Rape As Opportunity: Because Only the GOP, Even Its Women, Could Hate Women This Much
With SCOTUS' religious zealots reportedly ready to void Roe v Wade and launch our new crypto-fascist theocracy - Go Handmaids! - GOP goons are busy pushing over 500 bills to ban or restrict choice. It's bad. Still, Ohio Rep. and grim zombie schoolmarm Jean Schmidt just made it worse. Defending her bill to ban abortion with no exceptions, she argued a pregnant 13-year-old rape victim should accept her natural, God-given "opportunity," and "just because you have emotional scars doesn't give you the right to take a life." Nah, let's just take the kid's. WTF GOP: Empathy died with you.
With a Supreme Court overrun with religious zealots reportedly ready to void Roe v Wade and usher in a new crypto-fascist theocracy - Go Handmaids, Marthas, Aunties, silent wives and whores of Gilead! - GOP goons are already busy "removing the veils" of their anti-choice fervor and going full-on, red-meat, lunatic misogyny in their escalating efforts to remove any sliver of respect for a woman's right to choose her fate when confronted with an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the longtime support of up to three-quarters of Americans for that fundamental right, GOP lawmakers have introduced 536 bills in 42 states to restrict or outright ban abortion, all in lethal preparation for SCOTUS' anticipated reversing or at least gutting of Roe when it hears arguments on Mississippi's post-15-week abortion ban in June. Combined, all those state moves constitute a chilling blueprint for a no-abortion future now being eagerly mapped out by forced-birth activists emboldened by the country's rightward veer and enabled by a court majority of hateful partisan hacks. Thanks again, Susan Collins. No, we're not bitter. Kinda shocked, though: Cruelty, it turns out, really, truly is the point.
Many of these state bills, one more horrific than the next, go further than Mississippi's. Multiple states call for bans after six weeks - when, it's been furiously noted, many women don't even know they're pregnant - based on the insane concept of a "heartbeat," or "pulsating fetal cardiac cells," but sure, call it a child. Others - Oklahoma, Florida, Kentucky - remove the once-obligatory-in-the-name-of-decency exception to rape or incest. In Pennsylvania, every GOP Senate candidate wants to outlaw abortion; Texas is weighing a death penalty for women who get an abortion; Kentucky bans even legal abortion medication through the mail. Tennessee would ban abortion, period - no six-week window, no exceptions - and allow citizens to sue anyone helping or providing care to a woman seeking to end her pregnancy. Still, they have a heart: In a state with 5,796 reported sexual assaults in 2019 and 14-17-year-olds the largest group, the rapist can't sue a doctor (but his relatives can). Oklahoma, which ranks "51 out of 50 for quality of life for women," seeks a six-week, no exceptions ban, with harsh penalties on abortion providers up to a 10-year prison term; they also offer a $10,000 bounty to snitches.
In Ohio, enter grim zombie schoolmarm Jean Schmidt, who during stints in the state and U.S. House of Reps fought for guns, the words "under God," the Iraq war - "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do" - and, obsessively, the "rights of the unborn child," once to little kids, while trailing behind her over $500,000 of Turkish legal services in ethics scandals. Having re-gained a state seat, she's sponsoring a Don't Say Gay bill and a Human Life Protection Bill (Whose life? Our life) that would ban most abortions - no exceptions - and charge doctors who perform them with a felony. The ban disturbed Democrat Richard Brown, who cited the likely trauma inflicted on a 13-year-old rape victim forced to "deliver this felon's fetus," and plaintively argued, "I think this girl has rights every bit as much as the zygote." To this plain truth, the ghoul-like Schmidt gave pause, briefly; then she upped the grotesque lie-back-and-enjoy-it theory of rape by noting rape is "a shame" but abortion is worse, and lookit the perks! "Rape is a difficult issue," she sternly intoned, but while "it emotionally scars the individual," it also offers a God-given "opportunity (to) help that life be a productive human being... Just because you have emotional scars doesn't give you the right to take a life." WTF. "Mind your business, lady," chided one appalled critic. "This female forgery does not speak for the majority of women." Later, Mean Jean literally ran away from press asking her to justify her barbarity. No wonder she ran. She killed empathy.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
With a Supreme Court overrun with religious zealots reportedly ready to void Roe v Wade and usher in a new crypto-fascist theocracy - Go Handmaids, Marthas, Aunties, silent wives and whores of Gilead! - GOP goons are already busy "removing the veils" of their anti-choice fervor and going full-on, red-meat, lunatic misogyny in their escalating efforts to remove any sliver of respect for a woman's right to choose her fate when confronted with an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the longtime support of up to three-quarters of Americans for that fundamental right, GOP lawmakers have introduced 536 bills in 42 states to restrict or outright ban abortion, all in lethal preparation for SCOTUS' anticipated reversing or at least gutting of Roe when it hears arguments on Mississippi's post-15-week abortion ban in June. Combined, all those state moves constitute a chilling blueprint for a no-abortion future now being eagerly mapped out by forced-birth activists emboldened by the country's rightward veer and enabled by a court majority of hateful partisan hacks. Thanks again, Susan Collins. No, we're not bitter. Kinda shocked, though: Cruelty, it turns out, really, truly is the point.
