The Rape Case of the Ten-Year-Old in Ohio Proves How Untenable the Republican Abortion Laws Are

 --P.S. White

The rape of a ten-year-old girl in Ohio resulting in pregnancy (which the Republicans have finally accepted a true), proves just how untenable the draconian abortion laws are being pushed through many states.  To force a victim of rape to follow through with any pregnancy that results is unconscionable, especially considering that the Republicans have done next to nothing to put in place social programs to help these women.  To insist that a ten-year-old is wrong to get an abortion highlights this and emphasizes the extreme stance of the GOP and the fact that this is about pushing a narrow, regressive, religious agenda and not about protecting lives.

For a young girl to be in this position to begin with is horrendous, but unlike Governor Abbot of Texas claimed, there is no realistic way to eliminate rape (and to my knowledge he has done nothing to follow up on his dubious promise).  There are plenty of ways to deal with the aftermath of this crime, though, and allowing for abortion should definitely be an option open to the woman.  But many of the Republican abortion laws being passed in GOP-led states take this off the table.  

I have already discussed how these laws are about pushing a narrow and unpopular right wing agenda on the nation with little concern for the health and safety of the child (or the mother it would appear).  This case shows just how dangerous it is to allow these extremist views to be codified by laws that are sexist, discriminatory, and harmful.  

And more repercussions are on the way.  Texas hospitals are refusing to see women with pregnancy complications because of fears of violating the laws put in place in that state. This will become more common in other states passing these laws which subverts the original idea of protecting the child's life.

Republicans continue to ignore this and as they make the laws harsher and harsher while at the same time failing to put in place any sort of legislation to help the mothers get through childbirth and support the child afterward.

And expect them to pivot on the Ohio case and redirect attention to the child's alleged rapist who is an illegal immigrant.  They will use this to turn attention away from the draconian abortion laws and to justify Donald Trump's racist lie that illegal immigrants are coming across the border to rape American citizens.  

But the sad fact is that more cases like the one in Ohio will occur, making women not just the victim of crime but also the regressive, puritanical laws that strip them of the choices they should have.  The Republicans do not represent the majority of this country, and their extreme right wing views are both destructive and devise and should not be allowed to control this country.  We must stand against them in protest, in the polls, and in our daily words and actions.  If we unite against this threat, we can peacefully cast it away by organizing and making others aware of the dangers it presents to our democracy and by voting for more acceptable candidates that better represent this country.  But we must remain vigilant and active lest this extremism will overtake our country.

Overturning Roe v. Wade Is Not About Protecting Children, It Is About Forcing an Unpopular, Ultra-Right-Wing Agenda on the Country

 --P.S. White

Leading up to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the general push from the conservative side was that this was needed to protect the rights of unborn babies.  For those who can see through the rhetoric and blatant lies, though, it has been clear for some time that concern for the children has never been the true issue at stake.  This has always been about pushing an ultra-right-wing agenda, and the immediate aftermath from that ruling offers all the proof needed.

It there really was wide concern among the conservatives for the well-being of the mothers and their unborn children, then the states that passed the restrictive abortion laws would have immediately put plans in place to assure that the childbirth would be as safe as possible and that financial assistance would be in place if needed.  And while a few Republicans have given lip-service to such programs, no substantial legislation is currently in place to assist the mothers or the children.  And the fact is that the Republican Party has historically shown much resistance to supporting social programs of this nature.

Instead of expressing any sort of empathy or support for the mothers who are being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term or the children that could be born into a dire situation, this ruling seemed to embolden the right-wing, and they immediately started to champion next steps for forcing their agenda on the country.

Justice Clarence Thomas in his ruling targeted two cases that could be the next to fall: Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges and Griswold v. Connecticut.  The former protects the right to same-sex intimacy and marriage and furthers the anti-gay movement among the right-wing driven by extreme homophobia and a very narrow reading of the Bible.  The latter protects the right to obtain contraceptives, and to overturn that would be unconscionable by the same people trying to make abortion illegal throughout the country.  This is again driven by a narrow reading of the Bible and an attempt to enforce puritanical, religious views on a secular county.

Texas Senator John Corwyn then suggested on Twitter that the Supreme Court go after Plessy vs Ferguson and Brown vs Board of Education, the cases that struck down the Segration policy of "Separate but Equal" and allowed for the integration of schools.  Indiana Senator Mike Braun suggested that protections for interracial marriage are in question. And Illinois Representative Mary Miller called the Roe v. Wade ruling a "historic victory for white life".  Apparently the Republicans are wearing their racisim on their sleeves now as they advocate for a return to a time when women and minorities had less rights than white males. 

And to highlight just how inhumane, inflexable, and uncaring the right-wing is on their anti-abortion stance, a ten-year-old victim of rape was forced to cross state lines from Ohio to Indiana to get an abortion.  Republican Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota--which also has restrictive abortion laws--suggested that the TEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL should have carried the pregnancy to term.

If the conservatives who are opposed to abortion really cared about the mother and the child, they would have followed a different path once the unpopular ruling was made by the Supreme Court.  But instead, they championed to push their far-right-wing agenda even further, clearly displaying the bigotry and repressive religious beliefs that drive them.  The people of this country must stand against this extremism and continue to demand that our leaders protect our freedoms and our democracy against the very real threat posed by the ultra-right-wing.  A toxic, destructive agenda that is unpopular and counter to our democratic ideals should not be tolerated in this country and we must be diligent in our efforts to oppose it.