The big lie: Medical exemptions for abortion
Also: More wasteful spending ordered by Austin; Katy students lead the way
It is clear now that we have all been told a lie. Not just told a lie but had the lie codified into Texas law. Despite what the law says, there is no medical exemption that will allow a woman to get an abortion in Texas.
-- If fetus is doomed to die before or shortly after birth? Nope.
-- If a fetus will live, but have horrible and possibly painful challenges in a shortened life? No way.
-- If, given those two facts, carrying a doomed fetus to birth will compromise a woman’s chances of giving birth in the future? Don’t even ask.
In fact, don’t ask about any possible condition you can possibly think of. The answer is that the Republican legislature and state leaders were trying to make themselves
appear somewhat reasonable in passing the law, though they had already removed rape and incest as exemptions.
Still our Republican overlords told women not to worry their pretty little heads. If push came to, well, PUSH!, they would be there to help.
It was all a sham and, while most of us knew that it probably was not the truth, that was all fully revealed during the last week as the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the state Supreme Court ruled against Kate Cox and he doctor’s medical advice that she needed an abortion.
Cox could have just left the state and gotten an abortion with no politician the wiser, but she correctly thought her exemption was entirely reasonable and decided to get a court exemption, which was easily granted.
It could have ended right there with the court’s decision and probably would have almost anywhere but Texas. Other states don’t have a Paxton problem, though. Enter the Attorney General who flung threats against any doctor who dared allow a medical decision to be made by, gasp, a doctor.
No, in Texas, some medical decision must be made by a politician — in this case the elected members of the Texas Supreme Court, where eight of the nine are Republicans. Go figure.
So, Monday Cox fled Texas and got the abortion advised by her doctor after having her condition and situation considered by people who should never have been involved. Welcome to Texas.
I would call this law “Draconian,” but that’s slander against Draco the Lawgiver, the guy who was running things in Greece 2,500 years ago. Under his code, almost every “crime” was punishable by death with about the only other option was exile. I’m thinking exile from that society would not be so bad.
The wealthy or powerful didn’t face the same harsh punishments, though, so maybe things haven’t changed all that much after all.
If you believe that Paxton — who has been impeached (though not convicted)‚ and had a long affair with his best friend’s wife — is not quite the proper moral example as attorney general, you might want to consider another choice — any other choice — come election time.
That’s not real likely, though. Texas seems to love a scoundrel and Paxton fits that role perfectly.
Indeed, until Texans, who say in multiple polls that they widely support a woman’s right to choose, actually support and vote for candidates who match their feelings, nothing is going to change. Republicans are great at both voting and preventing those who oppose them from casting a ballot. You have to give them credit for that.
One other important thing you can do: Run for office yourself, especially if you are a woman and can bring your experiences to bear in the legislature. I’m sure many competent women are out there who could make a difference.
Yep, it’s a lot to ask but given the direction of Texas, a lot has to be done.
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Now here’s a wise use of your tax dollars. Texas is continuing to install concertina wire at the border after the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said the federal government had the right to take it right down in a ruling on a temporary restraining order.
It’s a bit more complicated than that, though. Texas then used another political maneuver to ask for another stay to keep up razor wire barriers which was approved by the court. Another delay, which allows the state to continue wasting our money.
Don’t ever believe Republicans when they say they want to be careful with government spending. They will happily throw dollars at worthless projects if they believe it will gain them votes, no matter the ultimate usefulness of the project.
We do need a solution for the immigration mess, but it isn’t installing miles of razor wire on the border or building a multi-billion dollar wall — neither of which work.
Ultimately, given the earlier decision, the court seems likely to say the federal government can take down the razor wire. In other words, all the effort and wire will be pure waste. At the very least, the state could stop putting up the wire until after the court has made a final decision. Is saving that money even an option to be considered?
It doesn’t appear to be.
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If you want to see some good news, look toward the Katy Independent School District, where students have decided to fight back against ridiculous rules that don’t allow books in school libraries that mention anything within the realm of LGBTQ or transgender issues.
Simply having a gay character within a book is enough to get it banned, even if that is not the focus of the story.
One other rule is worse. School officials now must contact the parents of any student who is identifying as transgender at school or who has asked for a different use of pronouns.
Ok, I get this if the student is, say, in elementary school, but to do this to students who are in high school, seems an invasion of privacy and possibly even dangerous for some students.
Students, who can be more intelligent than either the legislature or a school board are working against the rules with protests, non-violent disobedience, and by forming banned book clubs. Good for them.
I have an uncomfortable feeling that more actions like this may be required in days ahead. These students in Katy can show us the way. Katy isn’t behind the Pine Curtain but the same tactics may well be required here, too.