Many of these state bills, one more horrific than the next, go further than Mississippi's. Multiple states call for bans after six weeks - when, it's been furiously noted, many women don't even know they're pregnant - based on the insane concept of a "heartbeat," or "pulsating fetal cardiac cells," but sure, call it a child. Others - Oklahoma, Florida, Kentucky - remove the once-obligatory-in-the-name-of-decency exception to rape or incest. In Pennsylvania, every GOP Senate candidate wants to outlaw abortion; Texas is weighing a death penalty for women who get an abortion; Kentucky bans even legal abortion medication through the mail. Tennessee would ban abortion, period - no six-week window, no exceptions - and allow citizens to sue anyone helping or providing care to a woman seeking to end her pregnancy. Still, they have a heart: In a state with 5,796 reported sexual assaults in 2019 and 14-17-year-olds the largest group, the rapist can't sue a doctor (but his relatives can). Oklahoma, which ranks "51 out of 50 for quality of life for women," seeks a six-week, no exceptions ban, with harsh penalties on abortion providers up to a 10-year prison term; they also offer a $10,000 bounty to snitches.
In Ohio, enter grim zombie schoolmarm Jean Schmidt, who during stints in the state and U.S. House of Reps fought for guns, the words "under God," the Iraq war - "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do" - and, obsessively, the "rights of the unborn child," once to little kids, while trailing behind her over $500,000 of Turkish legal services in ethics scandals. Having re-gained a state seat, she's sponsoring a Don't Say Gay bill and a Human Life Protection Bill (Whose life? Our life) that would ban most abortions - no exceptions - and charge doctors who perform them with a felony. The ban disturbed Democrat Richard Brown, who cited the likely trauma inflicted on a 13-year-old rape victim forced to "deliver this felon's fetus," and plaintively argued, "I think this girl has rights every bit as much as the zygote." To this plain truth, the ghoul-like Schmidt gave pause, briefly; then she upped the grotesque lie-back-and-enjoy-it theory of rape by noting rape is "a shame" but abortion is worse, and lookit the perks! "Rape is a difficult issue," she sternly intoned, but while "it emotionally scars the individual," it also offers a God-given "opportunity (to) help that life be a productive human being... Just because you have emotional scars doesn't give you the right to take a life." WTF. "Mind your business, lady," chided one appalled critic. "This female forgery does not speak for the majority of women." Later, Mean Jean literally ran away from press asking her to justify her barbarity. No wonder she ran. She killed empathy.
With a Supreme Court overrun with religious zealots reportedly ready to void Roe v Wade and usher in a new crypto-fascist theocracy - Go Handmaids, Marthas, Aunties, silent wives and whores of Gilead! - GOP goons are already busy "removing the veils" of their anti-choice fervor and going full-on, red-meat, lunatic misogyny in their escalating efforts to remove any sliver of respect for a woman's right to choose her fate when confronted with an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the longtime support of up to three-quarters of Americans for that fundamental right, GOP lawmakers have introduced 536 bills in 42 states to restrict or outright ban abortion, all in lethal preparation for SCOTUS' anticipated reversing or at least gutting of Roe when it hears arguments on Mississippi's post-15-week abortion ban in June. Combined, all those state moves constitute a chilling blueprint for a no-abortion future now being eagerly mapped out by forced-birth activists emboldened by the country's rightward veer and enabled by a court majority of hateful partisan hacks. Thanks again, Susan Collins. No, we're not bitter. Kinda shocked, though: Cruelty, it turns out, really, truly is the point.
Many of these state bills, one more horrific than the next, go further than Mississippi's. Multiple states call for bans after six weeks - when, it's been furiously noted, many women don't even know they're pregnant - based on the insane concept of a "heartbeat," or "pulsating fetal cardiac cells," but sure, call it a child. Others - Oklahoma, Florida, Kentucky - remove the once-obligatory-in-the-name-of-decency exception to rape or incest. In Pennsylvania, every GOP Senate candidate wants to outlaw abortion; Texas is weighing a death penalty for women who get an abortion; Kentucky bans even legal abortion medication through the mail. Tennessee would ban abortion, period - no six-week window, no exceptions - and allow citizens to sue anyone helping or providing care to a woman seeking to end her pregnancy. Still, they have a heart: In a state with 5,796 reported sexual assaults in 2019 and 14-17-year-olds the largest group, the rapist can't sue a doctor (but his relatives can). Oklahoma, which ranks "51 out of 50 for quality of life for women," seeks a six-week, no exceptions ban, with harsh penalties on abortion providers up to a 10-year prison term; they also offer a $10,000 bounty to snitches.
In Ohio, enter grim zombie schoolmarm Jean Schmidt, who during stints in the state and U.S. House of Reps fought for guns, the words "under God," the Iraq war - "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do" - and, obsessively, the "rights of the unborn child," once to little kids, while trailing behind her over $500,000 of Turkish legal services in ethics scandals. Having re-gained a state seat, she's sponsoring a Don't Say Gay bill and a Human Life Protection Bill (Whose life? Our life) that would ban most abortions - no exceptions - and charge doctors who perform them with a felony. The ban disturbed Democrat Richard Brown, who cited the likely trauma inflicted on a 13-year-old rape victim forced to "deliver this felon's fetus," and plaintively argued, "I think this girl has rights every bit as much as the zygote." To this plain truth, the ghoul-like Schmidt gave pause, briefly; then she upped the grotesque lie-back-and-enjoy-it theory of rape by noting rape is "a shame" but abortion is worse, and lookit the perks! "Rape is a difficult issue," she sternly intoned, but while "it emotionally scars the individual," it also offers a God-given "opportunity (to) help that life be a productive human being... Just because you have emotional scars doesn't give you the right to take a life." WTF. "Mind your business, lady," chided one appalled critic. "This female forgery does not speak for the majority of women." Later, Mean Jean literally ran away from press asking her to justify her barbarity. No wonder she ran. She killed empathy.