Last week, DNC chair Tom Perez drew criticism for plans to meet with anti-choice Democrats. The move signaled a turn away from the party’s progressive platform. It’s also not the only time a Democratic man has decided to discount the needs of women. Former vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine drew criticism for his anti-choice beliefs and unclear position on abortion. And last month, Bernie Sanders campaigned for an anti-choice candidate in Nebraska.
As Democrats are pulling back on abortion rights, anti-choice zealots are doubling down. Women in need of abortions and those who advocate for them are left with fewer options, and face an increasingly onerous regulatory climate.
Anti-choice activists know that they only need to get the right case to the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. That’s why they keep enacting abortion regulations that are clearly unconstitutional under current federal guidelines. So while Democrats run from choice issues, here’s what the opponents of reproductive justice have been up to this month.
Incarcerating People Who Drive Women to Abortions
Sweeping new anti-abortion legislation passed the Texas House May 19. The law gives prosecutors wide discretion to prosecute anyone involved in abortions new state legislation deems illegal. That includes anyone who drives a woman to an illegal abortion. Even a bank teller who cashes a check used to pay for an abortion could be swept up in a prosecution under the law.
The new Texas legislation also requires aborted fetuses to be buried or cremated. Several other states have passed similar legislation. The goal of these laws is clear: to convince women seeking abortions, those who support them, and the general public that there is a physical baby to bury. But in the case of early abortions, there’s no body. In the first weeks of pregnancy, a “baby” is just a group of rapidly dividing cells. An embryo doesn’t even become a fetus until sometime around the ninth week of pregnancy.
Even at this point, the fetus weighs less than an ounce and is the size of a grape. It can’t feel pain, and none of the organs are fully developed. Yet anti-choice activists want us to believe not only that this is a fully-formed baby, but also that its rights trump the well-being of a living, breathing woman.
Do Parents Own Their Children’s Fetuses? Republicans Think So.
A woman’s access to abortion is heavily dependent on the state where she seeks an abortion. This is especially true of minors, who may have to get parental consent before getting an abortion. What parental consent laws miss is that not all parents are good parents. Some will abuse their pregnant child. Some may even be the reason the child is pregnant.
Yet Republicans continue to insist that parents should be able to force their minor children to carry to term babies they do not want. New Republican legislation, misleadingly dubbed the Child Custody Protection Act and introduced by Ohio Senator Rob Portman (R), would prohibit people from transporting children across state lines to states that do not require parental consent for abortions.
Apparently everyone but women owns women’s bodies.
How ‘Pro-Life’ Policies Increase Abortion Rate
One of the first acts of the Trump administration was to expand the so-called global gag rule. The rule prohibits U.S. funding for international clinics that even mention abortion. This means that clinics must either fundamentally change the way they operate—potentially denying abortion education to young children and rape victims—or lose vital funding.
We now know how this is affecting women abroad. The slashing of funding for family planning means a loss of $8.8 million worth of health care funding. It also reduces access to contraceptives. This will increase the abortion rate. Because abortion has become less accessible, women will almost certainly die thanks to illegal abortions.
In an interview with Reuters, the founder of a Kenyan health care fund highlights the need for abortion and family planning. Monica Oguttu told the news organization that 1 in 5 women who seek illegal abortions die. Lack of access to save abortions doesn’t end abortion; it kills women and their babies.