One of the principles of our legal system is having clear laws so people understand their rights and responsibilities and have notice of their obligations and the consequences of violating them.
I will soon be 76. I remember when the woman who hosted Romper Room had to go overseas to have an abortion. She had been given thalidomide and the fetus was deformed. Even then I realized the government had no business controlling a woman's body. In high school a young girl stuck a coat hanger into her uterus attempting an abortion. She bled out and died on the toilet. Roe vs Wade saved so many women's lives. And let's be real. If a wealthy white girl needed an abortion, mom and dad would make it happen. I'm sick of the hypocrisy of Republicans. If men could get pregnant, abortion would be as easy as driving through a Starbucks. This is about controlling women and forced birth. They don't give a damn about life. Republican governors are turning down federal aid to feed families. They hate Medicaid or any lifesaver for the mother. Beyond that I don't trust this activist Supreme Court. Roe vs Wade should have been settled law. Then it was let the states decide. Now they not only want a national ban, they want to punish women. And they definitely don't want it on a ballot because the majority will vote for choice. It's a white minority movement of wannabe fascists. If this doesn't bring women out to vote, nothing will.
Rita, I wish I could give 10 likes to this. Thank you so much for your clarity and spot on take on the history and on the current status of the Republican Party. I was raised as a Midwest Republican from a very political family. There is not a remnant of the Grand Ole Party left. They’ve driven off the cliff. Let’s tell them goodbye and vote blue up and down elect Biden, and both houses of Congress. Let’s take back our rights and preserve the ones that are in danger right now. Brava to you for writing this.
The cruelty, the unbelievable cruelty more than astounds me. In my view there can be no worthwhile Republican. Anyone signed up as a Republican has endorsed cruelty in so many ways. As their leader has said upon a shooting at an elementary school “Get over it”. I cannot believe I live in a nation where so much cruelty is the norm for so many!
Marie, you have to remember, cruelty is always the point. Remembering that means we plan for it, and get ahead of their moves. We have to be more cunning and far-thinking than they are.
It can also be a response to the growing power of women, to keep them from voting, advancing, taking power from a relatively smaller group of power holders. "Power reproduces itself by doing things the way they have always been done." Kaiser and Kronsell, 2014. Annie Ernaux also stated that men in power like costume.
I could write a book about cruelty. I taught school for many years, worked summer camps, and grew up the oldest of 11 kids. There was a price to pay for any cruelty then. We now have an epidemic of cruelty. There are no rules, laws regulating social media as there are to some extent the mainstream media. Do people even know that one of the most popular stunts on TicTok is to humiliate via video your young child in order to make money and ‘likes’. You can make them cry (ha ha!), throw things at them (ha ha again). I could barely breathe when I read about this. I have heard very young boys say very cruel things which they’ve learned on social media. These should be the adults of our future. There are no limits. Think about this.
Apparently, I broke free... not without damage. But I hate people being mean or laughing at people for their misfortune. Compassion seems to be missing in our society.
As history professor Heather Cox Richardson puts it over and over again, we must 'take up oxygen' with our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, others we encounter to get the truth out there. Retrumplicans are hoping to make the political scene so chaotic and messy that people want nothing to do with politics or the vote. We must encourage people to vote BLUE. Find Heather on her Letters from an American Substack page or Facebook where she writes a letter, gives all of her resources as she studies issues and also does a political chat on Tuesdays. She explains a lot of the current issues especially on her last chat (they are under Videos). I recommend her. She recommended Joyce to us (1.2M followers).
As a 73 year of white male, I couldn’t agree more. Women need to get their heads out of their collective husbands asses and get out and vote FOR THEMSELVES. Men simply aren’t going to do it. Too much power is at stake. Ladies, women, young women, old women, please, you’ve got to vote. Save these stupid (include myself) men from their maniacal addiction to misplaced power. Kick your husbands or boyfriends in the nuts so they’ll stay home Election Day. Do whatever it takes. My vote is fucked. I’m from Wyoming and the idiots outnumber the sane ones 3 or 4 to one. Do your part. Help.
Just received my latest shipment of 100 "Vote" postcards and list of names of Democratic voters who have not voted regularly. Get my lists from Activate America. Immediate focus is the special election in NY to fill George Santos' seat with a Democrat. Ten years retired and this is what I can do - going to keep writing postcards til my fingers fall off.
Thanks for posting this, Cheryl. I was not aware of this opportunity to get the word out and just ordered 100 cards for the same special election in NY.
Cheryl- Thanks for writing to voters! I along with my adult daughter are writing (“Postcards to Voters”) to also help Democrat Tom Suozzi replace Santos. Now we’ve recruited my granddaughter, to write. She is a freshman in college(and first-time voter!)
I will be doing the same with letters for Vote Forward. I just joined the League of Women Voters in Maricopa County, AZ. Just my winter home but if I can help shake things up here, I will.
Thank you for that information. I am working on compiling a list of really worthwhile groups such as Turn Up who are working to get the youth vote out. I am glad to add this to the list. I will urge all to volunteer and contribute as best you can. With so much at stake, my friends repeatedly say “I’m so glad I’m old.” But all are working vigorously to rid DC of Republicans. It’s for the future of all young citizens. For the positive support I need I go to Hopium. And as Michael Moore says there are more of us than there are of them.
Very worthwhile project. Please post your list when you can. ❤️
When I hear friends say "I'm so glad I'm old" it boils my blood. I'm retired X10 years and was hoping for a peaceful retirement. After 40 years as an RN, my knees sound like Rice Krispies and some days fingers hurt to even move them. BUT...we have work to do!
We stand on the shoulders of the generation that went before us. The Greatest Generation who protected democracy with their lives; the current generation of soldiers who sacrificed arms and legs to serve. It would be the ultimate disrespect to them to stand idly by while greedy pigs destroy democracy.
I'm elbows deep in "get out the vote" postcards. This is something us "old people" CAN do!
Heather Cox Richardson says there are only about 30% of Americans following the fascists. The problem is people being so disgusted with all of the chaos in politics that people just don't get out and vote at all. That takes votes from Democrats most likely as retrumplicans have nothing to offer.
Also do your part to risk death by going door to door for a Democratic candidate or for this issue.
Your vote--like mine--may not matter. But putting our bodies on the line, as we women did marching in the 60's for this, is what is called for. It's hard on old bones, and definitely riskier.
My son is sure I'll get shot. I told him I lived through pregnancies, and am willing to risk my life again to let other women have the same control of their bodies that men do.
Your vote and my vote does count and don’t let the MSM tell you otherwise. Don’t let them put Trump back in office as it’s clear to me they are working on!
Thank you, but in the end it’s about much more than abortion. If a woman cannot have dominion over her own body, what rights are safe? None. None at all. So we men need to fight as hard as women.
You need to do your part too! Get those fucking men to see light!! They are going to be responsible for all the wee ones that show up!! As well as for the illnesses foisted on their women population. It is devolving and all sane people need to pitch in and keep it from happening.
Richard, going to call you out on this one. Women vote. So do men, and YOU have the responsibility of getting them to wake up and support us. Get on it.
I'm also a 73 white male, and I remember well the pre-Roe days and the struggle to win this right. The thought that it has been lost is heart breaking.
Yes, and I’d like to add that voting for tRump is like voting to end your right as a woman, period. You’ve just handed over to an insane man, his idea of who you and your children should be. Whether they are a little girl, a trans, a boy. You give him another vote of confidence for all the pig headed homophobes, wife beaters, racist, liars out there. How many times can you be lied to by a man before you get it? A vote for tRump ensures you as a woman are cemented into being a second class citizen. What this does to blacks, browns, Mexicans, Asians or anybody not quite white enough and /or not quite Christian enough will go down in history as the largest failure of women in history. No other majority will be blamed more heavily than women as a powerful majority group that failed to make it happen. All republicans voted back in, all Red governors, all county commissioners, all up and down the ballets, failed because our once proud women failed to see the danger. Beaten over the head with Roe v Wade and femocracy. You need this win… at ALL LEVELS. Do it!
Could you please write your opinion without the offensive language (about women, second sentence)? And the status of your vote? I agree with your sentiments but an tired of folks who feel the need to use unacceptable language to make their point.
I wrote a post here a couple of days ago making this exact point. Several readers pushed back. They want their right to use profanity because it's acceptable to them, and it doesn't matter to them that other readers may find it inappropriate. As you so aptly said, this Substack is titled "Civil Discourse"! There is a welcoming place for the profane, over at X!
I'm sorry you received pushback for your posting. Actually, how we interact with one another does matter, and all readers of Joyce's blog should, in my opinion, strive to be civil and mindful of other readers' sensibilities.
Yes. You are right. It was demeaning. It was intended to be. There are women out there that have that property. It is not the ones being mistreated, they are the ones who are mistreating the female side of our race. Women must stick up for each other because it certainly won’t be the men!
I'm five years your junior, and I too remember the Romper Room case. It's stuck with me all these years.
I once read a biography of Lewis Powell, a Nixon appointee to the Supreme Court. Roe v Wade was the first big case he took part in, and he voted with the majority; he considered it a no-brainer. But his impression of abortion was based on the experiences of the wives of his friends, woman he knew from the country club, who'd had abortions. He wasn't thinking about poor women, or black or brown women. That's what's changed since 1973 -- abortion has become a class issue. And even in Texas and Idaho, country club women still can get abortions and always will, because they have the freedom of movement that poor women lack.
You are so right. I am also a woman in my 70s and I clearly remember the case you describe and how I reacted the same way. I also remember where “upstanding” married women and single women/girls I knew would develop “irregular” periods. The common solution was to get a D&C to straighten them out. Such procedures would be done in respected doctor’s offices and the women amazingly got their cycles regular again. I have also observed that once Roe vs. Wade was settled, it was rare to hear of anyone needing a D&C anymore. Coincidence?
