Roe v. Wade established that no one had the right to force a woman into carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term. As a Baby Boomer, I have vivid memories of the days before abortions were legalized. I recall my mother’s screams as she lay on the kitchen table undergoing the at-home procedure that terminated the pregnancy she and my father did not want. No hospital provided a medicated alternative.
Very shortly after that, when “the pill” was experimental, my mother volunteered for a “trial” so neither she, nor anyone else, would ever have to suffer such a procedure. The elevated testosterone in the early trials was deadly…. causing cancer.
At 37, with no history of cancer in our family, Mom was diagnosed with rapidly growing, grade 4 breast cancer. Her treatments included a radical mastectomy, radiation treatments, chemotherapy, loss of her lymph nodes, and a partial hysterectomy. There was no option for reconstructive surgery back then.
A few years later, she suffered through the same procedures as her cancer spread to her other breast. Still undefeated, it invaded her lungs and her brain stem. She ultimately succumbed to the cancer that ravaged her frail body, after stoically battling for 12 years.
My mom, Louise Pelton Short, was an unsung casualty of life without the availability of legal, medical abortion. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her and the many lessons she taught me about unconditional love, character, and morality. On Mother’s Day, and everyday, I miss her warm embrace, remember her smile, and listen to her guiding voice.
The Roe vs. Wade Disaster
SCOTUS is basing it’s objections to Roe on inappropriate interpretations of law. The Mississippi Gestational Age Act deliberately refers to a fetus as an “unborn human being.” Science tells us there is absolutely no way a fetus can sustain itself until well into its 2nd trimester, at 22 weeks. The concept of every fetus, regardless of gestational age, being an “unborn human being” is completely theoretical and based on religious belief, not science. SCOTUS is supposed to protect our rights to our religious beliefs which are clearly granted by the first amendment.
Justice Alito’s comments further misstate the connection between abortion, sexual relations, contraception, and marriage. While he agrees that the 14th amendment applies to the later three constructs, he refutes that the same “protection of liberty” granted by the 14th amendment applies to abortion.
Will someone please give his honor a lesson on the birds and the bees!!
He further states that our constitution demands that the states should take control of abortion law because state legislation reflects “citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.” He fails to acknowledge that our federal checks and balances are the ultimate oversight over our rights and freedoms. He is abdicating the responsibility of the court to protect the opinions of the majority of US citizens. A CBS News Poll reports that 62% of our population does not want Roe vs. Wade overturned.
How did we get this way?
The imbalance created by our electoral system made governance by the minority over the majority a reality. Trump stacked the court, not out of concern about abortion, he had none. He simply needed to enlist Evangelists, bigots, and religious zealots to win the Presidency, so he traded our civil rights for election support.
His lack of morality has led us down this diabolical path where a woman’s self determination over her body is about to be unraveled by judges whose dubious sexual conduct show total disregard for CONSENT.
Justice Alito, and the additional justices who subscribe to this immoral grab of religious and commonsense freedom, have the Dark Ages opinion that a woman, and her chastity, are objects to be controlled. While they claim to be saving human life, they are, indeed, destroying the lives of countless women and girls.
CONSENT is at the heart of EVERYTHING pertaining to your property and bodily autonomy.
Our federal laws, and our state laws must protect every competent person’s right to consent on all matters. Whether your choices pertain to your property or your body, consent is always the same… freely given, knowledgeable and informed agreement, by a person with the capacity to reason, #FGKIA.
CONSENT is the human right basis for true freedom, and must become a civil right in all matters concerning who, when, and what you allow regarding your reproductive system.
What can you do?
Sign CAN’s petition! Call you legislator! Demand that they #CodifyConsent into law today, not only to protect you from rape, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and domestic violence, but also to protect your right to choice regarding abortion. Do it for all the Moms in the world…. present, past and future!
