In a recent Substack, right-wing pundit Erick Erickson explains that when it comes to tyranny both sides do it (not a direct link)— sure, Trump tried to overthrow the government but Democrats are hounding him like Javert hounded Jean Valjean and criticizing Republicans who still support him, so there you are! The only way out is for Trump to step down from running for office in return for Biden pardoning him.
What I’m blogging about is one particular piece of bullshit from Erickson’s screed: “I don’t think Democrats realize how radicalizing it was for Republicans that Barack Obama sued nuns to force them to pay for abortions. Nor do I think Democrats realize how radicalizing it is now for culturally conservative people across races and political parties that they’re pushing transgenderism as hard as they are.”
First off, it doesn’t matter how “radicalizing” something is. The end of Jim Crow radicalized white segregationists; it was the main inspiration for the religious right becoming a political force. That does not mean we should consider white people’s hurt fee-fees or that it’s in any way equivalent to, say, people radicalized by watching how Bull Conner treated peaceful black marchers. Republican outrage over criticism of Trump is not the same as Democratic outrage over the 1/6 attempted coup.
Second, supporting transgender rights doesn’t mean Dems are “pushing transgenderism.” Nobody’s being forced to turn transgender or have their kid transgendered; the goal is to shield trans people from persecution and give them freedom to flourish as much as possible. Contrary to the views of the right wing, letting people use the name they want and identify as the gender they want isn’t imposing on them any more than letting gay people marry imposes on them. But of course, lots of right-wingers think allowing other people to live in ways they don’t approve of is a world they don’t want.
Third, Erickson’s straight-up spewing bullshit about Obama and the nuns. What happened was that under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance had to cover contraception and ob/gyn services; many women pre-ACA had to buy riders to cover it and they weren’t cheap (because obviously a woman wouldn’t be buying it if she weren’t planning to use the coverage). This is something that outrages many conservatives. Not just the contraceptive coverage: even the idea of covering maternity medical costs led to outraged complaints. Men don’t get pregnant, why should they have to pay for ob/gyn? The answer: it pools the risks and expenses and makes coverage more affordable, just like women buying policies that subsidize Viagra.
Religious bodies could opt out of the contraception coverage mandates for employee health insurance. Religious nonprofits could not but Obama made a compromise: all they have to do is sign a form saying “we ain’t paying” and the insurer could then deal directly with the employees. The Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic group, objected to signing the waiver as that would lead to employees getting coverage for contraception and went to court over it (Slate discusses the case here).
That was it. Nobody required the nuns to pay for contraception, nor abortion. No matter what the Catholic Church or Erickson says, birth control doesn’t cause abortions. Nuns were not being asked to finance the murder of children. But bullshit rules the hour when it comes to conservatives ranting about birth control.
Case in point, an appeals court just sided with Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on banning mifepristone, though it won’t take effect until the Supreme Court weighs in. A group of right-to-life doctors sued even though they have no standing — no dog in the hunt — over whether the drug is legal or not. Standing is a requirement in lawsuits — I can’t sue Texas over its abortion restrictions because they don’t affect me at all — but right wing judges often overlook that when convenient. In this case they decided the doctors had standing because they love babies.
As I’ve said before, the forced-birth movement lies a lot. For more evidence check out Undead Sexist Cliches, available as a Amazon paperback, an ebook and from several other retailers. Cover by Kemp Ward, all rights remain with current holders.
