onfocus

This is grim. I'm finding it hard to share articles here on the weekends like I have been lately. It looks like the Republican project to criminalize reproductive health care and deny body autonomy to women by overturning 50 years of settled law is going to happen.

The Atlantic: Alito’s Plan to Repeal Roe—and Other 20th Century Civil Rights

In the Court’s religious-freedom decisions related to the coronavirus pandemic, and in its choice last year to allow Texas to nullify the right to an abortion, you can see the outlines of this new legal regime: On the grounds that it constitutes a form of religious discrimination, conservatives will be able to claim an exemption from any generally applicable rule they do not wish to follow, while imposing their own religious and ideological views on those who do not share them.

Even if you have sympathy for their religious views, the consequences of this change to the daily lives of women are monsterous.

The Atlantic: Liberty No More

None of us can claim to understand with certainty the mysteries of human life. As medicine and science have advanced, the moral questions about abortion that we must contemplate have only grown more complicated. But none of that changes the fact that government control of women’s bodies—interference from the state that obliterates women’s freedom and in some cases ends their lives—represents a monumental blow to human rights.

Right now—before this decision is final—states are criminalizing the distribution of necessary medecine because they could potentially be used for abortion.

NPR: In Texas, abortion laws inhibit care for miscarriages

"The challenge is that the treatment for an abortion and the treatment for a miscarriage are exactly the same," said Dr. Sarah Prager, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington in Seattle and an expert in early pregnancy loss.

We should be using the power of the federal government to ensure women everywhere have access to the care they need in spite of states that want to hurt their citizens.

Charlie Warzel: Anti-Abortion Republicans Won. Why Are They Still Mad?

“Winning” appears to be less engaging than the threat of danger lurking behind every corner. And when the right does win, what seems to animate its adherents even more than the win is their opponents’ response to it.

This is just one reason we see more stories in the media denouncing peaceful protests than stories enumerating the consequences of this supreme court decision to people's daily lives. The way the media covers this ensures a constant state of feeling aggrieved among the people who are winning at every level of government.

Popular Information: These 13 corporations have spent $15 million supporting anti-abortion politicians since 2016

But the figure makes clear the central role of corporate money in the imminent reversal of Roe — including money from many corporations that claim to be champions for women's rights and equality.

Politicians who support criminalizing women's health do not lose financial support from institutions. Our power as consumers is weak, but at least we can be aware of which companies say one thing and do another.

All of this is just grim and unfortunately it feels like a beginning instead of an end.