There are hardly any Americans alive who would ever, even if they are addicted to conservative ideology, assert that even one Republican alive today cares about other American human beings once they are born. Whether it is withholding food, shelter, and healthcare from the preponderance of poor white children barely surviving in the former Confederacy, or slashing funding for newborn infant care, Republicans just loathe living human beings. However, they do love the single-celled organism that results from a sperm cell penetrating an ovum and, contrary to their stated ‘law of the land‘ the Christian bible, regard anything from a zygote to a fetus a living person worthy of their undivided attention, legislative acumen, and protection. Kansas’ religious Republicans are so intent on proving they will go to any length to protect a fetus that they passed legislation for the National Right To Life movement outlawing a medical procedure to ban abortions at 14 weeks after fertilization.
According to the Christian bible religious Republicans claim is the immutable word of god, there is no living human being until a fetus exits the womb and breathes air. Genesis 2:7 states that “the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” God reiterates in Job 33:4 that “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Clearly, according to the Christian bible’s god, the idea of Republicans passing religious legislation to ‘protect living beings‘ before they breathe air is really about controlling women and nothing to do with scripture.
House Republicans just passed National Right To Life (NRTL) legislation to punish Washington D.C. employees, their spouses, and dependents for using birth control, in vitro fertilization, family planning, or abortion services, so Kansas Republicans passed NRTL legislation to punish women by forcing them to give birth. The only thing religious Republicans care about is punishing women that refuse to toe the line and subject themselves to the will of religious Republicans.
This time the Christian organization’s legislation outlaws ‘dilation and evacuation;’ the medical procedure most-used in 2nd trimester abortions and regarded by the medical profession as the safest and most compassionate way to terminate a pregnancy in the second trimester. The NRTL’s Christian sensibilities inform their mandate in the form of Kansas legislation (to start with) is to force doctors to stop performing legal abortions or use less-safe methods because as typical Republicans the National Right To Life movement does not care about the health, safety, or life of the woman carrying a fetus; their idea of “right to life.”
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The text of the NRTL legislation was deliberately gory and graphic so, as its NRTL authors openly admit, it would “evoke a particular emotional response in people.” The founder of a woman’s reproductive rights organization Trust Women, Julie Burkhart, said “This bill is intended to intimidate, threaten and criminalize doctors. Policymakers should be ashamed that they are putting women’s lives at risk because they care more about politics than good health care.” Burkhart is only half right; Republican policymakers care more about religion, albeit false, than good health care for women. What Burkhart also failed to mention is that the legislation contains no medical language whatsoever. It does, however demonize abortion providers and intentionally uses medically false and inaccurate language to polarize public opinion into supporting the anti-women, religious right, Republican, and Koch brother agenda.
Regardless how supportive of the religious right extremists Republicans appear and support anything targeting women, anti-women’s reproductive rights is one of the libertarian Koch brothers policy preferences. Oh, it is true religious Republicans love targeting women, but they love pleasing the whims of the Kochs more. Most Americans are unaware that the Kochs are major funders of the crusade to eliminate women’s reproductive rights out of existence. Likely, their support for groups like the National Right To Life is predicated on the Christian group’s zealous support of conservative candidates and they spare no expense in funding religious groups’ every and any attempt to strip women of their rights; and anything the Koch’s support, Republicans support.
There is a good reason why the first items on Republicans’ 2015 agenda in controlling both houses of Congress was passing legislation stripping women’s reproductive rights. Besides remuneration for the religious right’s electoral support in the 2014 midterms, Republicans repaid the Kochs’ substantial investiture in anti-women’s reproductive rights and pro-life organizations. The Kochs obfuscate their funding for several anti-choice groups through Freedom Partners, including National Right To Life, and their state-level legislative arm ALEC and an ALEC subgroup, Americans United for Life (AUL), “combine model legislation, expert analysis, and 50 state report cards into one guide for legislators and policy makers to help undermine pro-choice efforts” in states that are either “hostile” to pro-choice or middle ground states.
Obviously Kansas is not a middle ground state and it was never more evident than in the last midterm election where after decimating the state’s economy, Sam Brownback easily won re-election after trailing his opponent throughout the campaign. Brownback’s ‘October surprise‘ that sealed his victory was pulling the ‘fetus card‘ at the eleventh hour that brought the religious fanatic vote out en masse after a furious ad buy funded by the Kochs.
No American should underestimate the Republican electoral chances in 2016 even though the election is still a year-and-a-half away. One thing is certain; Republicans and the Kochs know that the religious right and its many anti-women’s rights groups, including misogynistic mainstream men, will turn out the vote regardless of the Republicans’ horrible economic record or conversely, the economic success of the Democrats.
Something happens to even semi-sane voters’ minds when religion is inserted in the mix and groups like the National Right to Life, American Family Association, and powerful religious right have a veritable blank check with the Koch brothers’ signatures waiting. Further, if any American thinks for a second that the electorate will get any smarter in the next 18 months, or depend on anything other than demonizing rhetoric, medically false, or inaccurate information about contraception, abortion or the need to preserve women’s reproductive rights, they are deluded.
If anyone does not believe it, just understand that Kansas’ legislature just passed, and fervent anti-women’s reproductive rights Governor Sam Brownback pledged to sign into law, legislation effectively banning abortions at 14 weeks after fertilization; something many Americans were certain religious Republicans would never ever manage to ban at 20 weeks. Women are in trouble and their reproductive rights, including contraceptive use, are just one election away from being exactly what Catholic bishops, religious right, Republicans, the Koch brothers, and National Right To Life want them to be; outlawed in 21st Century America.
image: eclectablog
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.
