Last week, I got all caught up in my anti-War on Women fury and tweeted an article that, it transpired, was three years old. Oopsie!
In my defense, though, it was about a law in Oklahoma that was really, really heinous and had actually passed, so my brain was a bit addled. This law (later struck down by the courts) would have required that the details of every abortion conducted in the state be posted on a public website:
The questionnaire doesn’t include the woman’s name or “any information specifically identifying the patient,” but it does ask for age, race, level of education, marital status, number of previous pregnancies, and the county in which the abortion was performed, information which opponents of the bill argue would be enough to identify a woman in a small town. The questionnaire also asks about the mother’s reason for the abortion, her method of payment, and even what type of insurance she has, as well as whether the fetus received anaesthetic and whether there was “an infant born alive as a result of the abortion.”
So, you know – phew! At least we dodged that one!
It’s not happening in Oklahoma anymore – but it is on the cusp of happening in Tennessee (also sadly known as the “don’t say gay” state) — with this particular bill boasting the added bonus of distributing helpful information to those who might want to murder abortion providers:
A new bill moving through the Tennessee House of Representatives would require the state to publish the names of each doctor who performs an abortion and detailed statistics about the woman having the procedure, which opponents worry will spur anti-abortion violence in the state.
The Life Defense Act of 2012, sponsored by state Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Jonesboro), mandates that the Tennessee Department of Health make detailed demographic information about every woman who has an abortion available to the public, including her age, race, county, marital status, education level, number of children, the location of the procedure and how many times she has been pregnant. Each report would also have to include the name of the doctor who performed the procedure.
In the words of Rep. Gary Odom (D-Nashville), this bill “puts a target on women’s and physicians’ backs. I think it’s a very dangerous piece of legislation and serves no purpose I can tell other than trying to intimidate women and physicians.”
Indeed.
And some people wonder why I’m so engulfed in rage these days.
Crossposted at Emily L. Hauser In My Head.
I’m your sister in rage, ee. I saw this sometime yesterday afternoon and just about lost it. I alternate between white-hot rage and cold fury at the relentless onslaught in the War on Women™. We have to turn the tide this November.
At what point can we just take a sawz-all and cut the old Confederacy adrift?
It is obvious what is happening. A challenge will be brought to the Supreme Court ( a Roberts, Tea Partier court) that will test Roe vs. Wade. It will be overturned because of the conservative nature of the court right now. Then all of the states will be forced to examine the issue.
What’s that old feminist saying? ‘Scratch a woman, find a rage?’ It is particularly true these days. I worry that the cultural forces are so strong that elections will not stop the mindless drive to curtail freedom, and the costs will be borne by women.
Thanks ABL for always keeping it REAL! As a result of the GOP launching JIHAD on my American FEMALE BODY, I have co founded a grassroots movement and we plan to go straight INSURGENT on these “______” on 4.28.12 when women across America march on 50 state Capitols across the country. Go to UniteWomen.org and JOIN US! Thank you!
Morgan has the right of it. In fact, some of the politicians have SAID as much. This is fucking terrifying!