The other day I came across the NYT op-ed “When States Abuse Women.” In it, writer Nicholas D. Kristof describes the new abortion laws that came into effect in Texas about three weeks ago. You should read his article, because it’s excellently written and gives an overview of similar laws in other states. He links to Texas House Bill 15, which details the amendments to the abortion laws right down to the deletion of a comma. So, I decided to read it and see for myself what it mandates.
And…wow. These 14 pages are among the stupidest and most insulting text I’ve ever read. Basically, it’s a collection of amendments and additions to their previous abortion laws—which were already disrespectful toward women seeking abortions—adding more degrading hoops for these women to jump through. This legislation is blatantly and unabashedly attempting to berate and embarrass abortion-seekers, in order to cause them to feel like monsters and decide not to abort.
The nefarious purpose of these laws is encapsulated near the end of HB 15, in a brief description of why it exists:
The purposes of this Act include, but are not limited to,
(1) protecting the physical and psychological health and well-being of pregnant women
If these legislators really think they’re protecting the “physical and psychological health” of abortion-seekers, then based on the biased information they’re shoving on these women, they’re operating on the premise that abortion is a horrible, horrible thing that is highly likely to cause physical harm and psychological devastation.
The truth is, if they really want to protect women’s physical and psychological health, they would start by respecting them as autonomous people with the right to choose. Then they would focus on a) putting regulations in place to make sure that providers are properly certified to care for these women, that the facilities are clean and up-to-date, that the procedures used are safe, and that the aftercare ensures their continued health and use of contraceptives; and b) that the women have access to unbiased, public counseling if they need/desire it, to help them cope with negative feelings they may have related to their abortions and to help them consider and choose the best options for them. (I say unbiased because a counselor who tries to force her/his views on abortion would do much more harm than good, and I say public because it’s much more likely that private counselors would be biased.)
Instead, these laws misinform women about the possible risks of abortion, giving them much more attention than the more numerous and possible/probable risks of pregnancy; direct them to private agencies that, as Kristof points out, “are often set up to ensnare pregnant women and shame them or hound them if they are considering abortions”; invade their bodies with an unnecessary and invasive ultrasound; use multiple means to humanize the embryo/fetus as an innocent little son or daughter they’re about to torture and murder; and berate and humiliate them for considering such an atrocity. These laws will prove to be incredibly psychologically damaging, and will also be physically damaging as women and girls choose to carry their unintended pregnancies to term even when the risk to their health and lives will be great.
(2) providing pregnant women access to information that would allow her to consider the impact an abortion would have on her unborn child
See? They truly aren’t protecting pregnant women from anything; they’re psychologically abusing them by casting them as the mortal enemies of innocent little children. They are inundated with descriptions of their “unborn child” (not “embryo” or “fetus”) and pictures of what it looks like, with an invasive and privacy-violating ultrasound, and with a pile of literature urging her to do anything besides have an abortion.
And there’s also the laughable (3) protecting the integrity and ethical standards of the medical profession. The legislators actually claim they’re protecting the doctors’ integrity and ethics by making them force inaccurate propaganda on these often vulnerable women and perform procedures that—as the doctors say—are medically unnecessary. And, if they don’t do it, they can be fined up to $10,000 (section 171.018) and could lose their license (section 164.005 (a)).
I’d like to go into more detail, but in the interest of avoiding a giganti-post, I’ll break it up. Next time: I’ll look at the details of the full laws and how absurd and stupid they are.
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