tip of the hat to http://all-hat-no-cattle.blogspot.com/

With the stolen 6 to 3 majority on the US Supreme Court, it looks like the authoritarian wing of our political spectrum is ready and willing to do all they can to take Women’s freedom of choice away from them. I have no doubt they will be blunt and brutal in their ruling. Expect them to be as thorough as they can think of to totally stop abortions in this country.

Of course that will not stop abortions as we al know. It will only drive the practice underground to the back alleys and filthy rooms where abortions took place before Roe v. Wade. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I am talking about. We all know the stories. But many who oppose abortion say women deserve such treatment because they had sex. This is their judgment.

We also all know that if you have privilege in this country, if you have money and connections that like the privileged in the 1950s you can escape the Draconian US laws and still get an abortion in a foreign country. We have all seen this movie before. We all know how it comes out.

I was reminded of this when I saw excerpts of this article posted online this week. The article by Joyce Arthur is from September 2000. At over 20 years old it is still quite relevant. The title is “The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion.” In it Ms. Arthur discusses how those opposed o abortion justify their own abortions. Here are some short excerpts. I urge everybody to read the full article to jog the memory:

“I’ve had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, ‘You’re not going to tell them, are you!?’ When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn’t want this to interfere with it.” (Physician, Texas)

*****************************************************

“We too have seen our share of anti-choice women, ones the counselors usually grit their teeth over. Just last week a woman announced loudly enough for all to hear in the recovery room, that she thought abortion should be illegal. Amazingly, this was her second abortion within the last few months, having gotten pregnant again within a month of the first abortion. The nurse handled it by talking about all the carnage that went on before abortion was legalized and how fortunate she was to be receiving safe, professional care. However, this young woman continued to insist it was wrong and should be made illegal. Finally the nurse said, ‘Well, I guess we won’t be seeing you here again, not that you’re not welcome.’ Later on, another patient who had overheard this exchange thanked the nurse for her remarks.” (Clinic Administrator, Alberta)

***********************************************************

“Recently, we had a patient who had given a history of being a ‘pro-life’ activist, but who had decided to have an abortion. She was pleasant to me and our initial discussion was mutually respectful. Later, she told someone on my staff that she thought abortion is murder, that she is a murderer, and that she is murdering her baby. So before doing her procedure, I asked her if she thought abortion is murder — the answer was yes. I asked her if she thought I am a murderer, and if she thought I would be murdering her baby, and she said yes. But murder is a crime, and murderers are executed. Is this a crime? Well, it should be, she said. At that point, she became angry and hostile, and the summary of the conversation was that she regarded me as an abortion-dispensing machine, and how dare I ask her what she thinks. After explaining to her that I do not perform abortions for people who think I am a murderer or people who are angry at me, I declined to provide her with medical care. I do not know whether she found someone else to do her abortion.” (Physician, Colorado)

*********************************************************

Although few studies have been made of this phenomenon, a study done in 1981 (1) found that 24% of women who had abortions considered the procedure morally wrong, and 7% of women who’d had abortions disagreed with the statement, “Any woman who wants an abortion should be permitted to obtain it legally.” A 1994/95 survey (2,3) of nearly 10,000 abortion patients showed 18% of women having abortions are born-again or Evangelical Christians. Many of these women are likely anti-choice. The survey also showed that Catholic women have an abortion rate 29% higher than Protestant women. A Planned Parenthood handbook on abortion notes that nearly half of all abortions are for women who describe themselves as born-again Christian, Evangelical Christian, or Catholic. (4)

Those stories should give you a flavor and should jog your memory. Again I urge you to read the whole article.

And when the decision is handed down  be aware that the children, grandchildren and other relations of those who make these decisions will still be able to have access to abortion. 

United States Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.