Editor:
A guy once said that if men got pregnant you’d be able to get an abortion at a vending machine…
Christian opposition to abortion comes from the Republican party looking to corral, exploit and weaponize the church as a voting bloc. Which they have masterfully done.
When the Roe decision was handed down, W. A. Criswell, the Southern Baptist Convention’s former president/pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, – one of the most famous fundamentalists of the 20th century, was pleased: “I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person,” he said, “and it has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the future should be allowed.”
It wasn’t until 1979 – six years after Roe v Wade, that evangelical leaders, at the behest of conservative activist and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation Paul Weyrich — seized on abortion, not for moral reasons, mind you, but as a rallying cry to deny President Carter a second term. Why? Because the anti-abortion crusade was more visceral/exploitable/palatable than the religious right’s fight to retain tax-exempt status for racially segregated religious schools.
After the leaked Supreme Court Roe v Wade memo, Republicans quickly sent out their talking points, which in keeping with Republicans’ traditional high moral values, is full of blatant lies, dishonesty. False advertising.
Here are a few bits of the memo:
”Expose the Democrats for the extreme views they hold. Joe Biden and the Democrats have extreme and radical views on abortion that are outside of the mainstream of most Americans.” That’s a lie. The Democrats’ view on abortion is simply it is up to the woman and her doctor. Which aligns with the majority of Americans. Fox News poll: 27% said Roe v. Wade should be overturned; 63% said no, it should not be overturned.
“Republicans do not want to take away contraception.” That’s a lie. They want to ban morning-after pills, IUDs, possibly others.
“Republicans do not want to throw doctors and women in jail. Mothers should be held harmless.” That’s a lie. In 15 states a doctor and/or mother found guilty of breaking their laws face a possible, or in some cases, a mandatory prison sentence. The punishments vary – one to two years, to life in prison. $1,000 to $10,000 fines. That’s extreme and radical.
Roe v Wade does not impose abortion. Religion though, thanks to the GOP, will now actually impose their mythical beliefs onto all Americans, going against the Founders and the spirit of a free America.
The Catholic justices are doing the Vatican’s bidding, not America’s.
In 1980 the GOP, in solidarity with the religious right, blocked and continues to block the Equal Rights Amendment because it would protect women under the U.S. Constitution from party politics, protect women’s healthcare which naturally includes reproduction. Guns aye, women no.
Farewell, America, land of the free. Hello, authoritarian oligarchic theocracy.
Diane Daiute
Sweet Home