Over the top
Meanwhile Louisiana goes all in:
Louisiana lawmakers advanced a bill out of committee Wednesday that could make having an abortion grounds to be charged with homicide, going far beyond other state-level punishments for abortion, and could take effect whether the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade or not.
…
The bill “fully recognize[s] the human personhood of an unborn child” starting at the “moment of fertilization” and grants embryos and fetuses the same rights under law as human beings out of the womb.
The fertilized egg is “a child.”
This means having, assisting or performing an abortion would be classified as homicide.
Soon they’ll be executing women for menstruating.
The legislation would take effect immediately even if federal abortion rights are still in place and the Supreme Court hasn’t overturned Roe v. Wade, as the bill stipulates it should be enforced “without regard to the opinions and judgments of the Supreme Court of the United States in Roe v. Wade” or any other past or future abortion-related rulings, as well as any federal statutes or executive orders.
Can state legislatures do that? Just “stipulate” a “fuck what the Supreme Court says” and that becomes state law? I don’t think so. That’s why federal troops turned up in Little Rock that time – Eisenhower sent them to enforce the Brown ruling. The legislature wasn’t involved that I know of, but the point is that federal law can’t just be shrugged off by states.
The legislation is likely to get tied up in court if it gets enacted into law, as even proponents of the bill acknowledged Wednesday it may violate the Constitution.
With that whole “ignore the Supreme Court” thing.
Of course when you have a Supreme Court loaded with woman-hating theocratic bullies that can be bad news, but it’s still the case.
Louisiana is one of 13 states that’s set to immediately ban abortion if the court does strike Roe down through “trigger bans” that will go into effect once there’s a ruling. HB813 goes far beyond the state’s existing trigger ban, which would make performing an abortion a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a $1,000 fine. While many abortion bans that will take effect make performing an abortion a felony punishable by prison time, none punish the person having the abortion themselves, making HB813 particularly extreme in relation.
It’s strange how eager people are to keep ratcheting up the displays of hatred for women. “We hate women more than you do!” “No we do!!”
Funny, I was just reading a post by Meghan Murphy who scoffed at the idea that abortion would be criminalized if Roe v Wade was struck down. She also thought the left outcry about abortion and freedom was hypocritical considering our support for mandatory “unnecessary” vaccines. It is so weird the way Canadians misunderstand this country. I’ve seen it over and over, with Canadian commentators lecturing Americans on what was or wasn’t likely, assuming we didn’t understand the country we live in. Murphy referenced “hysteria” several times in her post (sexist term, anyone? Especially on an issue having to do with women?)
Also, the bit about fertilization? That is more dramatic than any other bill I’ve seen, and more than most religious fundamentalists call for…most of them are content with conception. So what you said – women executed for menstruating…a single fertilized egg sloughed off in our menstrual blood and we’re murderers. And for those who don’t think that could happen, they should check out the women already in prison for having miscarriages after seeking a (legal!!) abortion.
This whole thing reminded me of your novel.
Me, too. I’m afraid life is imitating art; I may have been prescient.
And yet (I may have it wrong) I understand that exceptions are shown,not everyhere, for women who conceive after having been raped, and who don’t want to bear their rapist’s child. It is these exceptions that make an ass of the laws and the theological framework, because the rapist’s child still has an immortal soul in original sin and in need of salvation, etc etc etc.
I push back a bit on the idea that states can’t shrug off federal laws… They sure can if there’s sufficient political will. Sending troops to one school in Arkansas was relatively easy but playing whackamole all over the place? The court seems hell bent on destroying it’s legitimacy.
I suspect they have an inferiority complex vis-a-vis the Islamists.
Behold the mighty oak!
I seem to remember conservatives banging on about the respect, even reverence, they had for the constitution.
Holms:
Well, they do, just for the version that lives in their heads.
https://www.theonion.com/area-man-passionate-defender-of-what-he-imagines-consti-1819571149