A Triumph for Right-Wing Extremism
Face it, it’s not about abortion, it’s about control. The abortion issue has been used for decades to fire up a conservative base to keep well-heeled conservatives in power. How did this draconian Supreme Court decision happen? There are many to blame for this ruling, which technically is still pending. It was Mitch McConnell who blocked President Obama’s Supreme Court pick from getting a hearing, even though there were eight months before the next Presidential election. How many people sat out the Presidential election of 2016, where Donald Trump won the Presidency with three million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton? We can look at Russian social media propaganda that helped push Donald Trump over the top in 2016, as well. Or, what about how the Republicans shoved Amy Barrett down our throats just a few weeks before the 2020 election?
If the leaked ruling stands, it will serve as a monument to a committed, extremist minority imposing their will over the majority of Americans. Many of the states which will most certainly ban abortions are also the ones that are limiting voting rights. The political party which supports overturning Roe v. Wade is also the party that has refused to hold accountable those who attempted a coup on January 6th, 2021. This ruling, if it comes to pass, is another dangerous step toward autocracy, where the will of the majority is swatted away like an annoying insect.
While I refuse to judge anyone who opposes abortion on moral grounds, I wonder why many of these same people don’t support policies to reduce the conditions that lead to abortions. Obviously, providing wide-spread availability of contraception seems like a no-brainer. How many women choose to have abortions because of economics? Does our country offer a year of paid family leave? Does our country offer financial support for struggling families? Does our society provide women protection from abusive partners? Are there any laws which will require male sterilization when the father fails to support his biological children? Why are the consequences of pregnancy aimed mainly at women, while ignoring the role the men play in reproduction?
Criminalizing women for making a painful and personal decision about their bodies is a frightening step toward the grim future portrayed by Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale, where control over a woman’s uterus is a matter of government policy. By forcing the moral dictates of a religious minority upon the rest of us, the Supreme Court appears ready to pound another stake into the heart of our democracy.
Ironically, banning abortions will not prevent abortions, no more than prohibition stopped the consumption of alcohol. What will happen, though, is that the burden of this decision will fall upon those women who have limited options to cope with the consequences of the ruling. At least many of the older white men who have fought so hard to ban abortions will be just fine.