The two leading comments that I have found as guiding lights on the issue are from two diverse women making the same points.
One is by a nun who says that the anti-abortion people are really only pro-fetus, but not pro-child. Once the fetus is born and becomes a child, they have no interest in supporting either the child or the mother to the detriment of everyone, including society.
The other quote is from a Mormon mother of six who says that 100% of all abortions are caused by men. My only snarky addition to this true statement is that, to the best of my knowledge, there has only been one virgin birth and even that one has been subject to controversy. Women are told to keep their legs closed to keep from getting pregnant. Likewise, men need to keep their zippers up. Pregnancy needs two people of the opposite sex - Biology 101. Men, did you miss that class? Bottom line, when men also act responsibly the problem goes away. Congress and SCOTUS, are you listening?
Cruelty is key, and its first cousin of machismo. I know such preening loud mouths, mainly men, who love being performative tough guys. “Owning the lib snowflakes” gives them a big self-satisfied chuckle at least or worse, compulsive self-righteous aggression. One fried can’t talk about his pet target subjects without resorting to ad hominem spouting off in red faced in self-induced fervor. Cruelty is key.
Super "comment" - and all of us are old and cranky at this point. I think yes, the young people (young women AND men) should be encouraged (!) to make their wishes known but honestly, those of us who REMEMBER when there was NO abortions - need to step up too! I was so very naive for far too long - until I had the good fortune to meet someone who "educated" me - she subscribed to MS Magazine (which I had never heard of) and she was & likely still is quite a feminist!
The coat hanger death was not all that uncommon back then. Do we really want to bring back something as horrific as that? Letting old (or young) white men & women decide for EVERYONE is bs.
My mother was uncomfortable talking about sex. Her idea of teaching me the birds and the bees was to leave a pamphlet (very dryly written) with diagrams open where she thought I would see it. I did, and ignored it. It felt insulting that she wouldn't even talk to me about it. Weeks went by. The pamphlet moved to the console by the front door for a while. Then it disappeared when my younger brothers and their friends were caught poring over it. (In retrosrospect I think that was a good thing- boys were rarely taught even rudementary things about female physiology in those days).
Fortunately, I had an aunt who I visited every summer who had a different perspective. She filled me in on things- including what to do if one were to find oneself pregnant. She didn't imply that I would, but made clear that if it ever happened there were ways to fix it and she knew the people to contact. I felt much more comfortable with my emerging sexuality because of her. "Sex Ed" didn't start until 9th grade, well after puberty. As a result a number of girls left high school to finish their education elsewhere - or to become premature housewives and mothers.
After high school, I entered nursing school (didn't finish because my real interest was in science). But learned some interesting things while there. The state I grew up in had developed a broad definition of women's health that included emotional impacts. And, every Friday afternoon, there was a special surgical list that was separate from the rest, in a different, obscure ward. It was labeled "women's health", and explained to me as "a minor surgical procedure to help women reset their periods". That state was one of the first to pass a law that flat out legalized abortion, before Roe v Wade. But as with most such things, it was largely married women, and working women with the knowledge and the means to access this.
Frightened teenage girls didn't know of this low-key (and common) access, and were often too far along to undergo the procedure by the time they sought help. The youngest one I knew of was 12, and 14 year olds were common. One was so ill-informed that I was assigned to help her understand the birth procedure to her as she was going through it. She clung to me as she was rolled into delivery. Someone in her family had dropped her off and then left.
This is part of what we are heading back to, as well.
My mom was an RN - and I dont remember any pamphlet - not sure when or where I learned anything educational! But found out the hard way eventually - too late - and was one of the "disappeared" for a time!
The thought of a 12 or 14 year old having to go thru childbirth - especially a child herself being "dropped off" is so awful to think about.
And thats pretty much what these people pushing abortion bans want!
So sorry you went through that, Maggie. So many went through it, often without support, let alone counseling. And the push (when I was young) to abandon the child to adoption - now back on, it appears. Nice fantasy, but so many adoptions, even through agencies, did not work well.
Here we are with an already failed medical system and add into that the confusing restrictions on abortion, the imposition of unwanted pregnancy, the pressure on physicians, the trauma of either separation or taking on adult responsibilities in a capitalist society built on a false idea of individualism. What an awful load to put on women, whether too young or simply trying to live life. And sometimes on very young men trying to do right but unprepared and also without adequate support. Or men whose capacity to provide for his family is already stretched. And no resources for any of them. Yes, damn scary.
I have granddaughters, and I have some pills stashed for them, though I'm sure their moms are also stashing. But one never knows when somebody might be in need.
This should not be complicated. But it is. Where I live now, there is only one small conservative state next door, surrounded by states with legal abortion. But the western state where I grew up is close to a radically conservative state, with long travel distances to services. So I specified that my monthly donation to planned parenthood go to the PP chapter in my home state, to be used to support services to women coming from the other state. That state has such draconian laws that even people assisting with transportation can be arrested. It is also home to some right wing extremist groups. Scary, indeed.
Once again, I am so grateful to my parents for having left that state as young people, as most members (several generations) of my family did. They met and married in Oregon, where I was born and grew up. We never looked back.
Thanks Annie - could have been much worse & I'm sure it was for many girls. I stayed with an aunt and an uncle - there was an adoption.
Things have changed completely in that respect. I hope for the better.
The issue of abortion is between a woman and her doctor - NOT politicians! Every time I hear one of these pompous arrogant men (mostly) dictate what women's reproductive healthcare choices or LACK of choices are - because they say so - pisses me off!
I can't help but feel that these men resent that women can give birth, because they will always need us for procreation. No child has been born yet without a woman contributing to it. So, self sufficiency is not allowed if you want to pass on your genes. Still, this is smacking so much of the Nazi Lebensborn program. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-quot-lebensborn-quot-program
Also, the Nazi's had rules that if "White" babies were aborted the abortionist faced the death penalty, whereas they did not care if Black, Romani, Jewish, or disabled babies were aborted, in fact they supported that. It saved them from having to kill them directly once they were born. https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=2048
Why should we be embracing the fascist elements of Nazi Germany when it was a ideology we took on to defeat? Abortion on the ballot and marijuana too. That should get the democrats out to vote in Florida and other states that are facing draconian abortion laws.
The Nazis got a lot of their ideas from the US treatment of Blacks especially during the Jim Crow era. German lawyers and scholars were sent to the US to study and report back about legal ways we found to keep an entire group of people marginalized without legal recourse.
Hitler had a portrait of Henry Ford in his office and reportedly admired him greatly. Ford was a rabid anti-Semite and probably did as much as anyone to promulgate and proselytize anti-Semitic beliefs in this country.
Read Racel Maddo's book Prequel. Very thoroughly researched and frightening.
Yes. I had learned about that too from the video series on Race at Facing History, Facing Ourselves. I think it was in the second episode of 3. Thank you for the Maddow reference.
It's sickening, Rita. It staggers the mind how cruel people can be, and you're right. The hypocrisy is mind blowing. Any of those people who condemn abortion would have one in a heartbeat, REGARDLESS of the gestational age.
If we don't get out the vote in a vast majority, we are in for bad, bad years to come.
We need to vote blue. We need to reverse Dodds. Throwing all the money and organization at a single issue isn’t going to matter unless we have gotten control of the senate the house and the presidency. That’s what we need.
Where is your evidence that if she was white that she'd get what she needed? That is an unfair and discriminatory assumption. I think the laws now banning abortion didn't specify race. Racism comes in all colors.
A white woman is far more likely to be able to access the resources to get to a state where her needs can be taken care of. That's simply economic fact, and yes, it's the product of 240 years of white supremacy, that allowed the denial of any wealth to black people since they were slaves, and then the erection of a slavery-in-all-but-name Jim Crow system that saw non whites prevented from partaking in activities that would create generational wealth. So you may be upset that you're included in the group that's responsible for the bad ju-ju of this country, but that's the way it is and if you don't like being there, then take some action to help make the changes that will lead to this country being more actually free and equal than mythologically free and equal. (And I am a white male telling you that)
Thank you TC - I was going to respond to the author, but you did it for me; but more eloquently. It’s an economic issue involving classism. The most endangered person in the United States today is a poor, black, female, elder. Those are the statistics. And it is our duty and our obligation to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Protest.
Actually I think the description might "resonate" better if it was "well-to do" white women! BUT that might cover ANY well to do woman, right? It affects ALL women - but poor white, black, brown, indigenous women just have it that much harder. The idea that anyone is charged with ABUSE of a Corpse after she has lost a child ? WTF? Seriously. What does that say about the minds or lack of minds of these "prosecutors?"
I realize that what I am about to suggest is somewhat simplistic. It ignores all the problems that arise from having to listen to or obey corporate counsel, malpractice and liability insurers, accreditation boards, etc. Nevertheless, I don't understand why a hospital ethics panel, or hospital administrator/executive somewhere won't take a risk (civil disobedience) to do the right thing, both morally and medically, and instruct their staff doctors to follow the standard of care and do the right thing for their patients regardless of the legal consequences. The legislators, DAs, and Attorney Generals that adopt and enforce these draconian laws that attempt to criminalize women's health decisions, often made at a time of crisis in tiny windows of time in which to think, sort through options, and act are all practicing medicine without being licensed. The anti-abortion laws they pass are often devoid of any moral or ethical content concern for the lives, safety, or future health of the women and their families caught up in the spider web of abortion/miscarriage laws and regulations. I would also argue that this labyrinth of laws and regs are so vague, overbroad, or contradictory that they fail to provide clear unequivocal notice of what conduct is unlawful, and thus violate the due process required by the 5th and 14th Amendments.
