Mackerel Snapper
You know how NPLM is always going on and on about attacking the root causes of abortion? Here’s a good example of what we’re talking about.
For those of you unfamiliar with the wacky world that is Alabama, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the decision in a 2016 case in which a woman in Tuscaloosa (Roll Tide) was awarded over $300,000 in a lawsuit against the city.
The whole story started in 2011 when Stephanie Hicks, an investigator with the Tuscaloosa Police Department, became pregnant. After her baby was born, she decided to take the full 12 weeks of maternity leave—something she was absolutely entitled to under the Family Medical Leave Act.
This, along with getting pregnant in the first place, seemed to greatly offended the Tuscaloosa Police Department. And they let her know it.
According to a recent article by AL.com:
“When she returned from maternity leave, {Hicks} said she was subjected to write-ups for bogus infractions in retaliation for taking the 12 weeks of maternity leave allowed under the Family Medical Leave Act, and endured hostility over taking breaks to pump breast milk for her infant son.
She was eventually moved to patrol duty, which meant a pay cut, later hours, and that she’d have to wear a bullet-proof vest.
After she expressed concerns about the tight-fitting vest being painful and interfering with milk production – and that patrol duty made it difficult to take pumping breaks – the department refused to modify her working conditions. Her superiors told her that her only alternative was to go without a bullet-proof vest or wear a looser-fitting vest that put her at greater risk of injury or death.
In the past, according to her suit, the department had modified working conditions for male officers for various reasons, including medical conditions.”
Another article from last year gives additional detail about the way she was treated at work, stating that she was forced to pump only in the locker room, and would receive calls from other officers over the radio demanding she “wrap those boobs up” when needed for work.
Obviously this is horrible. Most decent people should be able to see that. Especially since the court ruled in her favor. And while it’s somewhat reassuring that she won the case, it’s not enough.
Consider for a moment that you’re another female police officer in Tuscaloosa—or perhaps simply aspiring to be—and you read this story. How do you respond if you want to be a mother? Better yet, what do you do if you actually become pregnant?
And that goes for all women in all positions, not just the police. Because according to Hicks, she received calls from bank tellers, paramedics, and teachers—all who had similar stories.
“So many people have reached out to me and said they were treated similarly, whether they were paramedics or teachers or bank tellers,” {Hicks} said. “They all say the same thing: I was afraid, I couldn’t afford to quit my job, I didn’t want to be retaliated against.”
This right here is the kind of sexist nonsense that drives women to abort, and we have to fight it. Abortion doesn’t happen in a moral vacuum. And those of us who call ourselves pro-life *must* realize that abortion is not the only thing that contributes to an anti-life culture.
We must advocate for a society that protects the rights and lives of the unborn, as well as the rights and life of the mother—including her labor rights and livelihood. We cannot scream about the evils of abortion while simultaneously forcing women to choose between having a child or having a job.
We have to be pro-life for the whole life. Nothing less.
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