Status: Baffled.
I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be surprised when I'm baffled by Governor Ivey's remark that every life is sacred and precious with re: to her abortion ban. Because:
1) There are 15 million children living in poverty in the United States. http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html
2) 1300/children die every year due to gun violence; additionally 5790 get treated from gunshot wounds, according to _Pediatrics_
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/140/1/e20163486 (some other folks argue more; this is from a 2016 study)
3) There are 276,000 uninsured children in the United States.
4) There are 437,465 children in the foster care system, with 117,794 "waiting to be adopted," according to the Children's Bureau, see their report: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/faq/foster-care4
(And please note that disrupting families causes effects that are felt by all parties--adoption for me may have been a 'happier' ending, but I've learned it is not so for many and comes with trauma and a healing journey).
So, the thing is, these children are sacred and precious. But not sacred and precious enough for folks to care about to protect, help, support, and solve problems for, because they'd rather concentrate on banning women's constitutional right to healthcare and revoke women's agency re: family planning. What in the literal f.
Powerful post, Jane. Thanks for sharing these stats. I'll be sharing this one all over social media. I am baffled as well and deeply disturbed by this ruling.
ReplyDeleteAs Ricky Gervais says, in relation to catholic rules of no birth control, "you love the fetus but you sure don't love the child when he turns into a homosexual". That is a similar sentiment.
These lawmakers, religious leaders set regulations and laws regarding women's reproductive rights and yet they do not offer any support whatsoever for that fetus when it becomes a baby. UGH.
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing!!! Yes this is a huge conundrum. There's another statement by a Methodist minister in the south--about how being a savior for the unborn is 'easy' for folks to hide behind, because once those lives are "born" then they are in a sense 'dead' to the cause. So folks who want to use "the Lord" as a shield and justification can take issue with the "unborn" and say they are precious, but then conveniently ignore any complications that the living bring to their ideas of privilege, race, socio-economical status, etc. and go back to arguing for the unborn and ignore the rest of these ramifications. It makes no sense to me. :/
Delete