Such laws deserve to be ignored; to be nullified by the people whose lives and livelihoods are directly threatened. These hospital groups and OB/GYN practice LLCs should not be afraid to go to trial on whatever poppycock charge is made against them. Most likely, no jury will convict. Possible side effect: The defending entity can establish a PAC or crowdsourced legal defense fund to fight the legal charges, then pivot to fund candidates to oppose all the feckless politicians who were responsible for creating the legal morass in which women's reproductive health has been submerged.
This may be my fantasy; but there has to be more than one way to change laws that do violence to people and their lives. The extreme right wing MAGA legislatures are all gerrymandered, cancelling by extra-legal means the rights of the people to vote . The rights at stake are no less important than those which guarantee the right to be served at a restaurant or to rent a bed to sleep in while traveling; and therefore peaceful direct action to defy such laws is fully warranted.
You brought up a key term here, Fred: civil disobedience, the tool that has been the most effective in creating needed change. Not violence, but civil disobedience. The refusal to go along with laws or practices that are dehumanizing. It requires a movement to work. Black and brown people put not only their professions and their their livelihoods, but their bodies on the line for civil rights. Women stood up TOGETHER for suffrage, subjected to insults and jail and worse.
We can't allow the decades it took them. If physicians and hospitals in states with anti-abortion laws stood together and refused to go along with the professional blackmail, and joined us in the courts and in the media, and maybe at the legislatures, maybe we could get some real traction. Instead most of them are hiding behind a procedural scrim. Some are standing up, but we need ALL of them to stand up for their professional obligation to provide the kind of care that women need. It's not just abortion, either: it's pre-natal, post-natal, delivery itself. America is behind the rest of the industrial nations (and even many underdeveloped nations) in maternal health care. Women routinely get second rate care, and in some states it is so bad it is worse than undeveloped nations. This is America.
We need our physicians to stand up with us and change that. We really need a movement.
Has anyone read the book "Medical Apartheid" by Harriet A. Washington? The entire medical community, not entirely an exaggeration, used black people as a tool for non-consensual and brutal medical experimentations, such as, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, used their bodies, upon death, with no consent, for medical students, stole their bodies from graves for research, wouldn't provide necessary medical intervention to reap the benefits of the corpuses that they were short for research, and much more. The US hired Nazi researchers in secret. Yes, you read that right. The medical community is complicit. The Informed Consent is a joke. You only consent if you want to deny treatment not to treatment, procedures, therapeutics you want and should be a choice. Patriarchal medicine is where we stand when we should be at a patient centered, secular/non religion, place.
The New England Journal of Medicine just released a 4-part series apologizing for the journal's complicity during slavery. Will women have to wait 200 years for an apology in an advanced society for the barbaric treatment to receive, be punished, or die for medical care? Physicians now turning to ill qualified APNPs to do their work without the education, training, and scope will make matters worse. Sorry to any APNPs, as you're great clinicians, but not doctors. The disenfranchisement of all but white males seems to say the Bible is complicit also. I do not believe this. Secular or otherwise we live in a country with laws and those laws are to be carried out with equal protection. That's a farce. It's about money and control. I hate what Trump and MAGA have done to us through religious hypocrisy. Watch the Iowa evangelicals flock to a convicted sexual predator. Disgusting. Rant over.
I'm afraid that we (US) have reached a point where its not only the legalities that drs & hospitals are coming against but the actions of the right wing loonies that come to bear. It puts the women who are in this position not only with the said "legalities" but in danger of those loonies! Really, Fred, to be pregnant & need an abortion & on top of that be in danger of being arrested and then brutalized by not only the system but social media & these loonies.
I agree there should be more than one way to fix this - but people are scared!
I too remember the coat hanger deaths and those Who Could Afford It..were able to get women’s healthcare to save themselves. Or save the position and reputation of the rich powerful men that had impregnated young women.
Why IS it, that when Obamacare was proposed they Screamed About “Death Committees” deciding whether or not grandma would live!?
BUT NOW with Real Death Squads disguised as legislatures & right wing “conservatives” judges- there is NOT a peep or murmur about those once feared boogieman “death committees”?? WHY...
Those death-councils are Now REALITY - how much hypocrisy and barbarism Will We Stand For?
The laws prohibiting women’s rights are becoming down right medieval in the United States. This has to be a primary issue in 2024 as well as the saving of our democracy. The issues could not be more clear. Thanks Joyce!
It's not even medieval, there were no laws preventing medical procedures in Medieval or even Renaissance times. It seems this crop of former Republicans so detest women, they would rather the woman die than have a medical procedure to save her life - and in many cases fertility. Oh, I forgot, they all talk routinely to their god.
It doesn’t just seem like these laws are religious discrimination, they actually are (this from a retired United Church of Christ pastor. Btw, we are the progressive ones, among other denominations of the same ilk.). We value honesty, integrity, and congruity in theology and praxis, and truly following the way of Jesus. Jesus said nothing about abortion, owning or stoning women with any background, who was a brown-skinned, migrant worker, who actively and always worked against the religious power structure. He wouldn’t recognize the Christians who are trying to control the laws, country and social constructs of the country today. He recognized and valued the woman at the well and upheld the Samaritan in his parables, even though they wouldn’t have been valued in his culture. No, Jesus wouldn’t have had anything to do with this mess of religious discrimination, and I sure don’t mind calling it out!
They use their religious beliefs as an excuse. What they want is to go back to at least Victorian times when men had absolute control over women. I was a Christian 60 some years ago I have been an Atheist since.
I've thought that since Alito went on about "life begins at conception." Only ONE part of ONE religion actually thinks this. But One Ring to Rule Them All, I guess.
This is absolutely appalling. The photo of the 3 judge panel says it all. This is about control of women and the evangelical movement to put us back in our subservient "place." Hell, no.
And getting rid of Roe was a long term plan funded by the ultra wealthy GOP white males who are members of the Federalist Society. They “used” Trump who could care less about Roe, to pack the federal courts with men like the three we see in the photo. McConnell backed by FS pushed through the courts’s candidates so SCOTUS could overturn Roe and create this horrendous immoral deadly mess that women face today. Damn the GOP and SCOTUS!
I think this is an incredibly important time to tell our stories. I live in a conservative area and have been part of many conversations where abortion was discussed as something that is done for “them”. Meaning “welfare queens,” “those who seek abortion instead of birth control, etc.. When I bring up that, as a white, Christian, married, middle class, heterosexual woman, I’ve had an abortion, the conversation definitely gets uncomfortable. I often say that it’s none of my business why someone seeks an abortion and I have no right to judge. This makes the conversation even more awkward, especially after talking about my experience with abortion. These are the tough, personalizing stories we need to keep telling to remind people who are so comfortable in rationalizing draconian laws based on a vague “them” for what they are, the control of citizenry that they so abhor.
Thank you so much for this Dani, and especially for your original very poignant and clearly heartfelt posting of a real-world "abortion necessary" situation (it is, in fact, just one of many very real types of such weighty "mom-health/baby-health" scenarios) that no woman wants to face.
This absolutely has to be a key issue in 2024 - and each candidate at every level has to get it on audio/video/paper what their stance is (and vetted to past votes, social media etc).
Frankly, men should NOT have a majority say in any decisions regarding abortion; it should not even be a government matter. It is a medical/ethical matter that should be decided ultimately by the Mother-to-be ONLY (ideally with the guidance of Medical professionals and Counselors as needed).
Thank you, Dani - I just read your substack and am so sorry for your heartbreaking loss. It's your story or Brittany Watts, or the women in Texas who almost died as a result of being denied healthcare that I want to see the political campaigns focus on via commercials, mailings, etc. to keep the message in the forefront that women are being denied life saving healthcare because of the Christian Nationalism that is overtaking our country. And don't wait until mid-year to start the commercials (which the DNC typically does in its lackluster messaging), but now and every day until election day. This honestly is more than misogyny - It's tyranny. We are those women. They're our mothers, sisters, children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors and we have to stand up for all of them. For all of us. I am way too assertive to be a handmaiden. Start airing the commercials, DNC. Buy the billboard space.. Start the mailings. It's past time.
Yes Emma! I live in a Blue state, but I am still waiting the for the ads from the Dems to begin. They should already be out there! And I’m 74 and past the child bearing times, but sadly never could have children. (A story fir another day) but in order for Dems to put up the adds, there needs to be Dems out here who will not just talk, but put money where their mouth is. I can’t give much, being on SSA and retirement that pays my rent, but please go to Act Blue and give something. Anything. If you use the website, you can choose your person, state, issue. I use that site a lot. VOTE BLUE ALL THE TIME.
Thanks Doc; this is a terrifically effective and brilliant group of Harvard students who have been registering and turning out hundreds of thousands 18 to 29s on social media, senior high school students and Community Colleges! Based on 3 principles: support for abortion rights,effective gun safety legislation and combatting Climate Change! Please check them out and contribute generously at www.TurnUp.US.
Let alone when I talk about seeing my own mom nearly die from a back alley abortion — truly a back alley in Los Angeles — and she couldn’t be put in a hospital because the Dr. couldn’t legally treat her. Sound familiar? That story makes all kinds of folks from some political persuasions uncomfortable, and from others, just mad that we may be headed back there after all the time we spent fighting to change the law. Ugh, now to be doing it again. Joyce is right. Until medical freedoms are codified in the Constitution, and think about how broadly that term is meant, then states will need to make abortion and all forms of medical freedoms (think trans for example) part of their State’s Constitution.
I believe people are getting to the point of seeing that not only abortion needs to be handled this way, but also gun control, mental health care, houselessness (because let’s face it people, even if you don’t count all the empty hotels, motels, and office buildings, and strip malls, there IS enough housing for everyone in the U.S. we can end hunger, make sure teachers and first responders and those who had no option but to work during the pandemic in public places get paid equitably, can be dealt with in State Constitutions, and once we get started…no telling where we might end up. Perhaps with a Republic that really does reflect the will of the people.
