Remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Puritan society in his novel, The Scarlet Letter? Poor Hester Prynne violated the laws of the church, which meant that she broke society’s laws, too. At the beginning of the novel, the reader joins Hester as she leaves the safety of the town prison and makes her way back into the society that jailed her. Reading the book for the first time in the 11th grade, I had a hard time understanding how, in a free society, the religion of one group could also form its judicial system. That makes the laws of God the same thing as the laws of man. Separation of church and state was also an 11th grade U.S. history lesson, so we students figured no more Hesters could be jailed for breaking the laws of her religion . Or so we thought. We fought a war 250 years ago to separate the colonies from a king who was not only ruler of the government but leader of the church. A quick walk through British history shows what a mess that ideal leads to: remember Henry VIII
Please read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 first.
Dobbs and all of its ramifications for women didn’t happen overnight. A cast of characters and a decades-long plan led to the decision, so let’s give credit where credit is due.
To the crowds that marched with “Right to Life” signs since the Roe decision in 1973, proclaiming that all fetuses were really people and that they must be protected: you have blood on your hands.
To Samuel Alito and his crew of right-wing cronies who rendered the Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, declaring abortion was not a constitutional right: you have blood on your hands.
To the U.S. Presidents who nominated the right-wing judges to purposely dismantle the past 50 years of women’s health care rights: you have blood on your hands.
To the governor of Texas, along with 14 other governors, who purposely signed ambiguous abortion bills into law, forcing U.S. women to face possible sepsis, sterility, and emotional trauma due to doctors’ fear of existing laws: you have blood on your hands. Despite the Texas law’s rigidity and intended scare tactics, five brave women are suing the state because they were forced to carry their unborn babies to term. Their babies had no chance of survival, and these women risked sepsis, emotional devastation, and even death by complying with Texas law.
To the Tennessee legislature that made abortion illegal from the point of conception after the Dobbs decision: you have blood on your hands. Your laws include no explicit exception, including the mother’s health, which ultimately led to the birth of a 1.4 lb. baby with no chance of long term survival. Not only was this a devastating process for the physical and emotional health of the mother, but cost the state millions in health care for no reason.
To all of the state politicians who mistook the Dobbs decision as a victory and used it to curb or eliminate a woman’s right to health care: you have blood on your hands. And for those governors, like Virginia’s, who had a legislative body that worked to stop changes in abortion laws, you got lucky.
To Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who outlawed safe and effective medication used by more than half of women seeking an abortion: you have blood on your hands. Your temporary victory is already being appealed, and maybe, just maybe, the Supreme Court will muster enough contrition to realize the devastation of its original Dobbs decision and refuse to add to the carnage caused by the Texas judge.
Oh, and our girl, Jane? She’s dead. She bled out on her dorm floor after a trip to “the doctor,” just like a girl I knew in high school. Just like so many more like her used to do and will do again.
Abortions won’t stop because stupid men without a clue legislate with power they don’t deserve about issues they will never understand. And all who work to limit women’s choices for quality health care have blood on their hands.
Over half of the population of the U.S. is female. We must support the party that really is right to life - the party that works to secure health care and abortion care for all women. We must all support the Democratic party and its candidates.
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