Louisiana became the 7th state in the United States to pass a law that would "trigger" an abortion ban if Row v. Wade is overturned. It is clear that this is again something that is something to be very concerned about for many reasons, including the fact that the Governor of Lousiana is a Democrat.
As a start of this issue we have a quote from
Reuters from Gov. Blanco:
Blanco cited "overwhelming" support for the bill in the state Legislature.
"The central provision of the bill supports and reflects my personal beliefs," she said in a statement, adding she had hoped for legislation with exceptions for rape and incest.
That is perfectly fine if that the central provision of the bill reflects the personal beliefs of the Governor, but the issue does not revolve around the personal beliefs of the Governor. The issue is government and its role in our personal lives, which seems (for both sides) a hit or miss depending on the issue.
The major concern to me as a person that is pro-choice is what if Roe v. Wade is overturned. While Gov. Blanco can at this day feel safe and hide knowing that it will most likely not be overturned right now (though we don't know), it once again concerns me that these decisions continue to feed into the base of the Republican base in such a way that hurts the chances of Democrats regaining momentum in Southern states that have, in simplest terms, been abused by the Federal government when it comes to disaster relief.
While these types of laws have passed in 7 other states, this should be looked at with a different lens in my mind, as it seems these laws are gaining momentum. I would like to say that we are all pro-choice. We are all pro-choice because in a free society we should be able to all choose those actions that harms our own person. Yes we can debate where life begins and where life ends, but there is one reality that we can never get away from:
Abortions have and will always happen no matter what type of society you live in.
While I am sure many on Dailykos will agree that these types of laws are inappropriate and only work to solve the symptoms rather then the disease, these laws also continue to force our hands (those on the left and those that are pro-choice) in spending time combating these laws rather then allowing us the time to bring forward laws that would really combat abortions.
What truly should be done is that we move out of our reaction mode and move into action as we promote better sex education, improvements in the adoption system, and create better economic conditions that would prevent many young and older adults from making these hard decisions.
Now gettng back to what Gov. Blanco has done in relation to the rant above. Her signing this law once again puts us into a reaction phase when our time and energy can go into more worthwhile causes. What makes this especially disheartening is that Gov. Blanco "should" be an ally and should be working to protecting freedom rather then eliminating it.
As well there are more important issues in Louisiana then abortion. What about all those who still don't have a home, job, health care, etc. in the areas that are still devistated from Hurricane Katrina? I am sure the restriction on abortions was on the top of there minds as the hurricane season starts off again. Not only does this look bad for elected officals in Louisiana in general, it also looks bad for Democrats on a national stage for playing (once again) into the hand of the religious right and not focusing on issues that are of national importance.
Simply a statement (or simple election advice) to Gov. Blanco and other Democrats running for office or thinking of running for office:
Rally your own base, not the base of your opponent!