Ok, I need everybody to read Section III-A of Alito's dissent in the Idaho abortion case. He says - explicitly and specifically - that in cases where the amniotic sac breaks before the 24th week of pregnancy, abortions should be prohibited. HE SPECIFICALLY NOTES THE DANGERS. He points out that...
...total and complete bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy is required; that up to 37% of women with this condition who don't get an abortion go into septic shock; that serious health problems are almost universal... but since only 1%-5% of women die, abortion should illegal there.
He is joined only by Thomas in this section of his dissent. But they believe - genuinely and enthusiastically - that it is better for women be subjected to certain risk of serious health problems; to being confined to bed rest for months on end; and to up to a 5% chance of death, than to abort.
Two of my friends have had this specific pregnancy complication. It was soul-crushing for them. They desperately wanted to have those babies. But the health risks were far too severe, and they had abortions. Alito and Thomas fully believe they shouldn't have had that option. I'm sickened.
My wife had 4+ months of total bed rest and it was mind crushingly awful. Took years to recover - if she has. IF.
The kids turned out but good god the psychic toll of something that sounds so fucking innocuous.
"Total bed rest" is like "solitary confinement" and the bed is the cell.
Friend of a friend was in serious jeopardy of having an amniotic breech and had to be on total bed rest for three months. She said that even with her mom moving in and a very supportive partner it was by far the most torturous thing she's ever done.
My goddaughter had PPROM at 22 wks; her choice was to continue the pregnancy. She was kept inpatient for 7 weeks while her baby developed to a weight compatible w/life.
It was her choice, it was unbearable & no one should be given power to force an 11th grader into that.
These old men are brutal.
This is exactly it to me. I think there's a very good argument to make either choice and no argument to force someone else to do what you want them to do.
Yep. When people talk about being "pro-choice," this is a perfect example. Either choice is completely understandable; the idea of forcing someone into one or the other is reprehensible.
Besides, the cruelty, they are so completely out of touch with the average person to even think that two months off for bed rest with no paid leave or insurance is an option.
But simultaneously believe that people (mostly white men) have an inalienable right to carry assault weapons and shoot others in “self defense” if they feel remotely threatened…
Again we find ourselves shocked but not surprised. These guys are lunatics. This would be like someone dissenting from Brown v. Board arguing "Sure, African American children get an inferior education but it really doesn't set them back *that* much. They're going to end up menial laborers anyway."
the country founded on 'all men are created equal' (which was horseshit out of the gate, the guys who wrote it went home to their plantations and slaves) considers a few percent of women needlessly dying, acceptable
If the same % of men were at risk... (we all know...)
Alito starts out with "The Members of this Court are not physicians and should therefore be wary about expressing conclusions about medical issues," and then immediately goes into 4 pages of detailed analysis of the health risks of a specific pregnancy complication at various stages of pregnancy.
Has there ever been a Supreme Court decision where Justices analyze symptoms to independently determine whether they will cause enough harm for a real doctor to intervene? The closest thing I have seen are Thomas's patent decision where he pretends to understand the underlying technology.
Getting your medical advice from the Supremes is as bad as getting it from Gwyneth Paltrow. Then again, if Alito and Thomas decided to put Goop eggs up their butts, I'd probably watch.
Just what I came here to say.
Honestly it's heartbreaking to watch from Ireland. I've spent most of my reproductive life trying to get abortion rights in Ireland. Finally we repealed the 8th in 2018.
And now there are women in the US in the situation that irish women were
Up is down
Black is white
I’m old enough to remember the GOP boogeyman of “death panels” that the ACA was supposed to bring.
With hindsight, nearly every warning was just a ‘wait, why didn’t WE think of that!’
Republicans did make it up. The ACA provided counseling for the patient to make end-of-life decisions. It was never about insurance companies and politicians deciding who dies. Yep. Now they think it's a great idea. Every accusation by Republicans is a confession.
The dumbest thing about the "death panels" is that's basically what private insurance does. They decide what procedures/medications to cover, but somehow it's different because the ACA would have evil unelected bureaucrats. I'm still trying to figure out when the insurance bureaucrats got elected...
Meanwhile, she can't work, care for herself or her family & will like run up a mountain of medical debt. Let's just pile on the misery - no one can stop us.
🤬
This is how Alito begins four pages of detailed analysis of a specific pregnancy complication and how abortions should be banned during it because while the health risks to the pregnant person are high, the risk of death is acceptable.
One of my favorite non sequiturs is that use of "but". Imagine:
I'm not a racist BUT ...
I'm not in favor of everything Trump does BUT ...
Everyone likes your work at this firm BUT ...
Everything before (and including) "BUT" is a lie. Always.
Pseudo-science as law serves neither the public nor the law.
Pregnant people should get the medical care they need. Period. It's good to regulate medical professionals, but then step back let them do what they can to alleviate suffering. Don't force them to stand by wait for a person to almost die.