You, Dani, and David and Rochelle put together such an amazing gift, not just to Heather, but to all of us who tried to save such a valuable document and then oopses and mistaken file deletions etc. that have frustrated many over the years. Thank you and them so much.
As for tonight's business, I am taken back, listening to you and the other women most affected by the topic, to the mid-late 1960s when I was one of the guys actively working on radical feminist performnces with Judy Chicago and the Original California Girls. The outright and subtle violences affecting so many women was a major topic then, as it is now when addressing the Patriarchy. I need not enumerate the evidence. You know, as do most of us who appreciate Heather do. Good to see you here on Joyces post tonight. Lots of good people here too.
I think the issue of women having the right to make decisions about their own bodies will be a major issue in November. Every Republican is, in one way or another, in favor of forced birth. Thank you for reminding everyone of how important this issue is. Even if you are not in favor of abortion the laws written by mostly white, Christian men, are intentionally vague and threaten the lives of women and threaten doctors and hospitals with fines, loss of licenses and jail time to keep them in line. These legislators do not care about women, they care about controlling women and many of them want to go after contraception next. Please vote to keep women safe and to have the freedom to make their own health decisions.
Patricia, these legislators see women as sub-human ambulatory wombs. They see no reason to recognize women as deserving of rights. You’re right, many of them are also against contraception and see it as a form of abortion.
I'm 71 years old and I've lived with misogyny my entire life, personal and professional. Sometimes it's indirect, probably unconscious, many times it's direct and intentional. It's systemic and I've fought against it in various ways my entire life and I will continue to fight against it. I am very, very tired of it. I really wish that men who are not misogynistic would pay more attention, speak up more and fight harder to end it.
I'm 69 years old and I've lived with misogyny my entire life, personal and professional. I too have fought against it all my life. I too am very, very tired of it.
As a FloriDuh voter I am appalled by Ashley Moody, ronnie de satan, and all of their cohorts who demean women along with the rest of the electorate as often as they can. How in the world are these people elected over and over?
SCOTUS is allowing and promoting this change in course. Congress is held up by the GOP, State governments are in line and people need to get out the vote to have their values upheld.
Again, this is a hard newsletter to 🖤. I’m old enough to remember the bad old coat hanger days of back alley abortions and this is bringing it all back in some horrific Groundhog Day for women and girls. If this one issue alone doesn’t bring out every outraged voter, male and female, in the country then I don’t know what ever will. There will be many walls thrown up to prevent the voter from having a voice but we absolutely cannot allow anything to deter us from voting down these egregious, deadly, scattershot laws in any primary, certainly the general in November or we may never get any more chances to do so. Above all else, we have got to hold to account the lawmakers who have helped make this Hell on earth for reproductive choice. This is truly a matter of life and death.
Joyce, whenever you can find the time, maybe in conjunction with Barb McQuaid and Jill Wine-Banks y’all could break down the 2025 Project for you Sisters In Law podcast? From what I’ve heard, it needs to be exposed for the horror it could turn into for everyone if certain elements are allowed to gain power.
It needs to be posted and published and distributed in every grocery store, pharmacy, car repair shop and simply everywhere....every street corner. Pamphlets. Everywhere!!!!
Thank you Joyce for keeping this egregious event at the forefront of our fight to preserve the rights we still have and to restore those that have been taken from us. A woman’s rights impacts all of us, whether it is the woman, her partner, her family, her friends, who may or may not be androgynous: every single one of us is impacted by human rights being removed. We are in this together. This mantra means that we need to be at the table with all of our voices heard. There’s an old saying that says “If you’re not at the table you’re the dinner.”
It’s never been more important to become aware of how fragile our democracy is right now. Every voice needs heard. I believe Trump will be defeated, Biden will be president in 2024, and Dobbs will be reversed by 2025. That will be because we are together, and we are voting, and taking others to the polls with us. We need to make sure our legislators hear us. Protest.
I cannot understand why men would do this to women, their wives, sisters, daughters, and mothers. Is it really to force the yoke of religion on to female necks? Do these mostly men believe god is watching? If these lawmakers are trying to appease religious sects, do they realize they are placating the minority? WHY?
Hi Lynn, There are many issues people simply do not understand because they have not or cannot experience the 'real life' event, they simply lack imagination. Abortion is just the worse example when they can't even imagine their own daughters and wives. And, look a college entrants, more women than men now. Poor men are giving up because women are better at many jobs... not because of gender, but because of training. It feels easier to cow women that rethink the way we raise boys, which traits we choose to develop.
It is easier for a woman to put themselves into a man's shoes than a man to put themselves into a woman's shoes. Women can experience the full gamut of physical experiencis and negativity. Men could only imagine what it is to be capable of bearing a child and all of the challenges that come with it. Let me be clear, this is not an excuse. It is but a potential explanation.
Yes Craig, I think you are right, women do have a more physical relationship to the world... but nothing prepared me for the experience of being pregnant or giving birth... every day was a new surprise and emotion. A bonding with that life.
I think it is like going to war for a man. There is no way to know what it is going to be like, but men are much more involved in violent play so it is not totally foreign experience.
For men not to be able to relate to a woman needing an abortion... most men have experienced situations where both choices are bad... you have to choose one. There has to be an underlying bias. I've talked with men who simply say, "I would not have got myself into the situation in the first place." I think this is the attitude most difficult for me to understand. And I rarely hear it from the women I know, who spend a lot of their life making choices between two things they do not want or sacrificing one of two things they desperately need.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I hope this statement makes sense.
Control, fear, greed, power, money, control, fear, greed, power, money, control, fear, power money....How many times do we need to say it. Zero. We know what and who they are, now it's time to take back our lives.
If we are talking about sects of Christianity, Jesus said absolutely nothing about abortion. He said a lot about not judging others. He also said vengeance and retribution should be left to God, not us. Some self-described Christians have gone so far as to say that that is weakness.
I think many men like fundamentalist religion because it exalts men. They enjoy power, but they leave responsibility to the women.
Perhaps racism is active here. Perhaps some racist white men want to do everything they can to increase the number of white babies born. I know women of all races get abortions, and these Draconian laws affect all women, but the Replacement Theory probably has some racist white men trying to ensure more white babies any way they can.
They believe themselves to be privileged to do whatever they want. The "why do the do it" is they are sociopaths and narcissists or those who enable them. It is "God looks like me so I have the right to do what I want."
It is more than believing god is watching. They envision god as male, the all-powerful father. The Judeo-Christian tradition believes in patriarchy, from life on earth all the way to the afterlife.
As a recently retired maternal-fetal specialist (ob-gyn sub-specialty in complicated pregnancy) I can attest that problems like the one that you’ve discussed are common. They truly are life threatening. Waiting for fetal death before delivery can end up in the mother dying.
I sent her money on her gofundme page which I learned about 2 weeks ago on Meidas Touch youtube - I heard Ben Crump is helping. This is why if SCOTUS mentions "chaos in the States" by leaving odious Trump off the ballot, despite clarity of 14/3, I'll scream.
Her doctor sent her to the hospital to get an abortion, telling her she needed one to avoid maternal death
This is so confusing...this dr says this, do that, and another says something else. Seriously!? We're damned every which way. And then, when the "outcome" happens, it's the woman's fault anyway.
I will soon be 76. I remember when the woman who hosted Romper Room had to go overseas to have an abortion. She had been given thalidomide and the fetus was deformed. Even then I realized the government had no business controlling a woman's body. In high school a young girl stuck a coat hanger into her uterus attempting an abortion. She bled out and died on the toilet. Roe vs Wade saved so many women's lives. And let's be real. If a wealthy white girl needed an abortion, mom and dad would make it happen. I'm sick of the hypocrisy of Republicans. If men could get pregnant, abortion would be as easy as driving through a Starbucks. This is about controlling women and forced birth. They don't give a damn about life. Republican governors are turning down federal aid to feed families. They hate Medicaid or any lifesaver for the mother. Beyond that I don't trust this activist Supreme Court. Roe vs Wade should have been settled law. Then it was let the states decide. Now they not only want a national ban, they want to punish women. And they definitely don't want it on a ballot because the majority will vote for choice. It's a white minority movement of wannabe fascists. If this doesn't bring women out to vote, nothing will.
Rita, I wish I could give 10 likes to this. Thank you so much for your clarity and spot on take on the history and on the current status of the Republican Party. I was raised as a Midwest Republican from a very political family. There is not a remnant of the Grand Ole Party left. They’ve driven off the cliff. Let’s tell them goodbye and vote blue up and down elect Biden, and both houses of Congress. Let’s take back our rights and preserve the ones that are in danger right now. Brava to you for writing this.
The cruelty, the unbelievable cruelty more than astounds me. In my view there can be no worthwhile Republican. Anyone signed up as a Republican has endorsed cruelty in so many ways. As their leader has said upon a shooting at an elementary school “Get over it”. I cannot believe I live in a nation where so much cruelty is the norm for so many!
Marie, you have to remember, cruelty is always the point. Remembering that means we plan for it, and get ahead of their moves. We have to be more cunning and far-thinking than they are.
It can also be a response to the growing power of women, to keep them from voting, advancing, taking power from a relatively smaller group of power holders. "Power reproduces itself by doing things the way they have always been done." Kaiser and Kronsell, 2014. Annie Ernaux also stated that men in power like costume.
I could write a book about cruelty. I taught school for many years, worked summer camps, and grew up the oldest of 11 kids. There was a price to pay for any cruelty then. We now have an epidemic of cruelty. There are no rules, laws regulating social media as there are to some extent the mainstream media. Do people even know that one of the most popular stunts on TicTok is to humiliate via video your young child in order to make money and ‘likes’. You can make them cry (ha ha!), throw things at them (ha ha again). I could barely breathe when I read about this. I have heard very young boys say very cruel things which they’ve learned on social media. These should be the adults of our future. There are no limits. Think about this.
