Texas

[elle_71125]

I can’t understand how we just traveled backwards in time and took away every woman’s right to do what’s right for her own body. This is just beyond comprehension. Such a sad day for women everywhere.

 

[MissGotRocks]

It happened step by step. No one seemed to be able to slow those steps down either. The ones fighting against abortion are the very ones that don’t want these children funded by the welfare system. You can’t have it both ways! Must be the same people that want all the Afghan helper citizens out of Afghanistan - as long as they don’t wind up living in their state! Such hypocrisy!!

 

[missy]

From Bloomberg dot com

“U.S. President Joe Biden ordered his administration to try to counter a Texas law that may effectively outlaw abortion in apparent contravention of established Supreme Court precedent. The Democrat called the high court’s refusal to intervene “an unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling overnight is an unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost fifty years,” Biden said in a Thursday statement.

He harshly criticized the Texas law, which creates a novel legal mechanism allowing private parties to sue anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion more than about six weeks after conception. In his statement, he said he had ordered government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice, to ensure women in Texas retain access to abortion services.



The law “unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts. Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced by women,” Biden said.


“Rather than use its supreme authority to ensure justice could be fairly sought, the highest Court of our land will allow millions of women in Texas in need of critical reproductive care to suffer while courts sift through procedural complexities,” he added, in one of the strongest critiques of the majority-conservative court in his presidency.

A statement Biden issued Wednesday after the Texas law took effect was much milder in tone and did not mention the high court.

“

 

[Lookinagain]

It's like stepping back in time to the 1950's. I am horrified & disgusted.

We have seen much here in the UK about US protests to masks, to gun laws, to vaccines etc, all being an invasion of personal rights & freedoms. And yet here we are. Little Annie X could be violently & brutally raped by her own father at the age of 11 & then HAVE TO CARRY & NURTURE HIS BABY. Yuk. No thank you.

Right, and how likely is Little Annie X to have an idea that she might be pregnant before 6 weeks? The fact that there is no exclusion for rape and incest is unfathomable. And correct me if I'm wrong, but even if she figured out she was pregnant, doesn't Little Annie X still need parental consent, or a court order to obtain one, after her parents get notice. How likely is that to happen if the pregnancy is the result of incest/rape? That part of the law has already been on the books, I believe. But again, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Lookinagain]

ETA boycotting sex might work!

What is so scary is that there are many women at the forefront of this movement. I don't think they would join the boycott.

 

[PinkAndBlueBling]

@Lookinagain In California at least, minors can obtain contraception, receive an abortion and consent to their own pregnancy-related medical care. Providers are not allowed to inform parents/guardians without minor's consent.

I fully support this, btw.

 

[elle_71125]

Right, and how likely is Little Annie X to have an idea that she might be pregnant before 6 weeks? The fact that there is no exclusion for rape and incest is unfathomable. And correct me if I'm wrong, but even if she figured out she was pregnant, doesn't Little Annie X still need parental consent, or a court order to obtain one, after her parents get notice. How likely is that to happen if the pregnancy is the result of incest/rape? That part of the law has already been on the books, I believe. But again, correct me if I'm wrong.

Dude, I’d be lucky if I realized I was pregnant before 6 weeks. Let alone little Annie.

 

[Lookinagain]

@Lookinagain In California at least, minors can obtain contraception, receive an abortion and consent to their own pregnancy-related medical care. Providers are not allowed to inform parents/guardians without minor's consent.

I fully support this, btw.

That's not reality in all states. I did just look it up to make sure I was correct. I was actually surprised to see that where I live, in Massachusetts, a very blue state, a minor under 16 needs permission from a parent to terminate a pregnancy, or be excused from that by a judge.

Parental Consent & Notification Laws | Teen Abortion Laws

If you’re younger than 18, you might be able to get an abortion without telling anyone. The exact rules vary in different places.

www.plannedparenthood.org

 

[RockOnReen]

The cruelty of this law is so incredibly vile.

Edit to add: I live in TX and plan to move in the next few years, a big reason is the govts focus on turning this state into gilead instead of actually governing and making sure basic things like the utility system work

Totally agree -- I moved out of Texas a few months ago because I just couldn't take the condescending hypocrisy anymore. My demographics misled most people to believe I shared the opinions of the conservative right and I was tired of hearing the unvarnished truth that came out when they thought they were safely among their own. I had to leave to fully realize how repressive it really was.

 

[GliderPoss]

enough said…

 

[oceanblue]

ETA boycotting sex might work!

Well they do teach a full abstinence curriculum in middle school which includes a written abstinence pledge.

 

[Babyblue033]

Dude, I’d be lucky if I realized I was pregnant before 6 weeks. Let alone little Annie.

I know right? I'm a grown woman with 2 kids but I felt like you blink an eye and you're beyond 6 weeks. Can't imagine being a young woman and catching on so early, especially if you were in unstable environment. It's all just a big joke.

 

[Lookinagain]

Well they do teach a full abstinence curriculum in middle school which includes a written abstinence pledge.

When has that ever worked? And is this a public school?

 

[Matata]

I have this Orwellian vision of roving posses of armed (unlicensed and untrained) Texans policing ob/gyn offices and drug store pregnancy test sales to try to determine who might terminate a pregnancy in order to cash in on the potential for $10,000. It would make a good book if Orwell hadn't already written Nineteen-eighty Four and if Atwood hadn't already written The Handmaid's Tale.

Meanwhile:
The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries.

