“Though she be but little, she is fierce!” ― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Note:
The first five paragraphs of this piece are autobiographical and exist to set the scene. If you want to jump to the subject of the piece, start at “Allie Phillip’s story.”
My experience
My wife and I knew before we were married — even before we were officially engaged — we wanted children together. We had both lived single lives with a typical complement of lovers, some now fond memories, others mistakes — but none who was ‘the one’. We had spent our lives avoiding pregnancy. Now, we were ready to embrace it. But conception is not guaranteed. Months passed with no change in our status quo.
Finally, after a medical assist, we received the news we had dreamed of. And we experienced the profound joy of expectant parenthood. Along with a healthy dose of nervousness as we wondered if we were ready to be parents. Or at least I did.
At 21 weeks, my wife called me at work. She had experienced some spotting. In a panic, we raced to her OB-GYN. She reassured us this occasionally occurred — and was nothing to worry about. Our relief was profound. And some 20 weeks later — 10 days after the original due date — our eldest child, a daughter, was born perfectly healthy.
Had the circumstances been different — had the prognosis for the fetus and my wife been dire — she would have at least received the care she needed. Because even though we lived in Texas at the time, the law still left medical decisions to doctors.
I share this with you, dear reader, to illustrate the emotional connection my wife and I felt for this wanted baby — which was no different from any other happily expectant parents. And to remember a time when women’s health was considered important, even by fundamentalist Christians. Which brings me to Allie Phillips.
Allie Phillips’ story
Mrs. Phillips, a Clarksville, Tennessee, resident and already a mother, was expecting another daughter. She had already picked the name Miley Rose. Then, tragic news shattered her dreams. The New Washington Post reported it thus:
Then, at about 19 weeks, a routine ultrasound revealed devastating problems: Amniotic fluid supporting the fetus had drained; its lungs, heart, brain and other organs were not developing.
More bad news salted the wound of Allie’s despair. WaPo added:
Continuing the pregnancy would endanger Phillips, her doctor warned.
Throughout the civilized world, and in some American states, doctors are still in charge of the medical care of patients — even the female ones. But Allie Phillips did not live in one of those states. The report continued:
But Tennessee’s near-total ban on abortion — signed into law some six months earlier — meant she would have to go out of state for the procedure. She temporarily closed her day care, left 5-year-old Adalie with her parents and flew to New York City with her husband. A stranger hosted them. GoFundMe donations covered their travel and medical costs.
After her trauma and emotional agony, Phillips could have sunk into a slough of despond. No one would have blamed her if she had tried to piece her life back together quietly in the bosom of her family. But Allie is no shrinking violet. She has taken up arms against the system that visits inhumanity on women during their childbearing years and the girls who will follow them. Again from WaPo:
Her loss not only turned the petite 28-year-old into a first-time candidate — challenging an antiabortion conservative in a fast-growing district on the Kentucky border — but into a committed activist, too. She is one of three dozen plaintiffs in state and federal lawsuits filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights against abortion bans in Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma and Idaho, among the most restrictive statutes in the country.
Phillips has taken her fight to the halls of power — literally. At a rally outside the Tennessee Capitol on the first day of this year’s legislative session, she laid out her casus belli.
“We are in a fight for our lives. We cannot back down and hide away. I’m running to protect women and girls and families.”
(If you are interested in contributing, this is a link to her ActBlue page — thanks to DK contributor Librarianmom for digging it up)
Some Americans again live under an oppressive government
Phillips echoes the rhetoric leading up to the Revolutionary War. A noble fight waged by oppressed citizens against an autocratic government — a disdainful cabal which had passed laws to enact its institutional dictates without regard for the cost levied on a marginalized population.
In the 18th century, George III used capricious political rules to deny the colonists a voice in their own affairs — “No taxation without representation.” Today's autocratic authorities preserve their hegemony with gerrymandering and barriers to voting. Meet the new boss, Just like the old boss.
To sell their rights-stripping misogyny, conservatives celebrate the sanctity of life. That justification for reproductive subjugation is sanctimonious hypocrisy and 100-proof bullshit. You cannot seriously claim to be pro-life when you are prepared to sacrifice women on your pharisaical altar.
It takes sociopathic cruelty to stand obdurate behind laws that could have left 5-year-old Adalie motherless. And which condemn women, and even girls, to bear their rapist or relative’s child — even when the rapist is a relative.
Conclusion
I am a father and an ignostic — I see no point in debating the existence of the Divine until believers come up with an agreed-upon definition of ‘God’ — and my children are my greatest joy. But, God forbid, had I received the same news as an expectant father that Allie Phillips did, I would have hoped that my wife would have received the treatment she needed. Because if she had not, there would be one less woman in the world and none of the subsequent children she bore.
How that can be called ‘pro-life’ is something only a conservative Christian can explain.