Supreme Court Still Has Abortion Case To Rule On, And It Probably Won't Be So Awesome!
Supreme Court Still Has Abortion Case To Rule On, And It Probably Won't Be So Awesome!
Your semi-regular Wonkette reproductive rights roundup!
As we already reported today, the Supreme Court dismissed the ridiculous lawsuit seeking to ban the abortion drug mifepristone on the grounds that those who brought it did not have standing to do so, because you can’t just make up hypothetical future “harms.” But that’s not the only abortion-related case the Court is expected to weigh in on this week. The other is the Idaho EMTALA case — in which the state is arguing that their hospitals should be allowed to refuse treatment to those who require emergency abortions, until they are at death’s door, on the grounds that their state constitution considers the fetus to also be a patient.
This case is less likely to get a positive outcome. It is possible, as journalist Susan Rinkunas points out, that the Court may issue both cases so close together in order to make people think the Court is “moderate” rather than supermajority right-wing extremist, which is exactly what it is.
Republicans ‘Love’ IVF, But Not Enough To Protect The Right To It
In lieu of something that would actually be helpful, such as actually codifying the right to in-vitro fertilization — as Democrats are looking to do next week — all 49 Senate Republicans have signed onto a “declaration” stating that they support IVF remaining legal, while also suggesting that it is ridiculous that anyone thinks anyone is going to do anything to change that. Spoiler: Yeah.
The statement reads:
Senate Democrats have embraced a Summer of Scare Tactics — a partisan campaign of false fearmongering intended to mislead and confuse the American people. In vitro fertilization is legal and available in every state across our nation. We strongly support continued nationwide access to IVF, which has allowed millions of aspiring parents to start and grow their families.
Related: Representatives from 50,000 churches across the United States also signed onto a resolution this week, at the Southern Baptist Convention. Their resolution was to oppose IVF and declare it “dehumanizing.” Because of how they think embryos are people, just like how the Alabama supreme court thinks that embryos are people and ruled as such in February of this year. Evangelicals are the most powerful voting bloc in the Republican Party, and multiple conservative states have started pushing for “embryo rights” in their legislatures, but you suggest that Republican senators will let that happen for realsies, you are obviously just trying to scare people into voting for you.
You know, like how Republicans try to scare people by rudely claiming that people regularly go around carrying a baby for nine months and then decide at the last minute that they don’t want it and demand abortions. Speaking of which …
Please Enjoy Sen. John Kennedy Getting His Ass Handed To Him
This week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights held a hearing on “Crossing the Line: Abortion Bans and Interstate Travel for Care After Dobbs.”
During this hearing, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana really tried it, asking experts about these hypothetical modern Medeas out there deciding that they want last minute abortions for no good reason, even explicitly stating that he didn’t want to hear that “that never happens.” But he heard it anyway, from Jocelyn Frye of the National Partnership for Women and Families, who explained that he “shouldn’t ask a question if he didn’t want to know the answer,” that only one percent of abortions occur after 21 weeks, almost exclusively for issues related to the child or mother’s health and that it is disrespectful to women who have abortions, the majority of whom are already mothers, to suggest that they would do this for fun.
I mean, everything else aside, why would we make it difficult for those in dire situations to get medical care on the off chance that someone, somewhere, might decide “Hey! I think I’ll just stay pregnant for several months, endure morning sickness and everything else unpleasant that comes with that, and then, instead of paying $500 for a simple first trimester abortion, I will pay over $2000 for a far more complicated medical procedure. Just for fun! Because it sounds like a really good time” when most of us hate having to go to the gynecologist for regular reasons?
Anyway, thank you to Ms. Frye for being magnificent and sorry not sorry to Sen. Kennedy for being made to look the entire fool he is.
Quick Hits!
Here’s some nice news: The city of Amarillo, Texas, became the second city in Texas after Clarendon City to vote against being a “sanctuary city for the unborn,” probably because that is both stupid and gross. Good job, Amarillo! [Austin American Statesman]
Less good news: The three female Republican legislators who managed to make South Carolina’s abortion ban slightly less horrible — by taking it from a complete ban to a fetal cardiac pole activity ban, which would still allow the procedure up to six weeks, though that is still before many even know they are pregnant — did not do so well in their primaries. Two were defeated by anti-abortion extremists and one ended up in a runoff. Should she also lose, this will leave the South Carolina GOP with a grand total of zero (0) women in the state Senate. [AP]
On the other side of that, in a Democratic primary in Waterville, Oregon, voters ousted three-term state Rep. Bruce White, who had voted against reproductive rights, choosing newcomer Cassie Julia, who was endorsed by Planned Parenthood, to replace him. [Portland Press Herald]
Despite Trump’s attempts at sounding like a moderate on abortion, he took some time to visit The Danbury Institute’s first annual Life and Liberty Conference in Indiana on Monday. The organization believes that life begins at conception and opposes abortion for any reason.
Trump reassured the group that he was on their side on abortion.
“These are going to be your years because you’re going to make a comeback like just about no other group,” Trump told attendees in the recording. “I know what’s happening. I know where you’re coming from and where you’re going. And I’ll be with you side by side.” [Salon]
I'm assuming Transvaginal Sam signed off on the decision because he saw the f in "mifepristone" and figured that was one of those old-school S's the Founding Fathers used in the 18th century when our law was cast in stone. "It's an old word, so it must be okay."
Americans keep voting for right-wing extremists in many parts of the country, and this is the price -- in the case still to be decided, the issue is whether the individual adult has any rights or is just a unit of flesh in a "grander" moral/religious/eschatological scheme. So in plain English, it might be fine with the SCOTUS majority if a woman has to die to preserve the life of the child she is carrying, or even just to make a point (i.e. if the child isn't going to survive anyhow) that she is "only a vessel." These same people who think this is good will then be in favor of treating the child like garbage, and withholding the support necessary for it to grow into a well-balanced adult -- you know, all that superfluous nonsense like adequate food, healthcare, social services, and education.