It's one thing to oppose abortion, though I am not in that camp myself. It's another to regret it - or even discourage it. I do understand that it is not a simple or easy matter to destroy a budding life. But some of the new laws being proposed are truly cruel and sadistic.
Tuesday, the Legislature in Oklahoma mandated that a woman must get an ultrasound before any abortion, and it must be done in such a way so that, "the woman can see it and describe the heart, limbs and organs of the fetus. No exceptions are made for rape and incest victims."
Friday, the Legislature in Florida passed a bill requiring, "all women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound. Even if the women don't want to see the image, the doctor must still describe it to them." The Florida bill is a bit more compassionate than Oklahoma's, as women may be exempted if they can prove that the fetus resulted from rape.
I don't know if the courts will strike down these provisions as unwarranted invasions of privacy, but I do know that they are punitive and sadistic - and psychologically harmful to those they affect.
The good doctor speculates for a bit on why this orgy of women-punishing is happening: a resurgence of misogyny, a new puritanism, the escalation of all difference into hate and abuse, or the growing gap between rich and poor and the resultant feelings of powerlessness.
He settles for the last and concludes:
If this is the underlying explanation for this destructive trend, we can expect that it will not soon abate. It took a long time for us to drift into this condition of greater economic inequality, papered over by the credit bubble, and it will take a long time to recover from it.
Me, I think it's sadistic misogyny coupled with cruel, jack-booted authoritarianism, with the economic opportunity -- and here in Canada, with the grand political opportunity afforded by the totally fucking USELESS Opposition -- all wrapped up as a tidy gift for the pricks in charge and the masochists who grovel under them.
And we know how these situations can play out. Hop over to CC's for a look at a telling photo of yesterday's bunfest on the Hill that CC calls Fetuspalooza*.
*I'm really torn between Fetuspalooza and JJ's FetusStock for the festivity.