Marie, my Dad was like that. He felt he had been successful at humor if he made me cry. I hate what I call mean humor.
Nothing funny about it.
I am so very sorry. It all begins in the home, how children are taught it usually what they become unless they can break free of the mold.
Apparently, I broke free... not without damage. But I hate people being mean or laughing at people for their misfortune. Compassion seems to be missing in our society.
As history professor Heather Cox Richardson puts it over and over again, we must 'take up oxygen' with our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, others we encounter to get the truth out there. Retrumplicans are hoping to make the political scene so chaotic and messy that people want nothing to do with politics or the vote. We must encourage people to vote BLUE. Find Heather on her Letters from an American Substack page or Facebook where she writes a letter, gives all of her resources as she studies issues and also does a political chat on Tuesdays. She explains a lot of the current issues especially on her last chat (they are under Videos). I recommend her. She recommended Joyce to us (1.2M followers).
Cruelty is the point.
As a 73 year of white male, I couldn’t agree more. Women need to get their heads out of their collective husbands asses and get out and vote FOR THEMSELVES. Men simply aren’t going to do it. Too much power is at stake. Ladies, women, young women, old women, please, you’ve got to vote. Save these stupid (include myself) men from their maniacal addiction to misplaced power. Kick your husbands or boyfriends in the nuts so they’ll stay home Election Day. Do whatever it takes. My vote is fucked. I’m from Wyoming and the idiots outnumber the sane ones 3 or 4 to one. Do your part. Help.
Just received my latest shipment of 100 "Vote" postcards and list of names of Democratic voters who have not voted regularly. Get my lists from Activate America. Immediate focus is the special election in NY to fill George Santos' seat with a Democrat. Ten years retired and this is what I can do - going to keep writing postcards til my fingers fall off.
Thanks for posting this, Cheryl. I was not aware of this opportunity to get the word out and just ordered 100 cards for the same special election in NY.
I will do same today. I grew up and was educated in New York. Don't know what the heck happened there.
Cheryl- Thanks for writing to voters! I along with my adult daughter are writing (“Postcards to Voters”) to also help Democrat Tom Suozzi replace Santos. Now we’ve recruited my granddaughter, to write. She is a freshman in college(and first-time voter!)
Ah, I felt so helpless until I read your post. At 76, what could I do? Now I can get to work. Thank you. Carol
I agree with Joe. I will sending postcards this. Good information.
I will be doing the same with letters for Vote Forward. I just joined the League of Women Voters in Maricopa County, AZ. Just my winter home but if I can help shake things up here, I will.
Thank you for that information. I am working on compiling a list of really worthwhile groups such as Turn Up who are working to get the youth vote out. I am glad to add this to the list. I will urge all to volunteer and contribute as best you can. With so much at stake, my friends repeatedly say “I’m so glad I’m old.” But all are working vigorously to rid DC of Republicans. It’s for the future of all young citizens. For the positive support I need I go to Hopium. And as Michael Moore says there are more of us than there are of them.
Very worthwhile project. Please post your list when you can. ❤️
When I hear friends say "I'm so glad I'm old" it boils my blood. I'm retired X10 years and was hoping for a peaceful retirement. After 40 years as an RN, my knees sound like Rice Krispies and some days fingers hurt to even move them. BUT...we have work to do!
We stand on the shoulders of the generation that went before us. The Greatest Generation who protected democracy with their lives; the current generation of soldiers who sacrificed arms and legs to serve. It would be the ultimate disrespect to them to stand idly by while greedy pigs destroy democracy.
I'm elbows deep in "get out the vote" postcards. This is something us "old people" CAN do!
Heather Cox Richardson says there are only about 30% of Americans following the fascists. The problem is people being so disgusted with all of the chaos in politics that people just don't get out and vote at all. That takes votes from Democrats most likely as retrumplicans have nothing to offer.
Same- good on you!
awesome. This is the group I've worked with the last three years. All over the nation.
https://votefwd.org/
Red, Wine and Blue is a national group of women (of course men are always welcome) who do much the same thing.
Also do your part to risk death by going door to door for a Democratic candidate or for this issue.
Your vote--like mine--may not matter. But putting our bodies on the line, as we women did marching in the 60's for this, is what is called for. It's hard on old bones, and definitely riskier.
My son is sure I'll get shot. I told him I lived through pregnancies, and am willing to risk my life again to let other women have the same control of their bodies that men do.
You are on my hero list.
Your vote and my vote does count and don’t let the MSM tell you otherwise. Don’t let them put Trump back in office as it’s clear to me they are working on!
Citizen60...not sure where you are but if marches or petitions are active in the Birmingham area, I'd love the information. Anyone?
Not my state. Try Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL - National Abortion Rights Action League) website for actions near you.
Thank you, but in the end it’s about much more than abortion. If a woman cannot have dominion over her own body, what rights are safe? None. None at all. So we men need to fight as hard as women.
You need to do your part too! Get those fucking men to see light!! They are going to be responsible for all the wee ones that show up!! As well as for the illnesses foisted on their women population. It is devolving and all sane people need to pitch in and keep it from happening.
Richard, going to call you out on this one. Women vote. So do men, and YOU have the responsibility of getting them to wake up and support us. Get on it.
I'm also a 73 white male, and I remember well the pre-Roe days and the struggle to win this right. The thought that it has been lost is heart breaking.
Yes, and I’d like to add that voting for tRump is like voting to end your right as a woman, period. You’ve just handed over to an insane man, his idea of who you and your children should be. Whether they are a little girl, a trans, a boy. You give him another vote of confidence for all the pig headed homophobes, wife beaters, racist, liars out there. How many times can you be lied to by a man before you get it? A vote for tRump ensures you as a woman are cemented into being a second class citizen. What this does to blacks, browns, Mexicans, Asians or anybody not quite white enough and /or not quite Christian enough will go down in history as the largest failure of women in history. No other majority will be blamed more heavily than women as a powerful majority group that failed to make it happen. All republicans voted back in, all Red governors, all county commissioners, all up and down the ballets, failed because our once proud women failed to see the danger. Beaten over the head with Roe v Wade and femocracy. You need this win… at ALL LEVELS. Do it!
Wrong audience.
Could you please write your opinion without the offensive language (about women, second sentence)? And the status of your vote? I agree with your sentiments but an tired of folks who feel the need to use unacceptable language to make their point.
Me too! Wish I could like your comment a hundred times, thank you.
Those folks have a home -- over on X. Wish they would fulfill their need to use offensive language there, where it's welcome.
Right! I mean Joyce has named her work Civil Discourse after all! Let's keep it that way!
I wrote a post here a couple of days ago making this exact point. Several readers pushed back. They want their right to use profanity because it's acceptable to them, and it doesn't matter to them that other readers may find it inappropriate. As you so aptly said, this Substack is titled "Civil Discourse"! There is a welcoming place for the profane, over at X!
I'm sorry you received pushback for your posting. Actually, how we interact with one another does matter, and all readers of Joyce's blog should, in my opinion, strive to be civil and mindful of other readers' sensibilities.
Most impressive comment Richard. You are in my neighboring state (I'm in Utah which is deeply rooted in red except for gerrymandered Salt Lake)
Yes. You are right. It was demeaning. It was intended to be. There are women out there that have that property. It is not the ones being mistreated, they are the ones who are mistreating the female side of our race. Women must stick up for each other because it certainly won’t be the men!
Listen, Dick. Wrong crowd. Read the room.
I'm five years your junior, and I too remember the Romper Room case. It's stuck with me all these years.
I once read a biography of Lewis Powell, a Nixon appointee to the Supreme Court. Roe v Wade was the first big case he took part in, and he voted with the majority; he considered it a no-brainer. But his impression of abortion was based on the experiences of the wives of his friends, woman he knew from the country club, who'd had abortions. He wasn't thinking about poor women, or black or brown women. That's what's changed since 1973 -- abortion has become a class issue. And even in Texas and Idaho, country club women still can get abortions and always will, because they have the freedom of movement that poor women lack.
Found this online: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/karinabland/2016/04/15/sherri-chessen-miss-sherri-romper-room-abortion-reproductive-rights-donald-trump/82957074/
Spot on, Rita!
Thank you, Rita. All of this.
Rita,
You are so right. I am also a woman in my 70s and I clearly remember the case you describe and how I reacted the same way. I also remember where “upstanding” married women and single women/girls I knew would develop “irregular” periods. The common solution was to get a D&C to straighten them out. Such procedures would be done in respected doctor’s offices and the women amazingly got their cycles regular again. I have also observed that once Roe vs. Wade was settled, it was rare to hear of anyone needing a D&C anymore. Coincidence?
The two leading comments that I have found as guiding lights on the issue are from two diverse women making the same points.
One is by a nun who says that the anti-abortion people are really only pro-fetus, but not pro-child. Once the fetus is born and becomes a child, they have no interest in supporting either the child or the mother to the detriment of everyone, including society.
The other quote is from a Mormon mother of six who says that 100% of all abortions are caused by men. My only snarky addition to this true statement is that, to the best of my knowledge, there has only been one virgin birth and even that one has been subject to controversy. Women are told to keep their legs closed to keep from getting pregnant. Likewise, men need to keep their zippers up. Pregnancy needs two people of the opposite sex - Biology 101. Men, did you miss that class? Bottom line, when men also act responsibly the problem goes away. Congress and SCOTUS, are you listening?
Susan H.
