When the Georgia Senate Bill 169 was introduced, a friend of mine asked me why I was so up in arms about it. "After all," he said, "You don't live in Georgia. It doesn't affect you."
Doesn't affect me? Really? First, I don't believe it's true that just because I don't live in Georgia the bill doesn't affect me. But even if we postulate that it's true that it doesn't affect me - does that mean we should sit idly by while other states create laws we believe to be morally unacceptable?
What of Martin Niemoller's words:
First, they came first for the Communists,
While I admit that in most cases, I'm content to sit back and let others do my work for me. For the most part, I'm willing to let people far more competent than I be the indignant ones. I am not an activist. I am not a take-charge person. Heck, I failed at even Taking Charge of My Fertility, for crying out loud. But when Georgia introduced SB 169 something in me simply... snapped.
And now? Maryland? Gah.
Maryland hasn't done anything nearly as drastic as the garbage that Georgia pulled. They've done something far more subtle, and (in my opinion) almost more dangerous. Maryland has introduced House Bill 925, the so-called "Maryland Personhood Amendment," a bill that would amend the Maryland Constitution "to establish that the right not to be deprived of life is vested in all human beings, irrespective of age, health, function, physical dependency, or method of reproduction, from the beginning of their biological development."
This amendment would, essentially, give a fertilized egg legal rights.
This would lay the groundwork to ban abortion in Maryland, should a federal ban on abortion ever be lifted (with the current make up of the Supreme Court - I wouldn't be shocked to see the already shaky Roe v. Wade fall). It certainly could lay the groundwork for restrictions on abortion to be put in place in the state.
And - it could lay the groundwork for legislation limiting access to emergency contraception, etc. Imagine that.
Closer to home - it could also open the door to legislation like the Georgia bill which limits on ART and human embryo stem cell research. It could even affect laws surrounding embryo adoption/donation.
NARAL has a form that you can fill out (if you live in Maryland) to send a letter to your delegate protesting the bill. Or, better yet, you can email your representative in the Maryland House of Delegates. You can find your representative in this list.
I know there are plenty of you out there who will disagree with me. And I'm okay with that. I do believe that two adults can disagree and stay friends. Please do feel free to respectfully disagree with me in the comments section. But hateful comments will be removed, please understand that. Any, and all, respectful comments are welcome, regardless of whether you agree with me.
5 comments:
See these are tough for me...I firmly believe that life begins at conception. Thus I love laws that protect embryos BUT I would LOATH a law that would ban abortion. Not because I am pro choice for myself but because I would HATE to see it go back to the world before ROE V WADE.
There has to be a happy medium...but I don't see where it would come from. Sigh...
I see a stark difference between banning abortion and life begins at conception. I think emergency contraception is too easily accessible as are abortions. Thrilled to see that Tiller the Baby Killer is on trial (finally), but regretfully he will likely only pay a hefty fine.
I don't care how many babies any person has, given that they have the means to take care of them. I don't think there should be limitations on how many embryos you fertilize or how many you transfer. That's between patient and doctor.
Where my issues come in is with medical termination. And I am firmly of the belief that there is zero reason for late term abortions (saving the mother by killing the baby? nope, not buying it). The baby could just as easily be delivered to save the mother without being killed.
Though I believe life begins at conception, I am strongly against any kind of adoption stipulations they try to impose on embryo donations. That should solely be left to the patient donating them.
thank you for posting this. i live in maryland and was frightened (to say the least) to see this bill before the house. not only am i staunchly pro-choice, but the ways by which bills like this could undermine my ability to become a parent takes the fear factor up a notch. and if not mine, then others that come after me in my situation.
See all of these bills scare me too. Because part of being American is that we all have the right to believe what we want and to follow our beliefs. I respect those who don't think there is any reason for abortion ever. I don't necessarily agree but I respect them. While I think that abortion is used as a form of birth control too often I also don't think that anyone except the woman it involves and her doctor should be making the decision.
and I'm firmly in the middle
I have no problem with emergency contraception, as in most cases, it does nothing, and in rare cases that fertilization occurred, it prevents implantation. It's very far from abortion.
On the other hand 3rd trim abortions are altogether too close to infanticide for my taste - if births at that age can survive, then really, isn't it already a person?
I think, in addition, that abortion is very problematic to the mother, psychologically. I would want to see someone focus on the mother's mental health and set up a system that would be more sensitive overall.
Post a Comment