An Arkansas woman learned her fetus had died. Too bad, so sad: “Under Arkansas’s near-total abortion ban, no exceptions are allowed, even when death or grave suffering for the fetus is assured.” Despite the risk to her own health, she had to wait and give birth to a dead baby.
As Jessica Valenti says, the National Catholic Register considers Arkansas’ having no abortions in the state last year “a pro-life victory.”
Dr. Christina Francis, a forced-birth advocate, believes that even if the fetus is nonviable, better a hazardous (for the mother) c-section than abortion to “respect the dignity of the preborn child” and deliver an “intact fetal body.” As Valenti says at the link, she has no care for the dignity or body of the mother, not even if the mother is a 10-year-old rape victim forced to give birth. When they talk about compassion for the child, forced birthers never mean the pregnant child, only the fetus.
Forced-birther Lila Rose is grumbling on Twitter that heartbreaking stories about women suffering because of abortion restrictions are empathy hijacking — pro-choicers make you feel sorry for the women (like her. And them. And her)and then use that to justify killing the fetus! Which sounds like a scream of “I know this sounds horrible — refuse to care about it!” And outrage because empathy hijacking is what her side does (a fertilized egg not implanting is no different from murdering an adorable baby!).
And let us not forget, they don’t simply hate women getting abortions, they hate them having sex (unless it’s with them, of course). As witness two professors in Texas are suing for the right not to give students getting abortions an excused absence — it was consensual sex, they should be flunked if they miss class! I’m willing to bet if it was an accident after a consensual dirt-bike race or fall while rock-climbing they wouldn’t see it the same way.
Similarly NC’s aspiring Republican governor, Mark Robinson, opposes abortion because it doesn’t save women’s lives (a lie) it lets women escape punishment for not being “responsible enough to keep your skirt down.” Funny how the men are absent from Robinson’s view of sex. I can’t find any sign he’s anti-contraception though I assume he is; I certainly doubt he’ll protect it when right-wingers try to ban it and yes, they want to. It’s got nothing to do with saving the fetus; by their own admission the right thinks sex for women must have consequences.
I keep saying it but we need to vote in November like our lives, or those of the women we love are on the line. Because they are.