Cruelty is key, and its first cousin of machismo. I know such preening loud mouths, mainly men, who love being performative tough guys. “Owning the lib snowflakes” gives them a big self-satisfied chuckle at least or worse, compulsive self-righteous aggression. One fried can’t talk about his pet target subjects without resorting to ad hominem spouting off in red faced in self-induced fervor. Cruelty is key.
I agree. Make sure all your fellow woman vote please. We can't depend on our gender.
Don’t cop out. Get in there and fight with us!
Yes
Super "comment" - and all of us are old and cranky at this point. I think yes, the young people (young women AND men) should be encouraged (!) to make their wishes known but honestly, those of us who REMEMBER when there was NO abortions - need to step up too! I was so very naive for far too long - until I had the good fortune to meet someone who "educated" me - she subscribed to MS Magazine (which I had never heard of) and she was & likely still is quite a feminist!
The coat hanger death was not all that uncommon back then. Do we really want to bring back something as horrific as that? Letting old (or young) white men & women decide for EVERYONE is bs.
My mother was uncomfortable talking about sex. Her idea of teaching me the birds and the bees was to leave a pamphlet (very dryly written) with diagrams open where she thought I would see it. I did, and ignored it. It felt insulting that she wouldn't even talk to me about it. Weeks went by. The pamphlet moved to the console by the front door for a while. Then it disappeared when my younger brothers and their friends were caught poring over it. (In retrosrospect I think that was a good thing- boys were rarely taught even rudementary things about female physiology in those days).
Fortunately, I had an aunt who I visited every summer who had a different perspective. She filled me in on things- including what to do if one were to find oneself pregnant. She didn't imply that I would, but made clear that if it ever happened there were ways to fix it and she knew the people to contact. I felt much more comfortable with my emerging sexuality because of her. "Sex Ed" didn't start until 9th grade, well after puberty. As a result a number of girls left high school to finish their education elsewhere - or to become premature housewives and mothers.
After high school, I entered nursing school (didn't finish because my real interest was in science). But learned some interesting things while there. The state I grew up in had developed a broad definition of women's health that included emotional impacts. And, every Friday afternoon, there was a special surgical list that was separate from the rest, in a different, obscure ward. It was labeled "women's health", and explained to me as "a minor surgical procedure to help women reset their periods". That state was one of the first to pass a law that flat out legalized abortion, before Roe v Wade. But as with most such things, it was largely married women, and working women with the knowledge and the means to access this.
Frightened teenage girls didn't know of this low-key (and common) access, and were often too far along to undergo the procedure by the time they sought help. The youngest one I knew of was 12, and 14 year olds were common. One was so ill-informed that I was assigned to help her understand the birth procedure to her as she was going through it. She clung to me as she was rolled into delivery. Someone in her family had dropped her off and then left.
This is part of what we are heading back to, as well.
My mom was an RN - and I dont remember any pamphlet - not sure when or where I learned anything educational! But found out the hard way eventually - too late - and was one of the "disappeared" for a time!
The thought of a 12 or 14 year old having to go thru childbirth - especially a child herself being "dropped off" is so awful to think about.
And thats pretty much what these people pushing abortion bans want!
Dam scary isnt it?
So sorry you went through that, Maggie. So many went through it, often without support, let alone counseling. And the push (when I was young) to abandon the child to adoption - now back on, it appears. Nice fantasy, but so many adoptions, even through agencies, did not work well.
Here we are with an already failed medical system and add into that the confusing restrictions on abortion, the imposition of unwanted pregnancy, the pressure on physicians, the trauma of either separation or taking on adult responsibilities in a capitalist society built on a false idea of individualism. What an awful load to put on women, whether too young or simply trying to live life. And sometimes on very young men trying to do right but unprepared and also without adequate support. Or men whose capacity to provide for his family is already stretched. And no resources for any of them. Yes, damn scary.
I have granddaughters, and I have some pills stashed for them, though I'm sure their moms are also stashing. But one never knows when somebody might be in need.
This should not be complicated. But it is. Where I live now, there is only one small conservative state next door, surrounded by states with legal abortion. But the western state where I grew up is close to a radically conservative state, with long travel distances to services. So I specified that my monthly donation to planned parenthood go to the PP chapter in my home state, to be used to support services to women coming from the other state. That state has such draconian laws that even people assisting with transportation can be arrested. It is also home to some right wing extremist groups. Scary, indeed.
Once again, I am so grateful to my parents for having left that state as young people, as most members (several generations) of my family did. They met and married in Oregon, where I was born and grew up. We never looked back.
Thanks Annie - could have been much worse & I'm sure it was for many girls. I stayed with an aunt and an uncle - there was an adoption.
Things have changed completely in that respect. I hope for the better.
The issue of abortion is between a woman and her doctor - NOT politicians! Every time I hear one of these pompous arrogant men (mostly) dictate what women's reproductive healthcare choices or LACK of choices are - because they say so - pisses me off!
Scary is right!
I can't help but feel that these men resent that women can give birth, because they will always need us for procreation. No child has been born yet without a woman contributing to it. So, self sufficiency is not allowed if you want to pass on your genes. Still, this is smacking so much of the Nazi Lebensborn program. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-quot-lebensborn-quot-program
Also, the Nazi's had rules that if "White" babies were aborted the abortionist faced the death penalty, whereas they did not care if Black, Romani, Jewish, or disabled babies were aborted, in fact they supported that. It saved them from having to kill them directly once they were born. https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=2048
Why should we be embracing the fascist elements of Nazi Germany when it was a ideology we took on to defeat? Abortion on the ballot and marijuana too. That should get the democrats out to vote in Florida and other states that are facing draconian abortion laws.
The Nazis got a lot of their ideas from the US treatment of Blacks especially during the Jim Crow era. German lawyers and scholars were sent to the US to study and report back about legal ways we found to keep an entire group of people marginalized without legal recourse.
Hitler had a portrait of Henry Ford in his office and reportedly admired him greatly. Ford was a rabid anti-Semite and probably did as much as anyone to promulgate and proselytize anti-Semitic beliefs in this country.
Read Racel Maddo's book Prequel. Very thoroughly researched and frightening.
Yes. I had learned about that too from the video series on Race at Facing History, Facing Ourselves. I think it was in the second episode of 3. Thank you for the Maddow reference.
It's sickening, Rita. It staggers the mind how cruel people can be, and you're right. The hypocrisy is mind blowing. Any of those people who condemn abortion would have one in a heartbeat, REGARDLESS of the gestational age.
If we don't get out the vote in a vast majority, we are in for bad, bad years to come.
Need one deep pocket and one women’s rights, pro-abortion organization to DO something about it.
We need to vote blue. We need to reverse Dodds. Throwing all the money and organization at a single issue isn’t going to matter unless we have gotten control of the senate the house and the presidency. That’s what we need.
Where is your evidence that if she was white that she'd get what she needed? That is an unfair and discriminatory assumption. I think the laws now banning abortion didn't specify race. Racism comes in all colors.
A white woman is far more likely to be able to access the resources to get to a state where her needs can be taken care of. That's simply economic fact, and yes, it's the product of 240 years of white supremacy, that allowed the denial of any wealth to black people since they were slaves, and then the erection of a slavery-in-all-but-name Jim Crow system that saw non whites prevented from partaking in activities that would create generational wealth. So you may be upset that you're included in the group that's responsible for the bad ju-ju of this country, but that's the way it is and if you don't like being there, then take some action to help make the changes that will lead to this country being more actually free and equal than mythologically free and equal. (And I am a white male telling you that)
Thank you TC - I was going to respond to the author, but you did it for me; but more eloquently. It’s an economic issue involving classism. The most endangered person in the United States today is a poor, black, female, elder. Those are the statistics. And it is our duty and our obligation to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Protest.
Actually I think the description might "resonate" better if it was "well-to do" white women! BUT that might cover ANY well to do woman, right? It affects ALL women - but poor white, black, brown, indigenous women just have it that much harder. The idea that anyone is charged with ABUSE of a Corpse after she has lost a child ? WTF? Seriously. What does that say about the minds or lack of minds of these "prosecutors?"
I realize that what I am about to suggest is somewhat simplistic. It ignores all the problems that arise from having to listen to or obey corporate counsel, malpractice and liability insurers, accreditation boards, etc. Nevertheless, I don't understand why a hospital ethics panel, or hospital administrator/executive somewhere won't take a risk (civil disobedience) to do the right thing, both morally and medically, and instruct their staff doctors to follow the standard of care and do the right thing for their patients regardless of the legal consequences. The legislators, DAs, and Attorney Generals that adopt and enforce these draconian laws that attempt to criminalize women's health decisions, often made at a time of crisis in tiny windows of time in which to think, sort through options, and act are all practicing medicine without being licensed. The anti-abortion laws they pass are often devoid of any moral or ethical content concern for the lives, safety, or future health of the women and their families caught up in the spider web of abortion/miscarriage laws and regulations. I would also argue that this labyrinth of laws and regs are so vague, overbroad, or contradictory that they fail to provide clear unequivocal notice of what conduct is unlawful, and thus violate the due process required by the 5th and 14th Amendments.
Such laws deserve to be ignored; to be nullified by the people whose lives and livelihoods are directly threatened. These hospital groups and OB/GYN practice LLCs should not be afraid to go to trial on whatever poppycock charge is made against them. Most likely, no jury will convict. Possible side effect: The defending entity can establish a PAC or crowdsourced legal defense fund to fight the legal charges, then pivot to fund candidates to oppose all the feckless politicians who were responsible for creating the legal morass in which women's reproductive health has been submerged.
This may be my fantasy; but there has to be more than one way to change laws that do violence to people and their lives. The extreme right wing MAGA legislatures are all gerrymandered, cancelling by extra-legal means the rights of the people to vote . The rights at stake are no less important than those which guarantee the right to be served at a restaurant or to rent a bed to sleep in while traveling; and therefore peaceful direct action to defy such laws is fully warranted.