Maternal Mortality and Maternity Care in the United States Compared to 10 Other Developed Countries

Overview of differences in maternal mortality, maternal care workforce, and access to postpartum care and social protections in the U.S. and 10 other countries.

www.commonwealthfund.org

In 2019, 754 women were identified as having died of maternal causes in the United States, compared with 658 in 2018 (2). The maternal mortality rate for 2019 (20.1 deaths per 100,000 live births) was significantly higher than the rate for 2018 (17.4) (Table).

Products - Health E Stats - Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2019

National Center for Health Statistics

www.cdc.gov

 

[Lookinagain]

I have this Orwellian vision of roving posses of armed (unlicensed and untrained) Texans policing ob/gyn offices and drug store pregnancy test sales to try to determine who might terminate a pregnancy in order to cash in on the potential for $10,000. I

yes, because that is what this new law seems to contemplate. Make every one an "enforcer" and pay them for doing it. Take away a defendant by not having the "state" be the enforcer and therefore you have no one to sue. At least not yet.

 

[PinkAndBlueBling]

 

[Calliecake]

Texas Right to Life has set up a “whistleblower” website where people can give anonymous tips about anyone they believe to be breaking the abortion law. These people are sick.

 

[Gussie]

All but completely outlawing abortion is terrible. But the bounty system is pure dystopian hell. Pitting citizens against each other is just f****ed up. I normally don't use that kind of language but it fits here!

 

[Matata]

Texas Right to Life has set up a “whistleblower” website where people can give anonymous tips about anyone they believe to be breaking the abortion law.

What could possibly go wrong? This tops the list so far for clusterf*ck of the year.

 

[bludiva]

Whistleblower site off to a good start

 

[lovedogs]

Whistleblower site off to a good start

I am beyond disgusted with this archaic law and the insane whistleblower website. But the idea of awful human beings who wish to limit women's rights being flooded with spam made me smile.

 

[LilAlex]

They're making a mockery of their purported religion.

as all religious fundamentalists of every stripe do

 

[Karl_K]

No matter which side of the abortion issue your on, the law and what it wants to implement should scare the pssss out of you.
The government can not enforce a law so we will let you sue your neighbor for 10k to get you to enforce it.
wtf?!?!?! scary as heck.

 

[missy]

Texas Republicans Back Statewide Dress Code for Women​

By Andy Borowitz

Photograph from Getty

AUSTIN (The Borowitz Report)—A new bill moving swiftly through the Republican-controlled Texas legislature would institute a strict statewide dress code for women.

Governor Greg Abbott, a vehement supporter of the bill, said that the dress code would benefit women because “it will give them one less thing to think about when they get up in the morning.”

“I believe in the sanctity of human life, and the best way to protect that life, in the case of a woman, is to free her from the stress of having to choose what to wear,” Abbott said.


Abbott summarized the new dress code, which bars women from wearing skirts above the knee, sleeveless blouses, and most varieties of pants.

“Slacks are fine as long as they have cuffs,” he said. “However, if a woman is caught wearing jeans or dungarees, she will be sent home.”

Abbott dismissed comparisons between the state’s proposed dress code and that imposed by the Taliban, which has required women to wear burqas. “We are strongly opposed to masks of any kind,” he said.



A joke or our new to be reality if we don't do something about the oppressive new abortion law in Texas?

 

[MrsBlue]

No matter which side of the abortion issue your on, the law and what it wants to implement should scare the pssss out of you.
The government can not enforce a law so we will let you sue your neighbor for 10k to get you to enforce it.
wtf?!?!?! scary as heck.

This is what I'm thinking.

What if someone files 1,000 random cases hoping to win a few by default then collects the 10k bounty or sells the debt for cash?

Apart from the inherent misogyny of the law, it's also the most socially toxic thing I've heard in a while. Neighbors against neighbors. Heaven help us.

 

[missy]

This is what I'm thinking.

What if someone files 1,000 random cases hoping to win a few by default then collects the 10k bounty or sells the debt for cash?

Apart from the inherent misogyny of the law, it's also the most socially toxic thing I've heard in a while. Neighbors against neighbors. Heaven help us.

Right. And don’t forget many Texans are carrying weapons. Scary times.

 

[FL_runner]

This is what I'm thinking.

What if someone files 1,000 random cases hoping to win a few by default then collects the 10k bounty or sells the debt for cash?

Apart from the inherent misogyny of the law, it's also the most socially toxic thing I've heard in a while. Neighbors against neighbors. Heaven help us.

Neighbors against neighbors, and likely to target any medical providers caring for women's reproductive health, therefore driving them out of the state. It's disgusting.

 

[mrs-b]

And to all the young woman I speak to these days who say that feminism is an outdated issue because the fight is over - please - wake TFU.

 

[Ionysis]

I’ve done some more reading on this subject and I’m even more horrified than I was before. I would almost rather see a clear legal ban on abortion after 6 weeks than this abhorrent, totalitarian mindset of encouraging people to “inform” on their acquaintances. This is so far beyond screwed up it beggars belief.

 

[mrs-b]

The new Texas anti-abortion law makes no allowances for pregnancies that occur due to incest or rape. The right to abortion due to risk to the mother has been severely narrowed to mean either genuine risk of death or major organ failure.

Under this law, anti-abortion vigilantes can sue doctors, nurses, even friends who drive a pregnant woman to an appointment for “aiding or abetting” abortion care — and be rewarded with at least $10,000 if they win their case.

Welcome back to the McCarthy era, circa Greg Abbott.

This is not law. This is mob rule.