227 Comments

"If conservatives can recalibrate our side of the conversation about women’s healthcare to one rooted in compassion..."

Every so often my school district wonders aloud to us how neat it would be for us to empathize with our students and show them more compassion. They then present us with little glurgy films and thoughtful powerpoints meant to instill those things in us. I have serious doubts as to whether that can be taught that way. From my experience, you have to live it.

Expand full comment

Please, conservatives, be more compassionate! MAGA response: Fuck your feelings!

Expand full comment

I've noticed they removed the hyphen from "pro-life"...

I Googled Sarah Chamberlain and as much as it pains me to say, it appears as if her ovaries dried up prior to Tr*mp getting "elected," so like the young Rethug males who rape and murder other Rethug males, why is it always the Rethug women who cannot ever get pregnant again leading the charge to make ALL women chattel?

And fuck Anne Coulter with her own Adam's Apple...

Expand full comment

Women who oppose abortion rights are gender traitors.

Expand full comment

If there are any rational and / or literate republicans left, they should read this.

Expand full comment

IMO, they should just do away with any legal bars to late-term abortions. (Almost) anyone looking for a late-term abortion would not be doing it lightly - just decide, after 6 months, that they didn’t want to be pregnant anymore. Pretty much anyone needing a late-term abortion is doing it because something has gone terribly wrong with the pregnancy, and should not have to undergo additional stress of legal issues.

I say “almost” and “pretty much anyone” because humans are weird, and there might be some person who indulges in recreational late-term abortions, but that person, IMO, shouldn’t be a parent, either.

Expand full comment

There are no legal restrictions on abortion in Canada, just medical ones. Despite this, third trimester abortions are still exceedingly rare, because healthy women who are six months pregnant don't just wake up one morning and remember that they had intended to get an abortion half-a-year ago: even if one did, she wouldn't be able to find a doctor willing to do it for her.

Expand full comment

The Republican position on pregnancy is that the woman is duty-bound to do everything in her power to get that soul across the finish line so it can be baptized or die trying.

Expand full comment

The Republicans should all chill. The Mormon faithful will be happy to save those souls that don't cross that finish line.

Expand full comment
Mar 13·edited Mar 13

“Countless American women have been failed by a conservative movement and Republican Party that doesn’t know how to talk about — much less deliver solutions for — their genuine healthcare concerns.”

It’s a damn shame how those countless American women are being forced to have late-term abortions against their will. Won’t anyone think of them and their healthcare concerns?!?

Expand full comment

"At its best, the pro-life movement, a mainstay of the American conservative coalition for decades, has been animated by compassion.

No."

That's so unfair, Robyn. The pro-life movement has, for decades, shown compassion toward arsonist, assassins, people carrying around posters of bloody fetuses, rapist wanting to become parents, people calling doctor's "murderers," or "Mengele," and so much more.

No wonder they have no time for women who need healthcare or want to control their own bodies.

Expand full comment

"Countless American women have been failed by a conservative movement and Republican Party that doesn’t know how to talk about — much less deliver solutions for — their genuine healthcare concerns"

It is telling that the first thing mentioned is not the position of the Republicans or any of their actions, but that they are simply after nearly 40 years of attacking a woman's right to control her body, not communicating their position properly.

Expand full comment

Katie Britt as Reno Sweeney! Now, there's an image

In olden times, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, but now God knows...

Anything goes.

Good authors, too, who once knew better words now only use four-letter words writing prose...

Anything goes.

If... driving fast cars you like,

If low bars you like

If old hymns you like

Or bare limbs you like;

If Mae West you like

Or me undressed you like

Then nobody will oppose.

And nowadays the set that's smart is intruding in nudist parties in studios...

Anything goes!

Somehow, I can't quite see Katie singing that.

Expand full comment

Nah, I think Republicans should do exactly the opposite. I think they should double down. They need to celebrate the death of Roe and get all weepy and sentimental about the vast numbers of "the unborn" that are now being saved. Just go on and on about how much they hate abortion and think it's murder and are glad that it's being stopped.

That'll work out about as well for them as whatever this woman is suggesting, and it'll have the virtue of honesty at least.

Expand full comment

Except they don't think abortion is murder so it wouldn't be honest at all. If they were honest, they'd celebrate forcing women to stay in abusive marriage to shitty Trump voters and punishing the whores who dared have sex without their approval.

Expand full comment

"Why should we even have to *try* to sell women on what we plan to do? They're supposed to just vote for us because we *told* them it's the right thing to do. Trying to sell them on it makes it sound like they should be able to think for themselves or something!"

Expand full comment

> Conservative women are doing the work to lead this dialogue in a more productive direction. Commentator Ann Coulter wrote bluntly: “The prolife movement has gone from compassion for the child to cruelty to the mother (and child).”

If you've veered to the right of Ann Coulter, you are truly in "here there be dragons" land.

Expand full comment
Mar 12·edited Mar 12

The thought that Ann Coulter is left of ANYONE is terrifying.

(edited to remove transphobic wording - mea culpa)

Expand full comment

"Andy"? Is that the old "Ann Coulter looks like a man tee hee" thing? Just FYI that bird doesn't really fly here. There are plenty of things to criticize Coulter (or any deserving woman) about, besides her appearance. And we are quite trans friendly here anyway.

Expand full comment

Noted - I used it bc she hate hate hates it, but as you note, it's transphobic, and I didn't think about it. I'll edit to fix. Grazie for the course correction.

Expand full comment

And thanks to you for learning gracefully and stepping up. I've done my share of oopsies in my own growth. It's lovely to see.

Expand full comment

Thx. I was pretty embarrassed when I realized what I'd done....

Expand full comment

> On Monday, The Hill published an op-ed by one Sarah Chamberlain titled “How the GOP can stop alienating women over abortion.”

Lie. It's their only option to even have a chance to convince women that Repos think women are fully human with their own free will and brains and everything.

Expand full comment

Taking half the population's body sovereignty away is not only a gross violation of human rights, we've had at least a year to witness the actual harm this policy has caused.

If you cause drastic harm to people, they won't like you.

If your knowledge of human nature is so poor that this is beyond your comprehension, maybe politics isn't the career for you.

Expand full comment

Naturally, instead of "Maybe we should change our views to things people actually like," they've veered towards "Maybe we should take away women's right to vote." Xwitter is already features lots of awful male conservative influencers claiming that the women's vote moving towards Biden is proof that the wimmenfolk are "more gullible" than men and not, you know, that Republicans treat women like shit and women don't like that.

Expand full comment