Settled Decisions?

 

Looking at the picture above, many of you can guess what today's topic is all about.  The symbolism is important, as Roe v. Wade was considered a "settled decision" until now.  With the leak from the Supreme Court, it looks like the radical right is about to go on the offensive against civil rights - and that includes rights previously recognized as also belonging to the LGBTIQ community.

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Although I am pro choice, it is not because I like abortion.  Instead, I believe that people who do not have skin in the game of carrying a fetus to term should not be telling women what to do with their bodies.  There are many good reasons why a woman might choose to abort a fetus, such as Rape and Incest.  Why should a woman carry a fetus to term when she had no authority in the process of getting pregnant?

There are better ways of reducing the number of abortions in the Red States than an outright ban.  Some European nations have lower rates of abortion than we have, as they have better sex education than we have, and reliable birth control is cheap and easy to access - something which has not always been the case in the USA.  The only thing a ban will do is cause middle class women to take "weekend vacations" to "Blue States" for their abortions, while poor women get stuck with all the headaches of delivering unwanted fetuses to term.  Will these women keep the children or give them up for adoption?  I can see a future where White babies are adopted, while Black and Latino babies are left for foster parents to raise until the kids are 18.  Will these unwanted children get adequate love and parenting?  Given what we're seeing today, I think things will be much worse for these children yet to be born.

In the end, the argument about the legality of abortion will always be about when society considers the life potential of a fetus worth protecting.  Christendom once had the idea of the "Quickening".  Islam had the idea of "the Moment of Ensoulment."  Both took place well after conception.  The ancients understood that viable life had to be protected, but they also recognized that protection need not be given until that life (fetus) had proven itself viable.  I respect those women who would carry a fetus to term, even though it is inconvenient for them.  One of those women was a former girlfriend of mine in her childbearing years.  

Given that abortion had already been severely restricted (and otherwise made hard to get) in the Red States, I don't expect to see much change after the Supreme Court makes its decision official.  But what will happen to other "Settled Decisions"  Will Same-Sex Marriage be next?  What about Transgender Rights?  Our rights are relatively new, and easy to undo.  It is time for us to help Cisgender women preserve their rights to control their own bodies, lest the Radical Right gets the ability to aim at us next.