*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*
After a couple of decades worth of lies and hypocrisy from the inaptly-named “pro-life” movement, it’s fair to say many Americans comprehend that religious Republicans, like the pro-life fanatics they serve, do not care about any life except the biblically-defined non-being fetus. Now, as if to add veracity right from the horse’s proverbial mouth, a pro-life champion and Republican senator has freely admitted that once the fetus exits the womb and becomes a living, breathing human being, religious Republicans could not possibly care less about its life.
Despite health officials from several organizations warning to pregnant women to steer clear of the Miami Florida region owing to the explosion of the dreaded Zika virus due to the clear and present dangers of birth defects to the fetus, Senator Marco Rubio still claims Zika-infected women cannot abort their pregnancy. Of course there is no scientific or logical reasoning behind Rubio’s stance, he is just a pro-life religious Republican and says there are laws to force women to deliver a fetus with birth defects. Why? Because Rubio’s bible tells him so. This is another of myriad reasons why god has no place in the public sector – not at the nation’s founding, not now and not ever.
Rubio says a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus should never be able to get an abortion, no matter how concerned she might be about her fetus’ exposure to the virus and the resulting microcephaly and other birth defects that will plague the ensuing human being for the rest of its life. As many Americans know, Republicans love a fetus, but they have nothing but abject contempt for the subsequent baby, child and adult.
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Microcephaly is a particularly devastating brain deformity that can present at birth or wait and surprise the parents several years later. The effects after onset last a lifetime. This fact is not lost on “pro-life” Marco Rubio.
Rubio said,
“I understand a lot of people disagree with my view – but I believe that all human life is worthy of protection of our laws. And when you present it in the context of Zika or any prenatal condition, it’s a difficult question and a hard one. But if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the side of life.”
It is not that Rubio is ignorant of the threat to a fetus in a woman exposed to Zika: he knows exactly what lies in store for the birthed fetus and its parents for a lifetime, he just could not care less because he thinks god belongs in the public sector. He continued:
“Obviously, microcephaly is a terrible prenatal condition that kids are born with. And when they are, it’s a lifetime of difficulties. So I get it. I’m not pretending to you that that’s an easy question you asked me. But I’m pro-life. And I’m strongly pro-life. I believe all human life should be protected by our law, irrespective of the circumstances or condition of that life.”
Since Rubio’s “pro-life” stance is so terribly strong and founded in his Christian faith, it’s glaringly apparent he has never taken the 30 seconds it would require to pick up his congressional office’s trusty King James, or his personal Catholic Douay version, of the Christian bible and peruse Genesis 2:7 or Ezekiel 37:5 or Job 33:4 to discover what his unerring god defines as “any human life;” it certainly does not include a fetus.
Rubio’s call to ban abortions, even in cases of rape, incest and now infection from the Zika virus is in keeping with the religious right and fanatical United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The entire group lacks even a modicum of sanity or humanity. They are insane for basing their bovine excrement “pro-life” agenda on nothing whatsoever in their bible, and lack humanity for the apparent glee they have forcing women to give birth, whether the fetus is defective or exposed to a virus renown for causing birth defects. The devastation on a family of an infant or child with birth defects is not only emotionally decimating, it is financially crippling.
What is exceptionally revealing about Rubio’s phony ‘pro-life’ bona fides is that he consistently votes with his barbarian cabal to slash funding to aid mothers, infants, children and adults, whether they have debilitating birth defects or not. Republicans, with particular emphasis on religious Republicans, have about as much regard for life when it’s born than they do massive tax hikes on the rich, gun safety regulations or environmental protections. Although no Democrat is likely to win over even one religious fanatic, they should certainly take great advantage of Rubio’s typically Republican position on not helping any American the way they are willing to sacrifice human lives for a fetus.
Over the past eight years it’s become glaringly obvious there is little, if anything, Republicans have any regard for if it affects the already breathing living American people. But they do love a fetus because besides sating their evangelical lust to control women, that fetus is a marvelous campaign tool that no small number of ignorant religious voters never realize is a distraction from religious Republicans ineptitude at governing and lack of direction outside extremism.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
