abortion

Raising Arizona

Figuratively 

speaking…

dropping acid

on women

seems 

to be

the new

altered state.

Swallowing

the acrid 

pill

of swill

against 

the will,

now of Arizonan

people,

is despicable

yet

predictable. 

When 

a miscarriage

of justice

over miscarriage

of pregnancy

and anything

other than

unassisted

birth 

or conception

is conceived

as pro

life,

we know

it’s a lie.

Letting

women die

gets a sigh

on the court,

while citing

precedence

in the Comstock

Act

that preceded

the last

century.

The South 

has risen

again,

using 

the states’

rights

excuse

to abuse

others.

Now

the canyon

is grand—

more than

they planned—

between

those who

understand

the demand

and need

for reproductive

health

and the destructive

power

that has risen

in Arizona.

The Fetal Position

If you,

like me,

feel like

curling up

into 

the fetal

position

from opposition

to IVF
after feeling

helpless

about Dobbs,

then let’s

explore
The Fetal Position.

Personhood

is understood

as a fetus,

or an anonymous

contributor

(or contributing

entity)

to a PAC,

or a corporation.

Actual 

identifiable

people

are denied

rights

and 

regarded

as wrong

if they belong

to the school

of thought

that suggests

life begins

after birth.

This 

theocracy-

style

governance

is a supreme

encumbrance

not just

upon 

women,

but upon

families,

communities,

and actually,

our democracy.

Hearts,

bank accounts,

systems,

are broken

for a token

win

that doesn’t

affect

the legislators’

lives;

only the lives

and livelihoods

of those 

deemed

killing

personhoods

for securing

safer living

of actual

human beings.

The tortured

logic

for the gynecologic

obsessions

and supposed

transgressions

are injections

of a particular

(and peculiar)

religious

interpretation.

The anti-science

reliance

on a bible

as the guide

for literal

fetal

legal

accountability

will never

provide

sustainability.

From my

current fetal

position

I can only

suggest 

that The Fetal

Position,

whose

mission

is prohibition,

abolition,

and ammunition

against

the proposition

of complexity

of life

and governance,

is a minority

of a party

whose priority

is superiority,

of course,

but also 

authority

over others—

God fearing,

because

inspiring

fear

is what

they revere.

Fearing

government

and science

as slippery

slopes

promotes

anti-expert

(so-called

elite)

pronouncements.

Their

Fetal Position

is conceived 

from religious

interpretation

now codified

as legislation.

We can’t 

let our fear

keep us

in the

fetal position.

Find ways

to contribute

to uproot

this acute

and chronic

assault

on the embroyonic

and the Fetal

Position.

Scream Too

Why didn’t you scream?

(Subtext: 

If you were really

Raped,

You would have

Screamed.)

For help…

From Pain…

It’s 2023

I want 

To scream,

At the persistence

Of the insistence

Of blaming

Actual

Victims

While Claiming

To be the one

Attacked.

Of all the ways

To cross

Examine,

Why didn’t you scream?

Exposes the truth:

Not everyone is

A screamer.

I want 

To scream too

When the dignity

Of human

Life

Is ascribed to

A fetus

And not to

The woman

Or girl

Who is pregnant.

Ignoring

Medical realities,

Much less care

For women and girls

Or really anyone

After being born,

Is inhumane.

The guy 

Who just 

Walks up to

Women 

After a tic tac

And kisses

Them,

And says

He justs

Grabs them

By the pussy,

Probably did

Not have

A traumatic 

Experience 

That defined

The rest of

Life

From that

Time in

The dressing 

Room.

Women’s experiences

Have too long

Been silenced

Or taught

To be silent.

The courageous

Women

Who 

This week

Stepped forward

Not to scream

But to tell

Of the inhumanity

Of being denied

Speaks volumes

About those who

Minimize what women

And girls continue

To endure,

And ensure

That women

And girls

Have little to no

Say.

Why don’t

We scream!

Nothing to See, Hear

Nothing to see,

Hear,

Just keep

Going.

We’ve got

This

Under 

Control.

Over controlled

Girls

And Women

Suffer alone

While we

Await

The next

Mass shooting.

Nothing to see,

Hear,

Or do,

When it’s legal.

Here 

The law

Is

Evil.

Personhood

Is claimed

For cells

And corporations

But 

A fetus

Is not exempt

To the IRS.

Nothing to see,

Hear,

But potential

Through ultrasound.

Yet potential

To massacre

With each

Purchase

Is abided

Because

It is

Legal.

We are

Not

Blind

Or Deaf

Just hostages

Of Prayers

And 

The 18th Century.

Not known

For nuance

Or complexity

But purity,

Our reality

Is 

Complicated

By myths

And systems

That feign

Deliberation

And calibration.

Yet absolutism

Is our DNA–
From Puritans

To Purell.

Unintended 

Consequences

Are nothing

To see here.

Litmus Test

 

 A guy shoots up a newsroom, killing 5 journalists. President says nothing in response to event or to reporters’ questions following the incident. That night, the video of  the President silently walking past reporters, ignoring their questions about the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom, was aired on tv and social media. A long day later, he stated that “journalists shouldn’t have to be fearful of being attacked while doing their jobs”. But  to Trump, journalists are “the enemy of the people”.  

So, another mass shooting that couldn’t be prevented, because how could we possibly stop the outlier? Each time? Beforehand?  We could arm teachers! Where are those good guys with guns? 

This is a reflection of our culture and politics. We live in danger of being shot anywhere because we won’t regulate lethal weaponry and have poor mental healthcare. Guns are considered masculine, even when women use them. They are the ultimate symbol of American individualism and self sufficiency. They are said to be for protection, but they are for killing (or injuring) full human  (and other) beings. They are meant to cause suffering and fear.

Even those who want to see loopholes closed, better screening , and better mental healthcare across the country, understand that there is a cultural affinity for guns, legitimized by the Second Amendment. 

Why, then, has abortion become the litmus test of our culture and politics? Why has Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion, always seemed dispensable ? The “Right to Life” is only valid as a potential life, but not once born—an actual life? Many like to mock the Clintons’ stance that abortions should be “safe, legal, and rare”, because, well, Hilary said that. The circumstance of pregnancy is unique. But it does include women’s health, and I do think abortions should be safe, legal, and rare.

 Abortion is not some newfangled cultural phenomena that began with The Feminine Mystique. Abortions have always existed, and have been dangerous (and criminal) until I was 10. But the cultural zeal and singular voting issue that has overridden everything in my lifetime has been the issue of abortion. 

Physicians have been shot (and killed) over the idea of getting rid of Roe v Wade, thereby criminalizing abortions (and OBGYNs who might perform the procedure). Right to life?

The President of Trumpistan understands that putting an anti-abortion judge on The Supreme Court will keep his base applauding, and his congressional lackeys collecting contributions. The ridiculous argument that gets put forward that it should be a states’ rights issue, not a federal one, sticks because it is an effective political move to limit access in Red states. Culturally and politically, the so-called “Right to Lifers” have all but eradicated the legality of early termination of a pregnancy, while opening up the floodgates for more semiautomatic weaponry without restrictions on use. 

Sure, there are several issues that delineate the views of the Supreme Court, but none are as contentious as Roe v Wade. Not even guns. We have deluded ourselves across our culture and politics into accepting certain rights as necessary for freedom and, ironically, life, and others as oppressive. Moreover, we have been so divided and hateful over this issue. We have so little room for accepting differing concepts, or compromising. 

Abortion is the issue that most are concerned about now that Kennedy is stepping down from the high court. Shouldn’t we be talking more about the mass murder at a newsroom?