Ever closer to a national abortion ban
The Republicans are making more steps toward a national abortion ban. No matter how much they say they’re just looking for reasonable restrictions to protect life, they are after a total ban (and they don’t care about babies’ or older children’s lives either, as shown by their resistance to covering prenatal care or any other social program to make babies healthier or help women raise them healthy—or to address school shootings). They seek an end to abortion and eventually perhaps birth control. Have no illusions otherwise.
This month, a majority of House Republicans endorsed a move to institute a 15-week abortion ban under the guise of “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions.” For a long time now, the standard had been fetal viability. If the fetus could not survive outside the womb, abortion was allowed. That seems reasonable.
Some of you might think that the more arbitrary 15-week rule is also reasonable. Why not give the Republicans that carrot? After all, the vast majority of women know they are pregnant before 15 weeks.
Except that it’s not going to stop there. A 15-week ban instituted as law is just a placeholder. A stepping stone.
Texas and other states have banned or are working to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. A period of time when many women don’t even know they are pregnant.
So, some of you might think: Well, maybe women could just be vigilant and test every week to be able to thwart even the six-week ban.
But with pressure against abortion and restrictions that make clinics and hospitals less able to provide abortions—with fewer people willing to even risk offering them—how does that help?
If the nearest location is far from the woman, or if there aren’t enough providers, then what about wait times that make them miss the cutoff? What if Republicans ask for “cooling off” periods that make them unable to get an abortion within that very tight time frame? What if every woman is investigated by police automatically and they say they don’t believe her timing? What if women who do all that they are “supposed to do” get charged with infanticide or attempted murder anyway?
Think it isn’t possible or even likely? Think again. Look at how eager conservatives are to prosecute women who have miscarriages, claiming they attempted self-abortion. Look at how eager so many states are to prosecute women who get abortions in other states with less stringent laws. States that want to prevent pregnant women from even traveling to other states because they might be going for abortions.
And Donald Trump, who stands a strong chance of being our next president, has indicated he would support the 15-week ban. A ban that is just going to get more restrictive when Republicans trot out the “fetal heartbeat can be detected at six weeks” lie. It isn’t a heart; it isn’t a heartbeat.
But if they can get a 15-week bill into law, they will do six weeks next. Even if they cannot get away with just banning abortion entirely they will make it effectively impossible for most women to get abortions. There will be no safe place and no safe space, and even women who follow the rules will get investigated. Jailed. Or executed.
No, there is no place for the 15-week ban. And if we allow things to progress—if we allow Republicans to control both houses and the presidency—you can be almost sure that legislation will become reality. And then the weeks will grow shorter, and women will once again be at the complete mercy of a political party—and a lot of men in general—who don’t want them to have any control over their own bodies at all.