In positioning two characters—a slain abortion provider and his killer—as equally culpable in their intersecting tragedies, Oates misses an important chance to denounce those who believe they have the right to impose their morality on the rest of us.
A Republican bill directs doctors to check for "evidence of life" during the abortion procedure. Cases of abortion care producing a live birth are exceedingly rare, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Black male judges such as Thurgood Marshall, state legislators, and physicians paved the way for legalized abortion, argued that the poor were hardest hit by restrictions, and made sure that women could get this essential care.
“If we do not get federal reimbursement for the care we provide, our health centers will close,” Beth Parker, chief legal counsel of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, wrote in comments that she provided to Rewire. “Our patients will have nowhere to go.”
Democrats, a former Iowa Republican official, and reproductive rights advocates said defunding Planned Parenthood would have grave consequences for thousands of Iowans.
If former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's track record is any guide, we can anticipate she will advance the Trump administration’s ambition to eviscerate access to the full range of reproductive choices, both at home and globally.
“When public funding is cut to subsidized health-care facilities that provide reproductive health care, it is women of color and low-income women who have the least access to alternative health care providers,” said Neha Mahajan, chapter director of 9to5 Colorado, which advocates for working women.
Should Republicans fail to replace the birth control benefit, many of the estimated 48.5 million women who rely on it would shoulder at least some out-of-pocket costs for contraceptive care.
"Hawaii, of course, has long been a bastion of reproductive rights and I’d like to see it stay that way," state Sen. Karl Rhoads wrote. "I expect the Trump administration to push hard on reproductive issues (well, more accurately the [Vice President]) and viewed this as pushing back."
We can't cow to the notion that abortion is a hard but necessary option for a few "unfortunates." Saying that abortion is a devastating choice or “should be rare” implies that abortion signals a personal, moral, or physical failing—and that it's not the best decision for many women.
