at the last minute, with no debate whatsoever.
The catch here? These sneaky bastards added line items into this budget that created one of the most restrictive rape and abortion policies in the nation with no debate, and a simple, strict party-line vote. Want a couple of examples? Why, I’m so glad you asked!
If you decide that you do, in fact, want to terminate any pregnancy in the State of Ohio,even if that pregnancy exists as the result of rape, you will be forced to undergo an ultrasound. What’s that? Deciding to terminate a pregnancy is emotionally difficult enough, you would rather not be subject to hearing the fetal heartbeat? Too bad. Suck it up, sister. You went and got yourself knocked up, and as punishment, the Great and Powerful Oz, umm…I mean…Governor of Ohio is going to force you to listen it. That’ll teach ya! One more tiny detail: you have to pay for it. No health insurance? Tough luck for you. You’re still on the hook.
If you find yourself in the unimaginable situation of being a rape victim,and God forbid become pregnant as a result of that rape (which, thanks to Todd Akin, we all now know does not happen because the “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. ”) and turn to a publicly funded clinic for treatment, their rape counselors are not allowed to even mention the option of an abortion to you. If they do, the clinic will lose their public funding. Not. Allowed. Ever.
I was a wee little baby myself when a certain Supreme Court decision entitled Roe vs. Wade, was handed down and guaranteed all women in the United States of America the lawful right to choose to terminate a pregnancy for any reason, or for no reason at all. I’m no legal scholar, but I am pretty certain that this case still stands. This begs the question: why are these red states trying to circumvent federal law? I have to give my husband Chris props on this one. He elegantly compared what is happening now with a woman’s right to choose to the events that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Even though African Americans had been Constitutionally granted the right to vote, certain southern states took it upon themselves to create laws that continued to disenfranchise African American voters. It took Congressional intervention to put an end to this practice. Side note: The Supreme Court just threw that out the window. Apparently, racism no longer exists in this country. But I digress…
The BIG question I would LOVE to ask these Republicans is, who is going to take care of these children once they are born? Year in and year out, you have chipped away at every conceivable safety-net available. Welfare benefits, healthcare, SNAP, subsidized housing, Head Start, the list goes on and on. Economists have shown that for every dollar spent on early childhood education programs for at-risk children, there is a return on investment of $8 to $17 because of the resulting lower welfare and incarceration rates and taxes paid. Do you not realize that you are breeding a generation of Americans who will never have a chance to thrive because you took away every tool they once had available in order to give them a fighting chance at a sound foundation, all in the name of God and the federal budget?
THIS is what the Hell is going on in Texas and Ohio. While I’m not at all surprised at the events in Texas, I find Ohio to be particularly troublesome because of the underhanded and sneaky manner in which these new restrictions were written into a BUDGET at the last minute, with no discussion or debate. Ohioans, feel free to contact your Governor’s office at (614) 466-3555 and give him a piece of your mind.
