Constant Opinions

I am completely steamed about this latest Supreme Court decision on the partial birth abortion ban. Apparently Daddy Government is worried about us poor women suffering moral harm from making the incredibily difficult decision to have a late term abortion. I barely have words for that idiocy.

First of all, partial birth abortions, despite what opponents may say, happen very, very rarely, and are typically done as the safest way to abort a fetus that won’t survive anyhow. They are not used as a sort of birth control!

Justice Kennedy conceded that “we find no reliable data” on whether abortion in general, or the procedure prohibited by the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, causes women emotional harm. But he said it was nonetheless “self-evident” and “unexceptional to conclude” that “some women” who choose to terminate their pregnancies suffer “regret,” “severe depression,” “loss of esteem” and other ills.

Yes, having an abortion is, for many women, a painful, painful decision, especially when the pregnancy had been wanted, as is the usual case when a late term abortion is done.

I had a great time reading the post and comments over at Feministe on this idiotic decision. The trouble with this, as noted there, is that this doesn’t stop abortions. It merely takes away one of the safest options for the mother, putting her at added risk for complications. It is not a simple decision or one made on a whim.

Of course, abortion opponents are delighted. Not only did the Supreme Court back them up, it did so with a decision supporting a ban that doesn’t allow exemptions for the health of the mother. Brilliant utterly brilliant, no?

The worst is that the justification used should make it easier for other abortion bans to be upheld.

It’s disappointing to see that enough Supreme Court Justices now take the paternalistic view that we poor women need to be protected from ourselves. We don’t. What we need is access to good health care, including when we want to prevent pregnancy and when we make the devastating decision to terminate a wanted pregnancy. We do not need that decision made any harder or the risk increased.

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