This week in stupid shit our representatives do: House will vote on a national abortion ban

Tara Culp-Ressler had an article for ThinkProgress on this waste of time. The House is going to vote on a national abortion ban that is obviously going to be defeated in the Senate. All these people should lose their jobs. The House is going to vote on the 20-week abortion ban next week; this is the same kind of ban that was struck down by the courts last month in Arizona. 

 

This is being pushed the hardest by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and of course is endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee. The bill would criminalize abortion services after 20 weeks of pregnancy—this is based on disputed “science” that says fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks. However, Roe v. Wade gives women a constitutional right to abortion services until the point of viability, generally understood to occur around 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

 

Now, this will probably pass the House because we elect people who hate women at an overwhelming majority, but the Senate (controlled by Dems) aren’t going to let it pass. Apparently, they are frustrated that they have to waste their time with a doomed bill anyway. Last time this happened, even moderate Republicans complained they would rather spend their time on other priorities, like jobs. This year, maybe they could focus on the sequester, but let’s make sure these anti-women zealots get their chance to talk about things they have no understanding of in some symbolic vote on abortion. 

 

Franks has been trying to make restricting women’s rights a priority for a while. First this bill was supposed to only apply to women in DC, but he decided why just restrict DC women’s rights? With this kind of stupid idea, let’s do this thing nationwide. Of course, he was inspired by the Gosnell case…I guess he wants to make more women suffer through horrific conditions because they can’t receive affordable, legal abortion services. This idea that Gosnell was allowed to happen because of legalized abortion is idiocy and a straight up delusion that ignores systemic racism and classism in health care. Gosnell happened because poor women don’t have access to safe reproductive care. 

 

20 week bans are attempts to backdoor Roe v. Wade. They also haven’t held up in court as previously mentioned. We really have nothing else to do in Congress than make symbolic gestures to legislate hate against women? I hate everything. 

 

 ***Update, after I wrote this, Rep. Franks decided to talk about things he doesn't know, "The incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low." Oh really? I guess someone wasn't paying attention during the Susan B. Anthony speakers, or maybe the gentlemen of the GOP just stop listening when the womenfolk are talking. Franks dismissed the estimate that 32,101 women become pregnant after a rape. He walked this statement back after some backlash. ThinkProgress noted that at least one study found that 32.4% of rape victims didn't find out they were pregnant until their second trimesters (after Franks' 20 week restriction). Half of those victims choose to undergo an abortion rather than keep the fetus or up it up for adoption. Other research suggests that rape victims are more likely to become pregnant, which puts the number of women who become pregnant from rape in one year around 83,000.