Men get to walk away
Aaron Rupar watched the governors gloat so that we don’t have to.
If the Supreme Court follows through on a leaked draft decision that would end the federal right to an abortion, abortion procedures would immediately become illegal in the 22 red or purple states that already have bans on the books. Comments from Republican governors on the most recent round of Sunday news shows served as grim reminders of what that would mean for women — and hinted at rights Republicans will come for next.
Spoiler: they’re not stopping with abortion.
Hutchinson [Arkansas] and Reeves [Mississippi] know they’re essentially making women second-class citizens. During their Sunday interviews, both governors tried to soften the blow by vowing to provide more support to mothers and children. But as host Jake Tapper pointed out to Reeves, he’s had plenty of time to do that and hasn’t bothered. When ranking states by child well-being, Mississippi consistently lands near the bottom, and there’s no reason to believe that’ll suddenly change if abortions are banned.
Or for any other reason. Reeves doesn’t care, end of story.
If you don’t live in a red and purple state, you might be tempted to think that as horrible as the looming rollback of reproductive rights is, it won’t directly affect you. But think again. Republicans are already talking about a federal abortion ban.
Women must be kept enslaved by their own bodies. It’s god’s will.
Trump gets to shove his penis wherever it will fit but women have to be punished for seeking abortion.
I remember pre-Trump, the Republicans tried to pretend this wouldn’t be a matter of punishing women. Of course, the refusal to allow abortions in itself punishes women for daring to get pregnant in difficult situations, so that was disingenuous to begin with. But public opinion showed them people didn’t want women jailed for exercising freedom, even many people who were anti-abortion. They wanted doctors punished, but not women. So the Republicans pretended. Trump blew the lid off the pretense; they discovered they can be as ugly and nasty as they want and still get elected.