I do not know whether Roe Versus Wade will be overturned.
I used to think there wasn’t a chance, and now I’m not sure. I wouldn’t be surprised either way at this point.
I don’t think abortion will go away if Roe Versus Wade is overturned, because I am not delusional. I know that abortion has existed since at least ancient Egypt, and was legal in the United States in thirty states plus the military, and it happened in all of them whether it was legal or not. Rich women paid a skilled doctor to “bring on a late period” or “remove the abnormal tissue” and no one said anything if the “tissue” moved. Poorer women had other means. If you watch the insightful “AKA Jane Roe” documentary, you’ll see that the first thing Ms. McCorvey did when she found herself pregnant was to go to a filthy illegal clinic. She knew right where it was. Everyone knew.
I think the main result of Roe Versus Wade being overturned will be chaos: more filthy illegal clinics. Extremely dangerous, poorly regulated Gosnell-style clinics on the borders of states where it’s legal. More women going across the state border for procedures and then being afraid to go to the emergency room if they have complications later. That didn’t have to be the case. If we’d built a society where families and children were welcome, where people had the food and medical care they needed without worry, where mothers were treated with the respect they deserve for their vocation, where rapists and abusive spouses were punished as aggressively as they ought to be– that would be very different. I think abortion would be rare as hen’s teeth. But we chose a different kind of society. This society depends on abortion. And abortion will go on happening whether it’s legal or not. And this is a tragedy worse than anything I can express. We didn’t have the power to make abortion go away and never will, but we could have stopped any number of individual abortions and we chose not to.
I think everyone realizes this, deep down, but the thing I used to call the pro-life movement keeps on gaslighting us. They want us to believe they really do care about women and families, we’re just being ungrateful to point out they don’t.
No less than Ryan T. Anderson was pontificating about it just yesterday on Twitter.
“If Roe is finally overturned, that isn’t the end of the pro-life movement, but the beginning of a new stage. Time to pass laws to protect babies, craft pro-family policies, build support systems for women. So much of this already exists, and now is the time to take to next level.”
I’m certain he doesn’t believe that’s what the pro-life movement is going to do, but he wants us to believe he believes. NOW they’re going to suddenly turn on a dime and help women. NOW they’re going to support laws and policies that help families. Before they were too busy with Roe Versus Wade, but when it’s gone, they’ll have all the time in the world to get around to things that will actually reduce abortions. For real this time. Pinky swear.
I wonder what pro-family policies he has in mind.
The child tax credit expansion which is drastically reducing child poverty all over the country? That’s helping families. But pro-life politicians said it was communism and did everything they could to stop it.
Affordable healthcare so that no woman has to worry about where she’ll get the thousands of dollars for a safe childbirth? No, pro-lifers were against that.
Making sure everyone gets vaccinated against illnesses that can cause miscarriage and stillbirth? No, pro-lifers are against the vaccines.
Expanding SNAP so no woman turns to abortion because she’s afraid she won’t be able to feed her child? No, pro-lifers are against food stamps.
A free school lunch since they don’t want poor children to eat at home? No, pro-lifers don’t believe in free lunch.
Maternity leave so mothers can care for their children without the threat of losing their jobs? No, pro-lifers opposed that.
Caring for the environment so that parents wouldn’t fear bringing their children into an unsafe world that’s getting less hospitable every year? Of course not. Pro-lifers don’t believe in climate change.
Are they going to turn around and change their minds on all of these policies if they get their way on Roe versus Wade? Does anyone believe that? What, then, are they talking about?
They’re not talking about anything. They’re gaslighting us and we all know it.
They will use “pro-family” as an excuse to abuse LGBTQ people, and that’s about it.
They’re willing to create chaos to get some laws banning abortion passed, but they’re not willing to do anything to help any women feel they have other options. They’re putting women in a round room and telling them they’ll be punished if they don’t go stand in a corner.
This is nothing new, but it’s dreadfully disappointing to watch nonetheless.
Image via Pixabay
Mary Pezzulo is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross and Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy.
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