5/14/19: Alabama passes the strictest anti-abortion law in the nation,
setting up a direct challenge to Roe v.
Wade. Under new state law, the rights of the “child” take precedence from
the moment of conception – at which point the “child” is essentially an egg,
moments after being penetrated by one lucky sperm. If the mother was just
raped, under this law, she will be required to carry the “child” to term. If
the mother is a victim of incest, the “child’s” rights shall supersede her own.
____________________
Make it a felony to have a vasectomy.
____________________
There is no way the zygote (or fertilized egg) could survive outside the mother’s womb, but the zygote’s rights now trump the mother’s.
It will take two weeks of cell division, according to scientists, for the zygote to become an embryo; but the mother shall not have the right to abort. If at four months, doctors determine the child will be born without limbs, the mother shall not have the right to abort. The choice to abort a child with Down Syndrome shall revert to the state, which shall say no. A doctor who performs an abortion shall be guilty of a felony, carrying a penalty of up to 99 years in prison.
As the Washington Post explains:
“This bill is
about challenging Roe v. Wade and protecting the
lives of the unborn because an unborn baby is a person who deserves love and
protection,” Alabama state Rep. Terri Collins (R), the sponsor of the bill,
said after the vote Tuesday night. “I have prayed my way through this bill.
This is the way we get where we want to get eventually.”
So: It’s a religious bill. It’s based on the beliefs of people like Rep. Collins. He believes his interpretation of when human life begins should supersede every other interpretation.
The matter of when life begins is not addressed in the U.S. Constitution. Nor is it addressed in the Bible, the scientific workings of sperm and egg being unknown at the time the Good Book was written.
Sen. Vivian Figures (D), tries to push the debate to a logical conclusion, noting that it would only be sensible if Republicans would make it a felony to have a vasectomy.
 |
A zygote will now be a child. Hi, Mom and Dad! |
*
IN OTHER NEWS, Trump speaks at a White House gathering. By now, we expect him to say something stupid every day. And he does.
He’s touting American energy independence and the contributions of natural gas workers in achieving that end. So far, so good. Then he turns to bashing the Green New Deal and wind power, specifically.
Windmills, he claims, are bird-murdering devices.
His comments are so bizarre, when I see them on Twitter, I suspect it’s a liberal prank. Then I check the White House transcript.
Sure enough, here’s Trump blabbering:
Because under the Green New
Deal, they [Democrats; liberals] don’t like clean, beautiful natural
gas. They don’t like anything. They don’t know what they
like. They sort of like wind, even though it kills all the birds. You
want to see a bird cemetery? Go under a windmill sometime. You’ll see
the saddest — (applause) — you got every type of bird.
You know, in California, you go
to jail for five years if you kill a bald eagle. If you go under a
windmill, you see them all over the place. Not a good situation. But
that’s what they were counting on: wind. And when the wind doesn’t blow,
you don’t watch television that night. (Laughter.) Your wife
said, “What the hell did you get me into with this Green New Deal, Charlie?”
By unleashing American oil,
natural gas, and clean coal, workers like you are helping to fuel America’s
historic economic boom.
Also, you are making America great again!
For eagles.
*
“I’m going to get rid of you as a nation.”
IF WINDMILLS don’t get the birds, God will get us all if lawmakers pass the Equality Act. Christian pastor Pat Robertson, who I suspect is milking the yahoos by way of his call-and-donate TV show, warns that if Congress passes the Equality Act, granting legal protections to LGBTQ individuals, we’re going to be as dead as those feathered friends piled up around all the windmills.
The Hill explains:
“They always give good names to these things,”
Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network while discussing the
bill. “This is a devastating blow to religious freedom and to the sanctity
of America. If you want to bring the judgment of God on this nation, you just
keep this stuff up.”
“I was reading in Leviticus where it says
because of these things the land ‘will vomit you out,’” Robertson continued.
“Vomit you out. I think God will say, ‘I’ve had it with America if you do this
kind of stuff, I’m going to get rid of you as a nation.’”
Okay, I get it. Windmills and equal rights for
LGBTQ individuals are really bad.
*
IN THE REAL WORLD, windmills aren’t our biggest worry. Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (appointed by President Gerald Ford to his seat in 1975) already knows who he’s not voting for in 2020.
During an interview with CNN, he’s asked if Trump understands the role of the judiciary in the U.S. government.
His full answer: “No.”
He adds later that he hopes this president won’t do “too much damage” to the federal courts.
As CNN notes,
Stevens said he did not know if he was a
Republican or not anymore.
“I can say I do not expect to vote for
the Republican candidate for president at the next election,” Stevens said. “I
don’t know whether I’m a member of the party or I’m not. I’m not active
politically.”
Justice Stevens can still spot a crook when he sees one.
