64,000
Study estimates 64,000 pregnancies from rape in states that enacted abortion bans post-Roe
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/study-counts-64000-pregnancies-from-rape-in-states-that-enacted-abortion-bans-post-roe
Know Your Rights
Cheering on armed forces to suppress Constitutional rights - is there anything more American than that?
DeSantis is Jealous
The Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has signed into law some of the world’s most oppressive anti-LGBT policies, receiving widespread condemnation from people all over the world.
Ron DeSantis is likely jealous at the attention Museveni is getting.
Ron’s Delusions
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to press his autocratic delusions of being a culture warrior by trampling the rights of minority groups.
Treat People as People
Stop worrying about other people’s private parts and just treat them as people.
The New GOP Way
Legislating what people can do with their bodies, what they can read, how they can dress, what pronouns they can use, what medical treatments they can give their kids, what political parties can exist, who can blog about the government.
The party of small government intervention is no more.
Vote
Go vote. But be careful for whom you vote.
States Rights? Yeah, Right.
I thought it was about States rights?
Apparently not, according to Lindsey Graham, who is working to introduce a nationwide federal law to ban abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy.
So much for letting the States decide.
Once upon a time, the Republican Party stood for narrowly defined laws, minimizing federal intervention in people’s lives, putting the power to legislate at the State level.
Then again, several of the Supreme Court Justices who voted to overturn Roe v Wade said at their confirmation hearings that Roe was settled law.
So don’t be surprised when the GOP starts to rally around a federal ban.
Activism
Sometimes it feels as if there are way too many important issues to deal with at once. It’s exhausting to try and keep up.
Women’s Rights
In the aftermath of Roe v Wade being overturned, we see several states legislating near-total bans on abortion. Many not even leaving options in the case of rape or incest.
While many support that, most do not. A recent AP poll shows that 53% of US adults disapprove of the Supreme Court decision. And more, 60% think Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.
Elsewhere, NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson, who had been accused by 20+ women of sexual assault and misconduct during massages when he was with the Houston Texans, received his arbitrated ruling yesterday. A former federal judge ruled the preponderance of evidence showed Watson had committed sexual assault. She described Watson’s behavior as “predatory” and “egregious.”
He was suspended for a paltry 6 games.
Largely due to comparisons with past NFL punishments and lack of notice to players.
Watson recently signed a fully guaranteed, 5-year, $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns. Anticipating the suspension, most of his $46 million guaranteed money for this year was a signing bonus, with only ~$1 million as his game salary.
With a 6 game suspension, Watson will lose ~$345,000.
That’s 0.75% of his 5-year contract.
Absurd. Ridiculous. Offensive. Unjust. Wrong. Those are words that come to mind. Both for the Watson suspension and the abortion bans.
That US society devalues women and their rights and bodies is nothing new. It’s disgusting how much it’s still happening, though.
I can only imagine the restraint women show every day to not just burn down the whole system.
Unintended Consequences
Poorly designed laws that aren’t thought through produce chaos and unintended consequences.
In the rush to activate anti-abortion laws, several states have implemented bans starting at conception. Regardless of one’s beliefs about when life starts and what’s right, this is bound to produce chaos across multiple fronts in life. Unfortunately it’s likely to result in very invasive and intrusive questions and testing for many women.
Who knows, cops might start carrying pregnancy tests along with breathalyzer tests. Because who could imagine that resulting in any problems… 🙄
Freedom and Rights, but for Whom?
As we start the Fourth of July weekend, I reflect on the promise of America and what we see happening today.
“All men are created equal.” That’s the promise. And we still struggle to live up to that, with more restrictions being pushed on LGBTQ people, promotion of Christian theocratic norms, women’s body autonomy vanishing overnight in many places, voting laws that discriminate based on systemic racial issues, immigrants made to feel like they’re not wanted, and more.
As a financially secure, straight, cisgender, white male, it’s not me that these discriminatory laws and practices and hatred are after- but lots of people I love.
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” America is set up to be majority role with rights of the minorities protected. But we’re losing both of those. The majority of Americans disagree with many recent rulings and laws. Yet the system has been rigged to ram through minority opinions. And the minority rights that are supposed to be protected are being eroded.
Minority rule without protecting rights- that’s fascism. A word thrown about so much lately that’s it’s lost its impact.
I truly love America. I love the promise of what it should be. That’s why we keep pushing to make it better.
So as you think about or celebrate America’s birthday this year, ponder: is America what it should be? If not, what am I going to do about it?
Pride, Progress, & Protest
Rainbows bring joy, happiness. They instill a sense of wonder and appreciation of the world around us.
Yet the rainbow flag didn’t start that way. The Pride flag was flown as a symbol of protest, by those demanding to be accepted, demanding they have equal rights to those around them.
Today, many cities are celebrating Pride with parades and the revised Progress flag. Celebrating the progress we have made as a society for acceptance. But remember that it wasn’t always about joy. It was about protest.
And these days, as more states try to strip away rights and deny the existence of LGBTQ+ citizens, protest is what we need.
Empathy and acceptance. Equal rights for all.
Clarence Thomas
In overturning Roe v Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas argues that the Court should also revisit other previously-settled laws that affect the rights to contraception, same sex relationships, and same sex marriage, all of which are based on the 14th Amendment.
He did not address Loving v Virginia, which set the precedent that the 14th Amendment’s due process and privacy clause give the right to interracial marriage.
We’ve all become acutely aware of his wife, Ginni Thomas - a white woman - from the release of many of her text messages to Mark Meadows and other White House staff in trying to overturn the 2020 election and supporting the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Perhaps he’s ok with revisiting that one after all, though?
C’mon, it’s satire.
Time to Fight
Time to fight. State by state. Don’t like your state’s laws? Vote in new people who will change them.
And this isn’t just about women’s rights. Justice Clarence Thomas is calling to revisit gay marriage and rights to contraception.
Don’t like the way the country is going? Let’s work to change it. Hold on, it’s going to be a long fight.
Oklahoma
On Thursday, Oklahoma passed one of the strictest abortion bans in the US, which will make abortion illegal after fertilization, except for few limited cases.
The push to ban after fertilization is causing some to fear that some contraceptives - such as IUDs, which prevent implantation, not fertilization - could be next. It’s not yet in this bill, but not a stretch to see that coming.
I guess Oklahoma wants to be known for more than just a 79 year old musical.
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