Column By John Young
Digging deep for a pretext to ignore what the 14th Amendment prescribes for insurrectionists, one ex-president in particular, the Supreme Court acceded to wringing its hands.
Giving states the power to keep Donald Trump off their ballots, the court equivocated, might be what the law requires, but it would unleash — um — “chaos.”
We wouldn’t want chaos, would we? That is unless, let’s say, the court was to give states the power unto themselves to order pregnant women to gestate to term.
It did? Well, there’s some court-ordered chaos for you.
The court now mulls whether to yank from shelves mifepristone, the abortion pill.
Questions from the court in hearing the suit by anti-abortion groups against the Food and Drug Administration sounded as if the majority is reluctant to do this.
Even if it did the right thing and upheld FDA approval of the drug, the fact that the matter even reached its chambers is an indictment of the court (much like absurdly agreeing to hear Donald Trump’s spit-take claim of total immunity from criminal charges).
A scandalously under-reported fact since the original ruling on the alleged dangers of mifepristone is that two studies that helped sway Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk have been discredited and retracted from the journal from which these spurious health claims first got traction.
The journal yanked them citing “lack of scientific rigor” and an author’s affiliation with anti-abortion groups. Yes, a researcher with an agenda.
Same song, umpteenth verse.
The anti-abortion movement is built on a foundation of lies. Its chief deceit is a professed concern about women’s health.
Tennessee Williams wrote, “The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite.”
Be honest about your quest toward penalties for women who commit the act of sex. Don’t try to convince us you care about anything else.
Legislation in the U.S. House seeks to crack down on so-called crisis pregnancy centers that are nothing more than anti-abortion fronts, where women are fed anti-choice canards.
One is that abortion causes breast cancer. Another is that it causes grave psychological problems: “post-abortion stress disorder.”
Those who really don’t care about women’s health will tell those in distress that abortion is deadly, when it is infinitely safer than childbirth.
A comparable charade is orchestrated by the same anti-sex forces over birth control.
The Washington Post reported on “an explosion of birth-control misinformation” that has caused increasing numbers of women to cease using tried-and-true contraception and step back into bygone methods almost certain to get them with-child.
One claim: Oral contraceptives cause women to acquire masculine features and lose fertility long-term. The Post identifies African-American women as particularly susceptible to these bogus claims.
Pursuant to promoting the anti-abortion (anti-sex) agenda, Republican lawmakers in Missouri are seeking to stop the state’s Medicaid program from funding IUDs and the morning-after pill.
Among Right-to-Lie (no typo) standbys, one central claim is that the combination birth control pill is an abortifacient – destroying a fertilized egg. Nope.
The Mayo Clinic explains that the pill (1) prevents ovulation; and (2) prevents the sperm and ovum from engaging.
Truth will never impede forces that would deprive women of control over their bodies and their reproductive futures.
In the pantheon of anti-choice heroes are leaders of Project Veritas, found liable in a $120,000 judgment for a wide-ranging undercover operation that infiltrated women’s clinics, progressive groups, and even news organizations.
By the way: “Veritas” is Latin for “truth.”
Lamp-bearing philosopher Diogenes famously despaired in search of “an honest man.” As one who would celebrate if no woman ever faced the abortion dilemma again, I despair to find a so-called conservative who: (1) supports contraception and comprehensive sex education; (2) fully understands the perils of policing women’s reproductive decisions; (3) knows that sex is going to happen, though religious fanatics may choose another reality.
Sadly, the lies of many denominations have become the prevailing currency of the political right. Or what’s a Donald Trump for?
Longtime newspaperman John Young lives in Colorado. Email him at jyoungcolumn@gmail.com.
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author.
