A New Kind of Death Sentence

To me, there exists a proverbial line. This line is solid and it is bold, not one to be casually toed by antiquated systems of the past. So when I hear about my government’s House of Representatives (you know, those people we elect to best  REPRESENT our interests?) successfully passing HR 358, otherwise known as the "Protect Life Act," which is the bill that would allow hospitals to let women die rather than perform a life-saving abortion, you can imagine my surprise at the audacity of this minimally covered by the media move by my elected officials. The bill would not only deny pregnant women access to emergency treatment, but would also prohibit any insurance coverage for abortion services in addition to denying any information being provided about how she could pay for an abortion. The bill now awaits passage in the Senate.

It took me a moment to register the notion of this legislation and the fact that every single Republican in the House supported the measure, and 11 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote in favor of it. After the premise sank in, I did what any normal 27 year old woman would do – I checked my iPhone to make sure that I was still in the year 2011. After affirming my place in the space time continuum and a quick game of angry birds to channel the rising aggression, I cleared my throat, vaulted over urban dictionary acronyms landing on two feet in front of the imaginary field of gray haired men that constitutes the majority of Congress and spoke the only words that I could think of: WHAT THE FUCK!?

Yep. I have multiple degrees – one in English even, and that seemed to be the only statement capable of properly addressing the twisting internal turmoil resulting from this anachronistically blatant jab at the modern woman’s right to choose. So let me lay this scenario out for you: I can choose whether or not I want to carry a pregnancy to term (for now), but should I choose to carry the child and I suddenly take ill and the only life saving medical procedure available will result in the loss of said pregnancy – THEN I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DIE? Repeat after me: WHAT THE FUCK!?

The logical and rational arguments against this bitter blow to women’s rights began to pound against my skull like a dry gin hangover. Angry and still legally able to think for myself (for now), I began to rant and rave about all of the moral implications of such a measure.

Now, I understand the war of political ideologies and the great conservative emphasis on “family values,” but did anyone stop to consider what this would do to a family if a mother was suddenly dead? What if she had other children? A family is suddenly rendered motherless, but with an additional child to add to the mix. Aside from the devastating emotional loss and overwhelming responsibility of single parenthood with a new born, a father will also have to contend with the loss of an additional income. And in this economy, he’ll probably lose his house and perhaps even his job since fathers in this country aren’t granted sabbatical when they have a new child. This may even lead to him drawing from government support to make ends meet, which only puts further strain on a system that those same conservatives are aiming to cut spending within as some kind of incentive to get people motivated to seek jobs in an economy devoid of them.

But what if there was no father? Then there is an orphan to be thrust into the dark sociological system of state care with grim prospects for life achievement and an increased likelihood of abuse and a childhood full of misguided psychological coping realistically resulting in a life of crime and years of dependency on a failing system of government supports. 

This is all assuming that the woman even makes it that far into her pregnancy - what if she is early on and the child can't be saved? Then both are left to die? Where is the sense in that? One caveat in the legislation that conservatives are pushing for would afford physicians the choice of whether they would perform a life saving abortion at this stage depending upon their moral views. Isn't that against the Hippocratic Oath? Screw that even, isn't that against international human rights?

In what way is this promoting family values and some biblical notion of anti-abortionism that will secure our place in the ever after? Is this really the aim of this conservative legislation? Do you really think this law will save someone’s soul? I really don’t think I am comfortable with those bought politicians who are supposed to be upholding the separation of church and state contending over whether or not my soul is doomed to the fiery pits of an assumed hell if I have to have an abortion in order to save my own life to continue to provide for the family I already have.

And how is it that insurance companies and politicians suddenly have decision making domain over my uterus? Oh that’s right! They’re all in on this together. If we for one moment presume to delude ourselves into believing that the government and insurance companies do not sit down and count their money together then we deserve the underhanded maneuverings that are unfolding to direct our lives.

For the only real change will arise within the discontented mass of people that are being pushed and prodded into a servitude to those who have all of the power and the money. You think this is about religious and political ideology? It is about power and control, and the power over a woman’s life through her reproductive organs is only bringing us one step closer to handing her ‘too-emotional to make a rational decision’ right to vote over to her husband and shoving her back into the home to bake cakes on valium and numbly forget her own voice. Are these the family values of yester-years that everyone is shouting about reviving? The illusion of 1950s bliss governs our current political paradigm, and the passage of this bill will have us lingering in the frozen state of back pedaling toward an American ideal that never really existed. Contact your congressman and complain…your life may just depend upon it: Contact Your Local Representative

Amanda Ruth