October 7, 2017
In a one-two punch to the uterus this past week, the House passed a bill that would criminalize abortions after twenty weeks and Trump rolled back the Obamacare mandate that employers pay the cost of birth control, allowing employers to opt out if they had a “religious or moral objection.” This policy, which is effective immediately, eliminates a benefit that saved women $1.4 billion in 2013 alone (Source: “Trump rolls back Obamacare birth control mandate,” by Brianna Ehley, Politico, 10/6/17).
These twin policy moves are naked aggression towards women, depriving us of agency, or even bodily autonomy, in our own lives. Rabid Christian fundamentalism is behind both decisions. In the case of the 20-week abortion ban, this is part of the right wing’s continuing effort to overturn Roe v. Wade and federalize the policies that Republican states have employed to severely limit access to abortion. As of 2016, 31 states have laws that impose onerous restrictions on the Constitutional right to abortion such as requiring clinics to meet ambulatory surgical center standards or banning abortions after twenty weeks (Source: “14 States have passed laws this year making it harder to get an abortion,” by Amber Phillips, ‘The Fix,’ The Washington Post, 6/1/16). This is a Congressional power grab to sweep the other nineteen states into this net.
The rollback of the birth control mandate exposes the hypocrisy behind efforts to restrict the right to abortion. This was never about reverence for human life. As the actions of pro-life Congressman Tim Murphy revealed this week demonstrate, these men will never hesitate to recommend abortion if a woman’s pregnancy is an inconvenience or embarrassment to THEM. This is about making women pay, literally, for daring to have sexual agency and about putting men in control of women’s economic autonomy. If male employers can decide whether to pay for birth control and if men effectively outlaw abortion, they control women’s most intimate and consequential decision – when and whether to have children. If these policies take effect, the only way women will be able to control that decision is to abstain from sex altogether, which is what these demented theocrats want.
These policies trumpet hatred for women. Contrary to what those on the far right would have you believe, women who seek abortions at 20 weeks are far from cavalier about the decision. They are often confronting pregnancies with serious complications that are not evident before an ultrasound at twenty weeks. These are often cases in which the babies will not survive childbirth (Source: “This is Why People Get Second Trimester Abortions,” by Korin Miller, Self, 2/3/17). It is the height of cruelty to force women in such circumstances to carry these pregnancies to term.
It is time for America to get real. Contrary to the belief of far too many men, women are not vessels or playthings, but people who have the right to full control over our bodies and our lives. In the scathing words of Lauren Duca, “Limiting options for both birth control and abortion turns women into slaves of reproduction. This is a fu__ing war.” Meet me on the front lines.
Lisa, What I have observed about this dichotomy is that men desperately want women for sex, and hold them up as sexual objects (just look at advertising!) but deny any responsibility for the actual consequences of sexual activity. It seems that the more a person adheres to fundamental thought that sex is a sin, and something to be denied, the more unhealthy, guilty and hate-filled they view the object of desire. Satan is beckoning them. So- by denying women birth control and right to abortion (control over their own lives) they are asserting their dominance over the sinful object of desire. If women can unite under the banner of the right to control our destinies and show political force- the world will be a better place for everyone. Thanks for this thoughtful blog.