The Terrifying Rise of the Abortion Abolition Movement

[Soph0571]

Since the beginning of the year, 14 states have passed, introduced, or moved forward legislation that would ban abortions performed after about six weeks of pregnancy. (Conservatives call them “heartbeat bills,” because fetal pole cardiac activity usually shows up on a vaginal ultrasound around six weeks’ gestation.) Abortion bans this extreme—many people don’t even know they’re pregnant at such an early stage—are both recent and rare. Ohio introduced the first six-week ban in 2011, though it didn’t pass. Since then, until this year, only two states had succeeded in passing such a ban: North Dakota in 2013 and Iowa in 2018. Courts struck them both down, ruling that Supreme Court precedent protects abortion rights up until the point of fetal viability, around 24 weeks’ gestation.

But in the past three months, the governors of Kentucky, Mississippi, and (eight years after its inaugural effort failed to pass) Ohio have all signed six-week abortion bans into law. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signaled his support for one recently passed by the Georgia Legislature. Similar bills are also percolating through the legislatures of Missouri and Tennessee, and they’ve been introduced in eight other states. Abortion rights advocates say 2019 has seen a two-thirds increase in the number of six-week bans introduced compared with this time last year.

[link:https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/six-week-abortion-bans-heartbeat-bills.html|

This needs to stop....

[Kath2]

1. This is an issue I am passionate about.

This absolutely disgusts me. The idea that women are second class citizens with no rights over their own bodies should be ancient history by now. Women should be the ones to make their choices, not the church or state. Healthcare is a right, reproductive choice is healthcare and abortion is a reproductive choice. A six week ban is ridiculous. It is basically an abortion ban.

[Kath2]

2. And, yes.

It is terrifying that elected officials push this type of antiquated and anti-woman legislation.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. I encourage people to read the entire article because the excerpt doesn't talk about what the

headline mentions, which is the "abolitionist" movement -- they're the ones who want to outlaw abortion entirely and prosecute people who provide and get abortions. They don't see themselves as part of the "pro-life movement" and are against things like heartbeat bills because they see them as compromise. They are much more militant, and, tbh, media savvy than the traditional pro-life movement; and while they may be much smaller, they're relentless.

[dlk]

4. Someone Should Point Out to Them that Giving the Government the Authority to Prohibit Abortion's...

...also gives the government to mandate abortions. This obsession with controlling women’s bodies and autonomy has become pathological and is more about returning women to a chattel status than the actual sanctiry of life. It always has been.

[scarytomcat]

5. we should take the abortion issue off the table

start campaigning to make abortion unnecessary, let no women get pregnant that doesn't want to be and if they do make sure they have 9 months of help. I mean real help, pay rent, food, health care everything. Then step up adoptions. Just make abortion illegal. Start a cross party discussion. Don't give the religious people a reason to vote rethug. AND GET SOME RELIGIOUS PEOPLE FROM THE LEFT TO SPEAK UP AND PROVE THERE ARE CHRISTIANS ON THE LEFT. TAKE BACK BEING PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE TO HELP. Take away all the reasons every election year to vote rethug. Gun control should be another one.

[JHB]

9. We tried both of those. The one about abortion was called...

..."the Clinton administration". The one about guns was called "the Obama administration".

The "make abortion unnecessary" didn't work because in the end it was never really about abortion. It's about control and scapegoating. They're not interested in compromise, they want their way, period. They fight against access to contraceptives just as hard as they fight access to abortion.

With guns, they need their villain, and if they don't get it they'll just make stuff up and wave the bullshit around like a bloody shirt. Of course, the first group makes up shit too to serve their purpose.

[scarytomcat]

11. We need to keep hammering. Make a big deal out of it.

Like I said get some Democratic religious people view more. It's take away their issues or convince all new voters (young people) that we have their back. Eliminating student loans is a good start.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. Abortion will always be necessary. It's part of health care. Even with "9 months of help" some

people don't want to be pregnant, and that's okay. Abortion will always be necessary and should never be illegal.

[Ferryboat]

6. Babylonsister posted

About the Christian right "plot against America ". Reading both postings portrays a chilling preview of what may come to pass.

[hedda_foil]

13. I posted a link to her post in post 13 below.

[Opel_Justwax]

7. If we let voters in the State decide the abortion question it will be approved.

Just like it has in Ireland.

[smirkymonkey]

8. Men should have no say on this issue whatsoever.

It doesn't concern them and they have no business legislating women's rights over their bodies. They can just all go fuck off.

[hedda_foil]

12. This completely ties in with an important post from Babylon Sister this morning. Link here.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212009203

[Hotler]

14. +1....... nt