Did the U.S. Supreme Court just hand the Democrats a huge win coming this fall in the mid-term elections? The court has been stacked with religious conservatives who have eliminated protection from prosecution for abortion.
What happens when judges and legislators make decisions about medical conditions? Things get messy. Witness the poor 10-year old girl from Ohio who was raped and became pregnant. Ohio has a no abortion law after a fetal heart beat is detected. This usually takes place about five to six weeks into a pregnancy, so many women won’t even know that they’re pregnant at this point.
There are no exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape and incest. The 10-year old had to travel to Indiana for an abortion. The doctor that performed the abortion has been accused of not following proper documentation procedures, the 10-year old’s family has been accused of faking the pregnancy and others have declared that it’s "God’s will" that an under age child should carry a fetus to term.
It’s a good thing the 10-year old was able to get to Indiana when she did. A few days ago, Indiana passed its own legislation that bans most abortions. At least there’s a provision for abortions for pregnancies from rape and incest.
So how does all of this help the Democrats in the fall? Many House and Senate seats are up for grabs in mid-term elections. The concept of confrontational politics dictates that in order to sway a vote, you must infuriate the electorate to get them to vote for a particular candidate. Pick a few issues, make ‘em mad, and they’ll vote for you.
Except, you might not really get what you ask for. On August 5th, the U.S. state of Kansas held a referendum asking their citizens to essentially ban abortions. The ballot measure was defeated 59% to 41% with almost one million voters turning out to vote. For a state of just under three million in population, it was generally seen as a record voter turnout.
The voters of Kansas saw what happened to this little girl. Stories of women being denied lifesaving care are now rampant. Doctors are consulting with lawyers before they treat patients.
The Supreme Court, in appeasing their religious conservative base, has riled up a vast majority of voters who don’t want the Court meddling in their health care. Look for Republican states whose governors passed restrictive abortion legislation to lose their jobs this fall.
I find it the height of irony that the Republican Party, all about gun rights, the rights of the individual and that government should get out of the lives of people is interfering with a woman’s right to decide what is right for her. The Republicans got what they wanted; overturning Roe v. Wade. What they didn’t understand, though just about every poll would have told them, is that the vast majority of Americans don’t believe abortion should be illegal. Restricted yes, but not illegal without exception.
Let’s see what the voting public has in store for the fall. It will be very interesting to see if the Republicans are punished for their behaviour.
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