How red states are torturing pregnant women
25 October 2023 (updated)
Antiabortion states (typically those with Republican “trifectas” - legislatures and Governors, see above chart) are forcing women with nonviable pregnancies to carry them to term.
The list of red state trifectas (above) is slightly different from the list of states with abortion bans (below), although many red state trifectas are pursuing abortion bans. Red state trifectas without abortion bans are Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio and Wyoming. Non red state trifectas with abortion bans are Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana and North Carolina.
In Texas, Miranda Michel had twins with a 100% chance of death as soon as they were born:
Miranda’s prognosis was as clear today as when she first heard it, four months ago: a zero percent chance of viability, for either twin. But Texas’ new abortion laws, which make no exception for lethal fetal anomalies, required Miranda to carry this pregnancy through to the bitter end.
The babies’ spines were twisted, curling in so sharply it looked, at some angles, as if they disappeared entirely. Organs were hanging out of their bodies, or hadn’t developed yet at all. One of the babies had a clubbed foot; the other, a big bubble of fluid at the top of his neck.
It was, in many ways, a simple diagnosis: As soon as these babies were born, they would die.
But they still had heartbeats. And so the state would protect them. Source.
In Oklahoma, Magon Hoffman had a pregnancy ultrasound at 14 weeks that revealed a large blood clot that threatened her life. A subsequent scan revealed that her unborn daughter was missing a skull and most of her brain. There was zero chance that her daughter would live - she would die almost immediately after birth. However, Oklahoma law prevented her from getting an abortion and forced her to carry this doomed pregnancy to term.
This is part of a movement, researched by Jessica Valenti, to force women and girls to carry pregnancies to term even with severe fetal anomalies, with this strategy:
Provide misinformation about prenatal testing
Put pressure on the FDA to limit prenatal tests
Claim women can’t make an informed decision after a diagnosis
Manipulate medical and legal language
Lie to patients about the risks of continuing their pregnancy
Lie to patients about the risks of having an abortion
Train and embed prenatal diagnosis “counselors”
Use funding for crisis pregnancy centers to make it all happen.
Many religious zealots preach that the primary role of women and girls is to have children, even at the cost of their lives; they want to forbid abortions or birth control at all costs. Of course, they are free to make decisions about their own lives. But should we allow them to force these religious views on everyone else?
To counter this “forced religion”, I suggest we take these steps:
Vote for Democrats in every local, state and federal election. Democrats are almost always pro-choice. Republicans almost always oppose pro-choice legislation, regardless of what they say in their campaigns.
In my opinion, abortion rights were abolished at the federal level because, in the 2016 election, too many people were not politically active and did not vote Democratic. As a result, we elected President Trump and Republican Senators who appointed and confirmed Justices and judges that overturned the federal right to abortion.
Become more politically active - work for a candidate, issue or political institution or write checks to support them.
Think about moving from the 22 states with Republican trifectas or the 4 other antiabortion states. In these states, governmental officials are not only making it harder to have an abortion but are also passing laws to prevent out of state abortions by restricting travel, free speech and any assistance in obtaining these abortions.
Stay away from evil - limit your exposure to media that is lying about this issue.
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