The much-publicized attack on a woman’s freedom to control her body that was signed into law in Texas, and then essentially given the nod by the Supreme Court, is still fresh in the memory. At the time of writing, the nonsensical election to recall Governor Gavin Newsom in California is a day away and by the time you read this, the results will most likely be in (although, based on the debacle surrounding recent elections, who knows?). What we in California do know is, we can’t afford a Republican governor who is keen to follow the Texas roadmap.
For those of you reading this in Texas, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, as a man, that other men think they have a right to tell you what to do with your body. I’m sorry that they don’t understand basic science or know the differences between embryos, fetuses, and human beings. I’m sorry that they’ll say “my body, my choice” when it comes to denying life saving vaccines, but they won’t say the same thing when it comes to female autonomy over their own body (due to the aforementioned lack of scientific knowledge). I’m sorry that the same people won’t give the slightest shit about you or your baby when it is born because, in fact, they aren’t “pro-life” at all — they’re anti-women.
Republicans will actually work to reduce benefits aimed at parents and children. They fucking hate children who aren’t their own. They’ll point and laugh at struggling moms, scoff with full faces, and call them lazy. Worse, they’ll shame women for getting pregnant in the first place, say sexist shit like “you can choose not to have sexual intercourse,” without noting that it in fact takes two people to have sex. That’s before we even get into the fact that no exceptions are made in this new law for cases of rape or incest.
Zero responsibility is placed on the man in this new law. It’s the woman who will get ratted out by members of her own community, the woman (and maybe a hapless taxi driver, plus various medical professionals) who will face the consequences in civil court. The father? No mention.
The Texas law is an attack on women. No question! It won’t save a single baby’s life but it will cost many women theirs. And the blame will lie firmly at the feet of Texas lawmakers. It’s disgusting!
Mandatory vasectomies in Texas isn’t a realistic proposal but it fucking should be! Vasectomy at puberty, which is then reversed when two people decide that they want kids. If the reversal doesn’t take and the male is rendered unable to have children forever — oh well! It’s only a man’s body! Women have had their bodies bandied around courts and political arenas for decades. It’s our turn to carry the burden.
The Senate Bill 8 essentially bans all abortions after six weeks. Naturally, a lot of musicians have had their say. The likes of St. Vincent and P!nk reposted the words: “I stand in solidarity with my fellow Texans who, as of today, face an extreme 6-week abortion ban. This ban, #SB8, will be the blueprint for bans across the US. Unless we do something about it.”
Maggie Rogers tweeted: “This law incentivizes members of the public to sue anyone who helps a patient get an abortion in TX after 6 wks. There are no exemptions for rape and incest. and they won’t stop there. The battle for reproductive health & rights is happening now.”
Singer/songwriter Lauren Jauregui stated on social media that, “This is happening right now in Texas. This is happening right now in Texas. This will have immediate and DEVASTATING consequences. It is about so much more than whether or not someone will abort a fetus. There are so many psychological, economic, social, and health conditions that influence these kinds of decisions. 6 weeks is not enough time to make the proper decision for you and your family. The way that this law calls for third parties to get involved in reporting and suing people who are making decisions about their own bodies and facilities that are carrying out MEDICAL procedures for a bounty of $10,000 is not only alarming but sinister. This won’t eliminate the need for safe abortions, this will eliminate the rights of women & birthing folks throughout Texas (& all other states who are pushing similar legislation) to make autonomous medical decisions about their own bodies with their own medical professionals. The blatant attacks on our bodily autonomy across this nation and the globe should be extremely alarming to us. Please share this and look to the @ACLU for guidance on how u can help.”
L: Barbra Streisand (photo: lifescript) // R: Tom Morello (photo: Raph_PH via WikiMedia Commons)
Oftentimes, musicians are told to stay out of politics by, well, idiots. But the musicians we’re quoting are women. The opinion of Barbra Streisand, for example, is infinitely more important than that of Greg Abbott or Ted fucking Cruz.
“Have we gone backwards in time?” Streisand stated. “Isn’t it interesting how putting on a mask is ‘violating their body’ but abortion rights is not?”
Of course, there are males speaking up for women. Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello posted a reference to The Handmaid’s Tale with the line, “The future is now.”
The fact that anyone in Texas deemed to be helping women get an abortion is open to lawsuits makes it difficult to know what we can do to help. But people outside of Texas have been offering their rooms and help to any woman from Texas who needs to go to a different state to see a medical professional for any reason.
Finally, it was heartening to see that the wretched website prolifewhistleblower.com was being flooded with false reports. It would be such a shame if that kept happening (wink wink).
