I, no doubt, am more pessimistic than most, but it seems to me that the GOP has relinquished (in total) all its vaunted 'principles', including limited government. The GOP leaders are in a race to the bottom with their base. To stand out from the pack, they continue to veer to the extremist right, but it's never far enough to satiate the base. So, there will be no moderation.
A new theocracy of cherry-picked Bible versus and new legal precedent (half drawn from the 1300s, half made up by the 'Scotus 6') will 'legitimize' whatever laws are passed by the GOP. They will ban contraception, IVF, stem cell research, gay marriage, gay sex, interracial marriage, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unions, worker's rights, EPA protections, etc...because they can.
Of course, the GOP will destroy the economy. Women forced back into the home will cripple the economy, just as absurd immigration restrictions are wreaking havoc on small farms.
Global warming will accelerate to catastrophic levels, but the GOP leadership will ignore the chaos because of the financial payoffs, while the base will cheer their own demise in their cocoons of lies and propaganda.
Women are the current target, and African Americans have never not been a target, but the future is grim for anyone who isn't wealthy and white...the base itself garners zero protection by their votes (once they've served their purpose of securing minority rule, they'll be ignored by their dear leaders). We're already seeing a massive rise in antisemitism, anti-Asian hate crimes, weekly mass shootings. The massacre of children in Uvalde has already been largely forgotten.
There is a failure of imagination by Americans as to the grim reality ahead and a widespread denial of the wave of hatred polluting this country that defies explanation.
There may be more people in this country who reject a theocratic oligarchy than embrace it, but when it comes to voting, we're a 50/50 country, and that's a pathetic end to the American story.
Partial-birth abortion refers to a method that is used in the 3rd trimester pre-viability. It doesn't mean aborting the fetus at the moment of birth, as the term seems to imply. It was coined by people who wanted to ban all abortions, and passed by a govt. that little understood what it was banning. So yes, the logic of my argument implies that the govt. should stay out of the entire abortion issue.
Isn't the logic of your argument that abortion should be permitted until the moment of birth? In other words, the state should not restrict even partial birth abortion?
Thank you for the thoughtful essay.
I, no doubt, am more pessimistic than most, but it seems to me that the GOP has relinquished (in total) all its vaunted 'principles', including limited government. The GOP leaders are in a race to the bottom with their base. To stand out from the pack, they continue to veer to the extremist right, but it's never far enough to satiate the base. So, there will be no moderation.
A new theocracy of cherry-picked Bible versus and new legal precedent (half drawn from the 1300s, half made up by the 'Scotus 6') will 'legitimize' whatever laws are passed by the GOP. They will ban contraception, IVF, stem cell research, gay marriage, gay sex, interracial marriage, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unions, worker's rights, EPA protections, etc...because they can.
Of course, the GOP will destroy the economy. Women forced back into the home will cripple the economy, just as absurd immigration restrictions are wreaking havoc on small farms.
Global warming will accelerate to catastrophic levels, but the GOP leadership will ignore the chaos because of the financial payoffs, while the base will cheer their own demise in their cocoons of lies and propaganda.
Women are the current target, and African Americans have never not been a target, but the future is grim for anyone who isn't wealthy and white...the base itself garners zero protection by their votes (once they've served their purpose of securing minority rule, they'll be ignored by their dear leaders). We're already seeing a massive rise in antisemitism, anti-Asian hate crimes, weekly mass shootings. The massacre of children in Uvalde has already been largely forgotten.
There is a failure of imagination by Americans as to the grim reality ahead and a widespread denial of the wave of hatred polluting this country that defies explanation.
There may be more people in this country who reject a theocratic oligarchy than embrace it, but when it comes to voting, we're a 50/50 country, and that's a pathetic end to the American story.
Partial-birth abortion refers to a method that is used in the 3rd trimester pre-viability. It doesn't mean aborting the fetus at the moment of birth, as the term seems to imply. It was coined by people who wanted to ban all abortions, and passed by a govt. that little understood what it was banning. So yes, the logic of my argument implies that the govt. should stay out of the entire abortion issue.
Most supporters of abortion stop supporting it at third trimester abortion. It makes them no different than their pro-life opponents.
Isn't the logic of your argument that abortion should be permitted until the moment of birth? In other words, the state should not restrict even partial birth abortion?
No. Turning a blind eye to murder is an egregious violation of human rights.
Basically, "fetus rights" are not human rights. Abortion should be a human right.