It’s June 24, 2022: the morning the Supreme Court announced it overturned Roe v. Wade in the United States.
It’s also my anniversary so, y’know, happy anniversary to us.
Anyway, my brain’s a bit jumbly so I’ll just put this out there with the disclaimer that I don’t have a legal background so I’m still researching and slogging my way through the 213 page decision released today.
Jesus be a xanax™ because we are struggling.
I’ve been wracking my brain and cannot think of a single healthcare decision that’s government mandated for men. Not one.
Cardiac care, skin issues, lung problems? Their choice. Joint replacement, cancer treatment, liver issues, gastric complications, infertility, and on and on and on: all decisions made by a man along with his chosen healthcare provider.
And reproductive healthcare choices? Between a man and his doctor. NOT MY BUSINESS. As it should be. That reign may be slightly less free for convicted sex offenders but I’d argue the criminality of the situation makes that complex.
Then again it seems as though many states are criminalizing abortion healthcare so perhaps required castration isn’t as far off the mark as one would think.
Women’s healthcare has its challenges but REPRODUCTIVE healthcare? Sweet Jesus, it’s a minefield.
I’ll focus in, though.
Let’s pretend I’m not 51 and short of a miracle beyond the jolt of an unexpected pregnancy. Suspension of disbelief and all that jazz.
On the most basic level I no longer have autonomous control over what happens to my body.
Without regard for my medical history, my religious beliefs, my personal situation, my willingness to accept the very real risks that come with a carry-to-term pregnancy, my financial situation, whether I want to be a mother, my family dynamics, the cause of my pregnancy, or any previous pregnancies and health issues they may have caused — without regard for ANY OF THAT a governmental institution can usurp my personal choice and demand I carry a fetus to term.
And if that paragraph doesn’t anger you then our conversation needs to be about why you don’t trust women to make decisions in their own best interest.
What on earth is happening to the US and sadly the UK. People who just a few years back would have been marginalised and ignored are suddenly in positions of power.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s mind boggling. We keep saying “show up in November and vote them out!” but all I keep thinking is “yeah, but someone voted them *in* and isn’t that an enormous problem?”
LikeLike
Oh yeh. Happy anniversary!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And thanks. Had a margarita last night and tried not to scream in public. 🫤
LikeLike
we’ve started down that dangerous, slippery slope where rights will be infringed and taken away based solely upon someone imposing their religious beliefs and moral values upon someone else. this is all about control and subjugating women. That’s not a future that I want for my daughters or for my granddaughters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I grew up in a church claiming to be the One True Church and it never made sense to me. What makes my faith system any more valid than anybody on the street? Leaving that behind is making me further enraged that someone else is imposing their beliefs on me in such a violent way.
LikeLike
Men have never had to worry about birth control or even unbridled sex. We don’t even prosecute rapists for fear it will ruin their lives. If this does not knock the desire out of women, I do not know what will. For those who thought it could not happen, beware. There is more to come. All one needs to do is read what Thomas has already written about revisiting contraception and same sex marriage to see the writing on the wall. Nothing is settled law with this court – nothing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agreed. At this point we’ll have to fight against the numbing effect of one thing after another. Each one deserves push back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As sorrowful as it is horrifying. I weep for my daughter and her cohort. I can’t even imagine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s all of it. I used to sound paranoid but when I say “take laws into consideration when you’re looking at colleges” I’m 100% serious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Came here via Carol. Well said/written. I wonder how long it will be before women are no longer allowed to vote.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for visiting and leaving your thoughts. I wish I thought that last note was impossible but nothing’s out of bounds anymore.
LikeLike
Insanity
LikeLiked by 1 person
Which has become strangely par for the course.
LikeLiked by 1 person
yes
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sliding back into the Dark Ages…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dang, I feel like they shoved us all into a catapult and BOOM!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. Expected but startling nonetheless 🙁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unbelievable 🤬🤯😳
LikeLike
And yet not at all surprising. 😖
LikeLiked by 1 person
It IS surprising because we’d expect something way different from the # 1 country in the world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, yes I suppose that’s true. I think I just gave up long ago on the idea we sell as the USA as #1.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And now the rest of the world would too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just when our government does something that gives me hope – the potential passage of a gun control bill that isn’t enough but is a start – they do something that knocks that hope out of me. This is absolutely an infringment on the freedom of all women, and if Clarence Thomas has his way and they start talking about banning same-sex marriages and other freedoms. . . what a minefield we are living in!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thomas is a big fat nightmare dressed up in robes. I have days when I think that’s it, flush the whole thing, there’s no saving it. Then I get a good night’s sleep and wake up ready to fight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m tired of having to fight. I’m seriously wondering why I bother to vote because none of them (or far too few) really care about the people they represent. It’s all party and power, including too many Supreme Court justices.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so sorry, Carol. I understand how tired you are. Please do what you need to take care of yourself right now. 💛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Laura. You do the same.
LikeLiked by 1 person