Monday marked the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe and denying women the right to reproductive self-autonomy. Bearing that in mind, let us consider two news items.
The first is from NBC: “Texas abortion ban linked to 13% increase in infant and newborn deaths“
This piece reviews the effect of SB8 — the Texas law banning abortions after doctors could detect a fetal heartbeat, usually around five weeks.
Because of this punitively narrow window, the state effectively banned abortions in toto. Now women who discovered they are carrying a nonviable fetus, have to suffer through the agony of a pointless pregnancy, simply to give birth to a baby destined to die, at best, within weeks.
This sadism has led to fatal consequences.
The report put it thus:
The law did not include exemptions for congenital anomalies, including conditions that will cause a newborn to die soon after birth. The new study compared infant death rates in Texas from 2018 to 2022 to those of 28 other states. Infant deaths in Texas rose by nearly 13% the year after SB8 was passed, from 1,985 in 2021 to 2,240 in 2022.
During that same period, infant deaths rose by about 2% nationwide. Babies born with congenital anomalies also increased in Texas, by nearly 23%, but decreased by about 3% nationwide.
To add to the cruelty, absolutist anti-abortion laws do not only punish pregnant women. Zealots have created a hostile medical environment for all women.
This dismal achievement is outlined in the second piece — a summation of medical news relating to abortion restrictuons from KFF Health News: “On 2nd Anniversary Of Dobbs Ruling, Not Much Has Improved For Doctors”
The stories here look at the effect of the restrictive abortion laws rushed through by red state conservatives in the last two years.
The medical profession has had to waste incalculable hours trying to understand the ramifications of this hasty legislation. And doctors are denying medical treatment to sick women because they either cannot acquire the skills, or they are scared of being thrown in jail for treating patients.
As KFF put it
Physicians say they've developed workflows to help them navigate confusing state laws. Still, they are regularly forced to turn away pregnant patients in need. Meanwhile, learning how to perform an abortion is increasingly tough: Some doctors travel hundreds of miles to Illinois for training.
In addition, hospitals run on tight budgets. Every dollar sucked up by their legal departments is money diverted away from healing people.
That is insane.
Conservative propaganda insists that the campaign to reduce women to second-class citizens is a ‘pro-life’ initiative. That claim is pure bullshit.
If there were any truth to it, anti-abortion laws would include unmistakable exceptions clearly stating the life of the mother is sacrosanct. And they would leave it up to doctors to determine the medical necessity of the procedure - not lawyers.
In addition, the laws would permit the termination of non-viable fetuses, without any hint of legal jeopardy for the doctors who do the operations.
However, these sanctimonious sexists are not motivated by preserving life. Their goal is to roll back the clock to the days when a woman had as many legal rights as a family pet.
Sadly, the campaign to diminish women is not waged by just conservative men looking to re-institute the patrimony. Among the most vocal opponents of women’s rights are conservative women.
Witness the rise of the regressive movement to re-institute ‘traditional’ gender roles, epitomized by the ‘Tradwife’ phenomenon.
Do not get me wrong. Feminism does not tell a woman she cannot enjoy a traditional or ‘biblical’ role in the house — if that is her choice.
On the other hand, a woman has the inalienable right to have a career and forgo motherhood until later in life – or abstain from it completely – if that is her choice.
Ironically, despite the smug, flag-waving embrace of freedom by fair-weather patriots, it is the liberal position on abortion that promotes liberty. While Democrats celebrate individual autonomy, Republicans’ favorite relative is Big Brother.