SCOTUS just made an expensive decision…Not a morality tale.
I respect a pro-life viewpoint; I was raised Catholic. Personally, I have never had to face the decision of either terminating a pregnancy, giving the baby up for adoption, or raising it. I don’t think most people are fans of abortion. Women simply want the right to privacy and to choose what their future will hold. It’s also not my place to judge if someone decides to do so. The sanctity of life I’m sure is deeply felt by many Americans whether religious or not, but I do not believe that is what is driving this decision or the anti-abortion rights agenda. If Life were truly as precious as the “they” purport, then we would have stricter gun laws (or no guns at all). We would prioritize the unjust inequities in race, gender, and the complex class landscape therein. We would prioritize education, childcare, compassionate immigration reform, and even climate change (because that affects all life on a massively global level).
I really believe this is about Control and the long con agenda of an extreme Christian right who doesn’t really act all that Christian. I have read the theories on American Fascism, and quite frankly, they are compelling. The reality is there is a blatant hypocrisy evident in the whimsical right wing advocacy for “rights” and “freedom”. Whose freedom, dude? Not mine. There is no true separation of church and state, which is the very basis on which this country was founded. Their church is not my church, and our citizens also have the right not to believe in such things if they wish. Neil deGrasse Tyson says that we are all made up of the same stardust found in the universe. How epic and poetic! I wish this united us instead of dividing us. Oh wait, they don’t believe in Science.
My fear is that in some states very imminently, a female will have little to no control over her body and the ability to protect herself from an unwanted pregnancy or her privacy to healthcare. This agenda is forcing women back to subservience, back to an antiquated time of “traditional family values” (I blame Mad Men). Back to archaic days when women are punished, or worse, jailed for wanting to control her own biology. Yet, we will be subjected to care-free commercials of middle-aged men taking Viagra or Cialis when they are in the mood to have some “fun”. Fun without consequence. Because it’s still ok to celebrate a man for his sexual prowess, not a woman, and now there are very grave consequences for her. Yesterday’s message from this decision is that women are simply Not Equal, and it’s ok for states to decide our fate.
Aside from how horrifying this proposition is on an emotional and chemical level (my stardust level), the real problem is that we live in a society where 58% of women are in the workforce, about 48% of the total labor market. Women are sometimes breadwinners, women hold office, women run companies, women make the majority of financial decisions in families, and women are necessary to our economy moving forward, to innovation, and well, still the majority caretaker in raising future generations. This decision will certainly disrupt our already tenuous economic eco-system.
Decisions like this recklessly impact lower income and struggling communities, disproportionately people of color, and immigrants, in addition to the struggling middle class who is still trying to come up for air amidst a global pandemic and rising inflation. How will we account for delayed schooling or unfinished degrees, lack of healthcare, lack of paid family leave, lack of childcare, dropping to one income, loss of work and wages altogether, and in some cases, more women and families dipping into poverty if they are not already there? A dream deferred. Furthermore, we know this is the bulk of the population who do the work the top 10% does not, who pay the majority of America’s taxes that the super rich do not. This might be one of the most irresponsible economic decisions made for America. Yes, for America, because the majority of Americans did not want this.