You brought up a key term here, Fred: civil disobedience, the tool that has been the most effective in creating needed change. Not violence, but civil disobedience. The refusal to go along with laws or practices that are dehumanizing. It requires a movement to work. Black and brown people put not only their professions and their their livelihoods, but their bodies on the line for civil rights. Women stood up TOGETHER for suffrage, subjected to insults and jail and worse.
We can't allow the decades it took them. If physicians and hospitals in states with anti-abortion laws stood together and refused to go along with the professional blackmail, and joined us in the courts and in the media, and maybe at the legislatures, maybe we could get some real traction. Instead most of them are hiding behind a procedural scrim. Some are standing up, but we need ALL of them to stand up for their professional obligation to provide the kind of care that women need. It's not just abortion, either: it's pre-natal, post-natal, delivery itself. America is behind the rest of the industrial nations (and even many underdeveloped nations) in maternal health care. Women routinely get second rate care, and in some states it is so bad it is worse than undeveloped nations. This is America.
We need our physicians to stand up with us and change that. We really need a movement.
Has anyone read the book "Medical Apartheid" by Harriet A. Washington? The entire medical community, not entirely an exaggeration, used black people as a tool for non-consensual and brutal medical experimentations, such as, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, used their bodies, upon death, with no consent, for medical students, stole their bodies from graves for research, wouldn't provide necessary medical intervention to reap the benefits of the corpuses that they were short for research, and much more. The US hired Nazi researchers in secret. Yes, you read that right. The medical community is complicit. The Informed Consent is a joke. You only consent if you want to deny treatment not to treatment, procedures, therapeutics you want and should be a choice. Patriarchal medicine is where we stand when we should be at a patient centered, secular/non religion, place.
The New England Journal of Medicine just released a 4-part series apologizing for the journal's complicity during slavery. Will women have to wait 200 years for an apology in an advanced society for the barbaric treatment to receive, be punished, or die for medical care? Physicians now turning to ill qualified APNPs to do their work without the education, training, and scope will make matters worse. Sorry to any APNPs, as you're great clinicians, but not doctors. The disenfranchisement of all but white males seems to say the Bible is complicit also. I do not believe this. Secular or otherwise we live in a country with laws and those laws are to be carried out with equal protection. That's a farce. It's about money and control. I hate what Trump and MAGA have done to us through religious hypocrisy. Watch the Iowa evangelicals flock to a convicted sexual predator. Disgusting. Rant over.
I'm afraid that we (US) have reached a point where its not only the legalities that drs & hospitals are coming against but the actions of the right wing loonies that come to bear. It puts the women who are in this position not only with the said "legalities" but in danger of those loonies! Really, Fred, to be pregnant & need an abortion & on top of that be in danger of being arrested and then brutalized by not only the system but social media & these loonies.
I agree there should be more than one way to fix this - but people are scared!
Prison sentences up to 99 years are a deterrent for hospitals and doctors. Which hospital or doctor will be the first to take this risk?
Thank you Rita! This is exactly how I feel! I agree with other comments, you rocked this one!
I’m with Valere...10+ likes.
I too remember the coat hanger deaths and those Who Could Afford It..were able to get women’s healthcare to save themselves. Or save the position and reputation of the rich powerful men that had impregnated young women.
Why IS it, that when Obamacare was proposed they Screamed About “Death Committees” deciding whether or not grandma would live!?
BUT NOW with Real Death Squads disguised as legislatures & right wing “conservatives” judges- there is NOT a peep or murmur about those once feared boogieman “death committees”?? WHY...
Those death-councils are Now REALITY - how much hypocrisy and barbarism Will We Stand For?
The laws prohibiting women’s rights are becoming down right medieval in the United States. This has to be a primary issue in 2024 as well as the saving of our democracy. The issues could not be more clear. Thanks Joyce!
It's not even medieval, there were no laws preventing medical procedures in Medieval or even Renaissance times. It seems this crop of former Republicans so detest women, they would rather the woman die than have a medical procedure to save her life - and in many cases fertility. Oh, I forgot, they all talk routinely to their god.
In my religion one must save the life of the mother. I am not Christian. It would seem these laws are religious discrimination.
It doesn’t just seem like these laws are religious discrimination, they actually are (this from a retired United Church of Christ pastor. Btw, we are the progressive ones, among other denominations of the same ilk.). We value honesty, integrity, and congruity in theology and praxis, and truly following the way of Jesus. Jesus said nothing about abortion, owning or stoning women with any background, who was a brown-skinned, migrant worker, who actively and always worked against the religious power structure. He wouldn’t recognize the Christians who are trying to control the laws, country and social constructs of the country today. He recognized and valued the woman at the well and upheld the Samaritan in his parables, even though they wouldn’t have been valued in his culture. No, Jesus wouldn’t have had anything to do with this mess of religious discrimination, and I sure don’t mind calling it out!
They use their religious beliefs as an excuse. What they want is to go back to at least Victorian times when men had absolute control over women. I was a Christian 60 some years ago I have been an Atheist since.
Their "religious freedom" is their right to force their religious beliefs on everyone else.
I've thought that since Alito went on about "life begins at conception." Only ONE part of ONE religion actually thinks this. But One Ring to Rule Them All, I guess.
This is absolutely appalling. The photo of the 3 judge panel says it all. This is about control of women and the evangelical movement to put us back in our subservient "place." Hell, no.
And getting rid of Roe was a long term plan funded by the ultra wealthy GOP white males who are members of the Federalist Society. They “used” Trump who could care less about Roe, to pack the federal courts with men like the three we see in the photo. McConnell backed by FS pushed through the courts’s candidates so SCOTUS could overturn Roe and create this horrendous immoral deadly mess that women face today. Damn the GOP and SCOTUS!
That guy on the right looks like he’s actually taking pleasure in ruining women’s health and lives.
Exactly what I thought, too.
Thank you Ginny! I was going to say the same thing about those three appalling specimens. 👏🏻👏🏻
I think this is an incredibly important time to tell our stories. I live in a conservative area and have been part of many conversations where abortion was discussed as something that is done for “them”. Meaning “welfare queens,” “those who seek abortion instead of birth control, etc.. When I bring up that, as a white, Christian, married, middle class, heterosexual woman, I’ve had an abortion, the conversation definitely gets uncomfortable. I often say that it’s none of my business why someone seeks an abortion and I have no right to judge. This makes the conversation even more awkward, especially after talking about my experience with abortion. These are the tough, personalizing stories we need to keep telling to remind people who are so comfortable in rationalizing draconian laws based on a vague “them” for what they are, the control of citizenry that they so abhor.
Thank you so much for this Dani, and especially for your original very poignant and clearly heartfelt posting of a real-world "abortion necessary" situation (it is, in fact, just one of many very real types of such weighty "mom-health/baby-health" scenarios) that no woman wants to face.
This absolutely has to be a key issue in 2024 - and each candidate at every level has to get it on audio/video/paper what their stance is (and vetted to past votes, social media etc).
Frankly, men should NOT have a majority say in any decisions regarding abortion; it should not even be a government matter. It is a medical/ethical matter that should be decided ultimately by the Mother-to-be ONLY (ideally with the guidance of Medical professionals and Counselors as needed).
Thank you, Dani - I just read your substack and am so sorry for your heartbreaking loss. It's your story or Brittany Watts, or the women in Texas who almost died as a result of being denied healthcare that I want to see the political campaigns focus on via commercials, mailings, etc. to keep the message in the forefront that women are being denied life saving healthcare because of the Christian Nationalism that is overtaking our country. And don't wait until mid-year to start the commercials (which the DNC typically does in its lackluster messaging), but now and every day until election day. This honestly is more than misogyny - It's tyranny. We are those women. They're our mothers, sisters, children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors and we have to stand up for all of them. For all of us. I am way too assertive to be a handmaiden. Start airing the commercials, DNC. Buy the billboard space.. Start the mailings. It's past time.
Yes Emma! I live in a Blue state, but I am still waiting the for the ads from the Dems to begin. They should already be out there! And I’m 74 and past the child bearing times, but sadly never could have children. (A story fir another day) but in order for Dems to put up the adds, there needs to be Dems out here who will not just talk, but put money where their mouth is. I can’t give much, being on SSA and retirement that pays my rent, but please go to Act Blue and give something. Anything. If you use the website, you can choose your person, state, issue. I use that site a lot. VOTE BLUE ALL THE TIME.
https://open.substack.com/pub/danismart/p/i-am-one-of-them?r=4e3s3&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Fabulous! Please help to register and turnout 18 to 29s. Thanks www.TurnUp.US
Thanks Doc; this is a terrifically effective and brilliant group of Harvard students who have been registering and turning out hundreds of thousands 18 to 29s on social media, senior high school students and Community Colleges! Based on 3 principles: support for abortion rights,effective gun safety legislation and combatting Climate Change! Please check them out and contribute generously at www.TurnUp.US.
Thanks you’re on the ball!
Wow. Thank you. 🙏
Thanks for that, Dani. I can relate so very much with your story.
I'm so sorry that you can relate Maggie. I wouldn't wish that on anyone and there are so many of us that can.
Let alone when I talk about seeing my own mom nearly die from a back alley abortion — truly a back alley in Los Angeles — and she couldn’t be put in a hospital because the Dr. couldn’t legally treat her. Sound familiar? That story makes all kinds of folks from some political persuasions uncomfortable, and from others, just mad that we may be headed back there after all the time we spent fighting to change the law. Ugh, now to be doing it again. Joyce is right. Until medical freedoms are codified in the Constitution, and think about how broadly that term is meant, then states will need to make abortion and all forms of medical freedoms (think trans for example) part of their State’s Constitution.
