Abortion promises to be a political flash point in 2016. This year could be even more explosive.
Advertisement
In the courts and in the states, abortion will be front and center, as well as in the general election.
At issue in the lawsuit is whether broad legal language about individual liberty protects abortion rights. This past fall, the Instagram page for the husband and wife featured Grammer wearing a T-shirt which linked gun violence and abortions because it said, “Would it bother use more if they used guns?” If upheld, the 5.4 million women of reproductive age living in Texas will be left with only 10 health centers that provide safe, legal abortion. It’s “medically unnecessary and purely politically driven”.
Caption + Kathy Ostrowski, lobbyist and legislative director for the anti-abortion group Kansans for Life, criticizes a state Court of Appeals ruling on abortion, Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan.
A looming blizzard shut down much of Washington Friday, but not a pro-life demonstration dubbed “March for Life”, whose organizers vowed to slog through snow to carry their message to the steps of the Supreme Court. “In 2014 there were more than 700 dismemberment abortions in the state and it has to end!”
“As we join in the fight against the scourge of abortion, our differences remain, and that’s OK”, he said.
With so many attacks, it is vital that we raise our voices and take to the streets. Not only was abortion accessible, but increased access to birth control and comprehensive sex education seemed to be leading toward more opportunity for women and a more just society.
The ruling came as abortion opponents converged on the Statehouse for a rally marking the 43d anniversary of Roe. Schriock went after not just Republicans but also spent several paragraphs critiquing Clinton’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
“I think we’re all surprised that this is still a question”, said Meagan Gallagher of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
Other abortion rights advocates also hailed the decision.
“Yet in Texas, and all across America, politicians defy the Supreme Court and the Constitution by peddling sham laws that force responsible providers to close their doors and leave women with nowhere to turn for the care they need”. The nine justices will decide whether a certain set of these laws, passed in Texas in 2013, pose an “undue burden” to women who seek an abortion. We’ve learned that securing these rights takes personal engagement, a willingness to speak out on issues that some find uncomfortable and a commitment to building a proactive movement for positive change.
“Every abortion kills an unborn child, but dismemberment abortions are some of the cruelest abortions of all, and it’s time to ban them”, said Jaclynn Miller, a member of MCCL’s Executive Committee.
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, came under fire last summer when a pro-life group’s video surfaced of a top official purportedly discussing the sale of fetal tissue.
Smith, a Catholic, said the House override vote of President Barack Obama’s recent veto of a bill removing all federal funding from Planned Parenthood was scheduled for next week. A this point, Republicans lack the majorities in Congress to override him. “You’ve seen an aborted baby, it’s legs kicking, it’s heart beating while the technician describes how they would keep these babies alive to harvest their organs”.
Advertisement
“There’s an attitude here among Planned Parenthood that it’s a day to celebrate”, Mary Hahn Beerworth of the Vermont Right to Life Committee said of the Roe v. Wade anniversary. This annual ritual of banning most federal Medicaid coverage for abortion was unapologetically meant to be the first step toward making abortion unavailable to all.
