Here’s the thing about the abortion “debate”
It’s not a good-faith debate. It’s a distraction, and has always been intended to be one.
Republicans aligned themselves with evangelical Christianity in the 20th century, and in the latter half of it, when talking openly about racism became out of fashion, they needed a new issue to rally conservative voters around. Thus: abortion. The case is diabolical. The most vulnerable member of our population, and one who cannot even participate in the discussion — the precious unborn baby — must be protected at all costs.
But the Republican Party does not really act to protect children and families. If they truly did, they would be in favor of common-sense gun laws (no one needs an AR-15), low-cost/free health care, and so many other compassionate proposals that have been brought forth and roundly rejected in recent years.
No, they act to remain in power. Seemingly at any cost (remember facts?) It’s shameful that a party’s singular identity seems to be completely built around the idea of simply being against the other party all the time.
So they get everyone heated up about these damned liberal baby killers, and stack the Supreme Court using illegitimate practices so they can now say, “Look! We took away abortion rights! We’re taking care of you, the American people!”
They’re not taking care of anyone but themselves and the businesses that lobby so hard to gain their favor. If they actually wanted to reduce unwanted pregnancies, they’d support comprehensive sex and reproduction education and readily available birth control.
(By the way, most of them don’t know shit about reproductive anatomy and processes, nor do they care.)
So I won’t engage in any arguments about when life begins, what any single religion says about a person’s right to make health decisions about their own body, or any other abortion minutae. Except perhaps reminding people that a pregnancy is caused by a sperm and an egg, and that sperm has to go on a fantastic voyage through some testicles and out a penis. A penis attached to an equally responsible party who gets to zip up, walk out, and be removed from the process if they so choose.
What I will do is urge the Democratic-led White House, House of Representatives, and Senate to, you know, PROTECT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE RIGHTS instead of sending emails with subject lines like “THIS IS A CRISIS” and “WE WERE BLINDSIDED” when they’ve known this was on the table for months and effectively did nothing.
I will continue donating to abortion funds to help people get access to safe healthcare no matter where they live.
I will attempt to raise my children to be responsible when it comes to sex and pregnancy, yes, but I will also never make them feel that they have anything to be ashamed of if they find themselves in a situation where they or their partner desires an abortion.