I believe people are getting to the point of seeing that not only abortion needs to be handled this way, but also gun control, mental health care, houselessness (because let’s face it people, even if you don’t count all the empty hotels, motels, and office buildings, and strip malls, there IS enough housing for everyone in the U.S. we can end hunger, make sure teachers and first responders and those who had no option but to work during the pandemic in public places get paid equitably, can be dealt with in State Constitutions, and once we get started…no telling where we might end up. Perhaps with a Republic that really does reflect the will of the people.
Well said, Joni.
I am with you. We are all with you. As Joyce says, we are all in this together.
Sending love and brava to you Dani.
You, Dani, and David and Rochelle put together such an amazing gift, not just to Heather, but to all of us who tried to save such a valuable document and then oopses and mistaken file deletions etc. that have frustrated many over the years. Thank you and them so much.
As for tonight's business, I am taken back, listening to you and the other women most affected by the topic, to the mid-late 1960s when I was one of the guys actively working on radical feminist performnces with Judy Chicago and the Original California Girls. The outright and subtle violences affecting so many women was a major topic then, as it is now when addressing the Patriarchy. I need not enumerate the evidence. You know, as do most of us who appreciate Heather do. Good to see you here on Joyces post tonight. Lots of good people here too.
Well said, Ransom.
So very glad you are here among us!
I'm limpin' along as best I can. I'm here because this is where the good folks are.
Maybe on another trip to the Northwest I can treat Dani to a lunch at the Ruin cafe in Spokane.
I think the issue of women having the right to make decisions about their own bodies will be a major issue in November. Every Republican is, in one way or another, in favor of forced birth. Thank you for reminding everyone of how important this issue is. Even if you are not in favor of abortion the laws written by mostly white, Christian men, are intentionally vague and threaten the lives of women and threaten doctors and hospitals with fines, loss of licenses and jail time to keep them in line. These legislators do not care about women, they care about controlling women and many of them want to go after contraception next. Please vote to keep women safe and to have the freedom to make their own health decisions.
Patricia, these legislators see women as sub-human ambulatory wombs. They see no reason to recognize women as deserving of rights. You’re right, many of them are also against contraception and see it as a form of abortion.
I'm 71 years old and I've lived with misogyny my entire life, personal and professional. Sometimes it's indirect, probably unconscious, many times it's direct and intentional. It's systemic and I've fought against it in various ways my entire life and I will continue to fight against it. I am very, very tired of it. I really wish that men who are not misogynistic would pay more attention, speak up more and fight harder to end it.
It really is necessary for non-misogynistic men to be actively involved in protecting and restoring women's rights.
Spot-on.🎯
I'm 69 years old and I've lived with misogyny my entire life, personal and professional. I too have fought against it all my life. I too am very, very tired of it.
I am grateful to you Patricia.
Exactly!
Exactly.
Hear, hear, Patricia!
As a FloriDuh voter I am appalled by Ashley Moody, ronnie de satan, and all of their cohorts who demean women along with the rest of the electorate as often as they can. How in the world are these people elected over and over?
What about DeSantis’ wife. How can she smile to the public. Has she no shame??????
She has no shame; like her spouse, a grasping wanna be someone important
No shame, no kidding; she married Him. No shame & no sense!
The GOP once warned that the Affordable Care Act would lead to death panels. Well geez guess who is now creating death panels? Ta da…
SCOTUS is allowing and promoting this change in course. Congress is held up by the GOP, State governments are in line and people need to get out the vote to have their values upheld.
Dear Joyce,
Thank you for being here with us!
And thank you to everyone here pulling together.
I feel like screaming at those immoral/ amoral men who seem intent on enslaving and punishing women:
“ Boys, do you not understand women still make up 52% of the population??”
Further, I say this to all women:
“Ladies, we make up 52% of the population. This is power. Use it.”
Yours truly,
A woman doc in MA
Thank You doc in MA- for all you do for your patients. And for talking sense to us, the Majority!
As I noted elsewhere, hard as it is to believe, the Draconians favor dead babies over live women. Pro-life my a$$.
Again, this is a hard newsletter to 🖤. I’m old enough to remember the bad old coat hanger days of back alley abortions and this is bringing it all back in some horrific Groundhog Day for women and girls. If this one issue alone doesn’t bring out every outraged voter, male and female, in the country then I don’t know what ever will. There will be many walls thrown up to prevent the voter from having a voice but we absolutely cannot allow anything to deter us from voting down these egregious, deadly, scattershot laws in any primary, certainly the general in November or we may never get any more chances to do so. Above all else, we have got to hold to account the lawmakers who have helped make this Hell on earth for reproductive choice. This is truly a matter of life and death.
Joyce, whenever you can find the time, maybe in conjunction with Barb McQuaid and Jill Wine-Banks y’all could break down the 2025 Project for you Sisters In Law podcast? From what I’ve heard, it needs to be exposed for the horror it could turn into for everyone if certain elements are allowed to gain power.
It needs to be posted and published and distributed in every grocery store, pharmacy, car repair shop and simply everywhere....every street corner. Pamphlets. Everywhere!!!!
A "Common Sense" for our era.
Yep.
Thank you Joyce for always keeping us well informed on very important issues and developments! This makes me so mad 😡
Thank you Joyce for keeping this egregious event at the forefront of our fight to preserve the rights we still have and to restore those that have been taken from us. A woman’s rights impacts all of us, whether it is the woman, her partner, her family, her friends, who may or may not be androgynous: every single one of us is impacted by human rights being removed. We are in this together. This mantra means that we need to be at the table with all of our voices heard. There’s an old saying that says “If you’re not at the table you’re the dinner.”
It’s never been more important to become aware of how fragile our democracy is right now. Every voice needs heard. I believe Trump will be defeated, Biden will be president in 2024, and Dobbs will be reversed by 2025. That will be because we are together, and we are voting, and taking others to the polls with us. We need to make sure our legislators hear us. Protest.
Vote. And we must make sure that the GOP does not take control of the Senate!
I cannot understand why men would do this to women, their wives, sisters, daughters, and mothers. Is it really to force the yoke of religion on to female necks? Do these mostly men believe god is watching? If these lawmakers are trying to appease religious sects, do they realize they are placating the minority? WHY?
Hi Lynn, There are many issues people simply do not understand because they have not or cannot experience the 'real life' event, they simply lack imagination. Abortion is just the worse example when they can't even imagine their own daughters and wives. And, look a college entrants, more women than men now. Poor men are giving up because women are better at many jobs... not because of gender, but because of training. It feels easier to cow women that rethink the way we raise boys, which traits we choose to develop.
Lack of imagination and lack of empathy! God forbid, they try to put themselves in another’s shoes.
It is easier for a woman to put themselves into a man's shoes than a man to put themselves into a woman's shoes. Women can experience the full gamut of physical experiencis and negativity. Men could only imagine what it is to be capable of bearing a child and all of the challenges that come with it. Let me be clear, this is not an excuse. It is but a potential explanation.
Yes Craig, I think you are right, women do have a more physical relationship to the world... but nothing prepared me for the experience of being pregnant or giving birth... every day was a new surprise and emotion. A bonding with that life.
I think it is like going to war for a man. There is no way to know what it is going to be like, but men are much more involved in violent play so it is not totally foreign experience.
For men not to be able to relate to a woman needing an abortion... most men have experienced situations where both choices are bad... you have to choose one. There has to be an underlying bias. I've talked with men who simply say, "I would not have got myself into the situation in the first place." I think this is the attitude most difficult for me to understand. And I rarely hear it from the women I know, who spend a lot of their life making choices between two things they do not want or sacrificing one of two things they desperately need.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I hope this statement makes sense.
They seem to take their cues from the Taliban. Truly beyond belief. They must be stopped.
Control, fear, greed, power, money, control, fear, greed, power, money, control, fear, power money....How many times do we need to say it. Zero. We know what and who they are, now it's time to take back our lives.
If we are talking about sects of Christianity, Jesus said absolutely nothing about abortion. He said a lot about not judging others. He also said vengeance and retribution should be left to God, not us. Some self-described Christians have gone so far as to say that that is weakness.
I think many men like fundamentalist religion because it exalts men. They enjoy power, but they leave responsibility to the women.
The old white man myth of white supremacy. But I fear they just don’t know how to address going forward without their masks of persuation.
Perhaps racism is active here. Perhaps some racist white men want to do everything they can to increase the number of white babies born. I know women of all races get abortions, and these Draconian laws affect all women, but the Replacement Theory probably has some racist white men trying to ensure more white babies any way they can.
Perhaps. But I doubt they think much about that. I'm not even sure the issue is abortion. It's just control, and abortion is one of the tools.
They believe themselves to be privileged to do whatever they want. The "why do the do it" is they are sociopaths and narcissists or those who enable them. It is "God looks like me so I have the right to do what I want."
It is more than believing god is watching. They envision god as male, the all-powerful father. The Judeo-Christian tradition believes in patriarchy, from life on earth all the way to the afterlife.
There are women going along with the same draconian values. Religion is also a driving force.
As a recently retired maternal-fetal specialist (ob-gyn sub-specialty in complicated pregnancy) I can attest that problems like the one that you’ve discussed are common. They truly are life threatening. Waiting for fetal death before delivery can end up in the mother dying.
I sent her money on her gofundme page which I learned about 2 weeks ago on Meidas Touch youtube - I heard Ben Crump is helping. This is why if SCOTUS mentions "chaos in the States" by leaving odious Trump off the ballot, despite clarity of 14/3, I'll scream.
Her doctor sent her to the hospital to get an abortion, telling her she needed one to avoid maternal death
This is so confusing...this dr says this, do that, and another says something else. Seriously!? We're damned every which way. And then, when the "outcome" happens, it's the woman's fault anyway.
Always the woman’s fault.