This has to be read to be believed.
On Friday, writing for The Atlantic, Canadian author Margaret Atwood — author of the patriarchal dystopia "The Handmaid's Tale" — said that the Supreme Court's impending decision to strike down Roe v. Wade creates the nightmarish world she was depicting.
"In the fictional theocracy of Gilead, women had very few rights, as in 17th-century New England," wrote Atwood. "The Bible was cherry-picked, with the cherries being interpreted literally. Based on the reproductive arrangements in Genesis — specifically, those of the family of Jacob — the wives of high-ranking patriarchs could have female slaves, or 'handmaids,' and those wives could tell their husbands to have children by the handmaids and then claim the children as theirs."
Atwood went on to reveal that she actually stopped writing the novel multiple times because she considered its premise to be too extreme to be taken seriously.
"Silly me," she commented. "Theocratic dictatorships do not lie only in the distant past: There are a number of them on the planet today. What is to prevent the United States from becoming one of them? For instance: It is now the middle of 2022, and we have just been shown a leaked opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States that would overthrow settled law of 50 years on the grounds that abortion is not mentioned in the Constitution, and is not 'deeply rooted' in our 'history and tradition.'"
This argument, noted Atwood, is only true because the original Constitution didn't mention women or protect women's rights in any form — not even being given the franchise until the 19th Amendment's passage in the early 20th century.
"Women were nonpersons in U.S. law for a lot longer than they have been persons," wrote Atwood. "If we start overthrowing settled law using Justice Samuel Alito’s justifications, why not repeal votes for women?"
Moreover, she noted, the time period Alito calls back to featured witch trials, where women were powerless to prove their innocence — something that would, in effect, come back with accusations of illegal abortions.
"If Justice Alito wants you to be governed by the laws of the 17th century, you should take a close look at that century," Atwood concluded. "Is that when you want to live?"
In his draft ruling, Alito quoted from a 16th Century Judge who wanted the death penalty for “witchcraft.” Despite the 9th Amendment which specifically states that all the rights that belong to the people are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution he argued that the right to privacy afforded by Roe V Wade “isn’t enumerated.”
There’s also good reason to doubt the goals of those who claim to be “Pro-Life” are actually pro the process of living.
Here’s an interesting little fun fact, according to the CDC most of the states that are on the verge of implementing a ban on abortion also happen to have the highest rates of infant mortality.
State Abortion Index:
1) Pre-Roe ban: Law enacted before 1973 and never removed
2) “Trigger” ban: Law designed to be “triggered” and take effect automatically or by quick state action if Roe no longer applies
3) Near-total ban: Law enacted after Roe to prohibit abortion under all or nearly all circumstances (several of this type are currently blocked by court order)
4) Six-week ban: Law prohibiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy (one in effect)
5) Eight-week ban: Law prohibiting abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy (none in effect)
6) State constitution bars protection: Constitution amended to prohibit any protection for abortion rights
7) State Likely to Ban Abortion: An additional four states have political composition, history and other indicators—such as recent actions to limit access to abortion—that show they are likely to ban abortion as soon as possible without federal protections in place
sTATE |
(Anti-Abortion Law) |
dEATHS PER 1000 bIRTHS |
tOTAL in 2020 |
Mississippi |
(1,2,4) |
8.27 |
293 |
Louisiana |
(2,3,4,6) |
7.53 |
430 |
West Virginia |
(1,6) |
7.45 |
130 |
Arkansas |
(1,2,3) |
7.33 |
264 |
Alabama |
(1,3,6) |
7.18 |
404 |
South Dakota |
(2) |
6.86 |
81 |
North Carolina |
|
6.76 |
800 |
Kansas |
|
6.69 |
236 |
Indiana |
(7) |
6.55 |
527 |
Ohio |
(3) |
6.53 |
864 |
Michigan |
(1) |
6.53 |
704 |
South Carolina |
(4) |
6.46 |
364 |
Kentucky |
(2,4) |
6.23 |
327 |
Tennesee |
(2,4,6) |
6.2 |
495 |
Georgia |
(4) |
6.12 |
765 |
Maine |
|
5.87 |
72 |
Wisconsin |
(1) |
5.75 |
361 |
Oklahoma |
(1,2,3,4) |
5.73 |
279 |
Maryland |
|
5.62 |
391 |
Virginia |
|
5.57 |
544 |
Florida |
(7) |
5.53 |
1,214 |
Delaware |
|
5.53 |
58 |
Nebraska |
(7) |
5.49 |
137 |
Missouri |
(2,5) |
5.47 |
392 |
18 out of the bottom 25 states on infant mortality have either implemented or have an abortion ban ready to be implemented if Roe is overturned. For the record, the State with the lowest infant mortality is California with a rate of 3.69 and a total of 1,651 deaths in 2020. The top five states on this list are at double that rate.
If these people actually cared about the lives of babies, you might think they would do a better job of keeping babies who've actually been born — alive.
Going further California also has the lowest rate of maternal mortality (where the mother dies in childbirth) at 4.0 deaths per 100,000 births.
The Ten States with the highest maternal mortality are as follows:
- Louisiana (58.1 per 100k) — (2,3,4,6)
- Georgia (48.4 per 100k) — (4)
- Indiana (43.6 per 100k) — (7)
- New Jersey (38.1 per 100k)
- Arkansas (37.5 per 100k) — (1,2,3)
- Alabama (36.4 per 100k) — (1,3,6)
- Missouri (34.6 per 100k) — (2,5)
- Texas (34.5 per 100k) — (1,2,4)
- South Carolina (27.9 per 100k) — (4)
- Arizona (27.3 per 100k) — (1)
The best of these states has a rate of maternal mortality rate that is over 6 times higher than California, the worst state, Louisiana has a rate that is 14 times higher. 9 out of 10 of those states shown either have abortion bans or will implement them if Roe is overturned.
So not only do children die after birth at ridiculously high rates in these states, mothers also die at ridiculously high rates in these places that claim that they are "Pro Life.”
Just for a hoot, take a look at the Firearm Mortality Rates by State - because one thing you won’t find is Chicago or Illinois at the top of the list. No Sirree. (Also, these numbers are considerably less than the rate of mothers dying from pregnancy)
Yet again the top five are:
Firearm Mortality rate by State
State |
Rate per 100K |
Total |
Mississippi |
28.6 |
818 |
LOUisiana |
26.3 |
1,183 |
WYOMING |
25.9 |
154 |
MISSOURI |
23.9 |
1,426 |
ALAbama |
23.6 |
1,141 |
|
Exactly whose life are they “Pro?”