CommentsMY THOUGHTS - I’ve been sifting through both comments and facts regarding the Supreme Court decision on Roe v Wade trying to find what kind of punishment men…otherwise known as the impregnators…will suffer if they are responsible for a pregnancy.
It doesn’t seem quite fair that women must shoulder the blame, when their partners are at least 50% of the problem.
Yes, I know life is not fair and women historically have always had to pick up the pieces of a disaster. I have searched the internet to see if there are any suggestions on a suitable punishment and have only found a few ideas. If you have any of your own ideas on this equality issue, please send them to me at my email: [email protected]. Promise I will not divulge authorship unless you wish.
Here are the few I discovered:
- All males starting at age 17 will have reversible vasectomies and have it reversed when they are ready to start a family and have evidence of legal marriage certificates.
- It takes approximately $270,000 to raise a child from birth to eighteen years of age so the gadfly impregnator will pay if off like a second mortgage.
- Men who refuse to use available birth control, will receive a $10,000 fine and a ten- year jail sentence.
- Women in the U.S who don’t wish to get pregnant can call an official sex-free time out.
- Effectively immediately Viagra will be taken off the market in all States barring the “morning after” pill.
Seriously though, even though we knew it was coming it was a shock and did you see how gleefully the primarily red state officials jumped to start the ban. That great political Philosopher, Representative Matt Gaetz (R.FL) commented the demonstrations and outcries were coming from unmarried and “OVEREDUCATED women. He… whom is being investigated for his liaison with underage young ladies.
The other staunch defender of life, Governor Gregg Abbot of Texas, not content to just cover up school shootings, was vey confident in answering why rape, incest and the welfare of the mother was not included in Texas’s trigger law. He said, “No problem because we are going to eliminate rape.” He neglected to mention that Texas had the highest number of rapes in the country in 2020. California was number two, but we also have seven million more people.
I guess elimination of school shootings and elimination of rape will be his campaign promises in his bid for a second term as governor. He claimed to be dealing with eliminating rape in 2017 It was kind of weird that he didn’t mention elimination of incest but maybe he knows something we don’t.
Can’t forget newly primary elected Republican candidate Mary Miller (IL) who said at the recent Trump rally, “This is a victory for ‘White” life. She and her staff have been trying to walk it back BUT she is wrong on her facts. Abortions are more prevalent among black and brown women. We are presumed to be a larger minority-based population by 2240. If these women are not able to have abortions, we will probably become that minority majority population much faster. White life doesn’t benefit, no matter how much White nationalist’s scheme.
This isn’t just an American challenge. Access to safe abortion has been established as a human right by numerous international frameworks, the UN Human Rights Committee, and regional human rights courts, including the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, 179 governments signed a program of action that included a commitment to prevent unsafe abortion.
The WHO first recognized unsafe abortion as a public health problem in 1967, and in 2003 it developed technical and policy guidelines that include a recommendation that states pass abortion laws to protect women’s health. According to the UN Population Fund, addressing the unmet need for family planning would both considerably reduce maternal mortality and reduce abortion by up to 70 percent in the developing world.
Israel just relaxed some of its rules for legal abortions. It’s their not so subtle way of sticking it to the Americans. Interpretations vary across Judaism, but some religious Jews believe that a fetus is part of the parent's body and that a baby is only considered a person once it takes its first breath.
According to the Women's Rabbinic Network, some of the religion's most sacred texts — the Torah, the Mishnah and the Talmud — view a fetus as a soul only once it's born.
"Therefore, forcing someone to carry a pregnancy that they do not want or that endangers their life is a violation of Jewish law because it prioritizes a fetus over the living adult who is pregnant," the group said in a statement.
"This must be understood as a violation of the United States Constitution which guarantees our freedom to practice our religion and also our freedom from the dictates of other religions," it added.
This brings up another serious issue. The United States was founded on religious freedom. When John F. Kennedy ran for President, one of the marks against him was he was a practicing Catholic. Opponents suggested that the Pope in Rome would have undue influence on Kennedy’s decisions. He managed to prove them wrong. Isn’t it ironic that now the Catholic Justices are imposing their religious beliefs on the rest of the population?
The Southern Baptists have been among the leaders of the Anti-Abortion movement. It is hypocritical. If both they and Catholicism were paragons of virtue, it would at least justify living by example; however, both have rather sordid sexual behaviors among their leaders.
It used to be that as long one was not hurting another person by their actions, they were free to worship a golden calf if they wished. Why did that change? Admittedly, most of the hue and cry came from old white men who enjoyed their patriarchal perks. We can’t blanket all men being at fault, although it is a majority male gender issue. Over fifty percent of all abortions are had by women who already have children. I think it’s also an age situation. Unfortunately, those making decisions on how we live are mostly in their 70’s and 80’s. We should have term limits for every office. The founders never dreamed that we would have such an elderly government. That goes for Supreme Court Judges as well. The Constitution forbade a monarchy. But right now, the Supreme Court is as close as one can get.
Trying to find a lighter side, I investigated Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s family. He recently stated that his ultimate goal (aside from becoming majority speaker) was to have a conservative court. Guess what? He has an activist progressive daughter.
Style Magazine did a fascinating article in 2020 entitled How Daughters of High-Profile Republicans Became Progressive Icons. One of the daughters, who shall remain anonymous said, “ when I see Claudia Conway, daughter of Trump spokesperson Kellyanne Conway and Lincoln Project founder George Conway, post TikTok videos opposing her parents’ conservative politics; Mitch McConnell’s daughter Porter McConnell leading Take On Wall Street; or the daughter of a Michigan congressional candidate publicly implore Michiganders on Twitter not to vote for her father, I feel a rush of fellow-feeling. It turns out we frustrated and disappointed Daughters of Republicans are everywhere, often taking on the emotional, weighty, and likely impossible task of changing our parents’ minds or speaking out.
Well…Life is not boring!
(Denyse Selesnick is a CityWatch columnist and a former publisher/journalist/international event organizer. Denyse can be reached at: [email protected])
