I’ve really decided that the only way to deal with the draconian anti-privacy/forced birth laws that are being passed in various states is with derision and mockery. To talk about reason and how the goal is to reduce unwanted pregnancies has not worked, and even under the radar, states like North Dakota (and Oklahoma, sorry, droogie) are out-crazying each other with unnecessary and intrusive bills.
The culture war is still going on, and may even be easier to go undetected since there are so many more important things impacting American families. And the North Dakota bill that just passed the overwhelming republican House would define the term "person" under the Constitution and laws of North Dakota as:
any organism with the genome of homo sapiens
However, I submit that this bill would create incentive for people to get pregnant, just so they can claim additional tax credits on their North Dakota income tax returns. Think about it – since the zygote is now treated as a human, then it would qualify as a dependent, and the expenses incurred during pregnancy would now be deemed as "qualified care" expenses. What other government services would be available to women who get pregnant that otherwise wouldn’t be available?
This bill encourages taxpayers to cheat the system – the very thing that republicans have railed against for years, and now they are enabling it. But it doesn’t just stop with the tax credits. If the mother falls down the stairs, can she be sued for assault and/or battery? And of course, if there is a miscarriage, would the mother be charged with manslaughter?
With the economy doing so poorly, this looks like a handout by ND House republicans and is clearly unconstitutional discrimination against those who are not pregnant or those who can’t get pregnant. How can they exclude an entire class of people from a tax break just because they can’t get pregnant? Is this not also a case of gender discrimination?
Of course, and in all seriousness, this is a horrible bill and a dangerous precedent. I have no idea if the ND Senate is any less insane, but the fact remains that many states are looking to take drastic and highly intrusive measures regarding personal privacy, and are willing to let these bills get fought all the way up to the US Supreme Court if necessary – wasting millions more in taxpayer dollars to do so. And at a time when there are so many very important and critical matters that Americans have to face, something like this can get lost very easily.
Which is precisely why outrageous mockery is needed to call attention to outrageous actions. The same outrage just doesn’t do it anymore, and it tends to be forgotten or drowned out by all of the other outrage.