Nerve Buzz
The “heartbeat” bill bans abortions after six weeks here in Ohio. It is based on a false premise. There is no heartbeat in a six-week embryo, in fact, there is no heart in a six-week embryo. There are nerve bundles that give a repetitive signal. On an ultra-sound it seems like a heartbeat. It’s not. But for the political purpose of pretending that the embryo has already developed far enough to have a physical heart, they call it a heartbeat bill. Oh, and they don’t call it an embryo either – they call it a fetus, even though science defines fetus developmentally at ten weeks, not six.
There’s a lot of “foolin’” going on in the abortion argument. I heard a conservative political consultant on a local Sunday Show say that Democratic candidates were in favor of unlimited abortion, up until birth. There is no one: no law, no group, no candidate; advocating for aborting in the last few weeks of pregnancy (WAPO). That’s a lie, just like the heartbeat; a lie to make it easier to demonize the other side.
Respect and Infringement
I respect those who feel that life begins at conception. I think they should live their lives by that principle. No one should make someone else have an abortion against their will. That’s what I think the First Amendment means: that everyone has the right to their beliefs, and to act in a way that is in concert with them. But, here’s the rub. I also believe that someone else’s beliefs shouldn’t be “inflicted” on me. Their beliefs shouldn’t control my actions, just as my beliefs shouldn’t control theirs.
Those that believe life begins at conception shouldn’t get abortions. But, as a citizen of the United States, I expect that people with different views should not be bound by those beliefs. That is the whole basis of the First Amendment; “Congress shall make no law respecting freedom of religion…”. That’s true even if a pseudo-majority, like the Christian Right, gains control of the legislature. They should not, cannot, make laws that regulate religious/moral behavior to suit their own religious views.
And to call out their overused response: just because one group calls abortion “murder” doesn’t make it so. Murder is the killing of a human being, not a potential human being. That embryo at six weeks with a rhythmic electric signal – it’s not a human being. Science, and the law, agreed on that and much more, up until the pseudo-majority took over.
Tyranny of a Minority
Pseudo-majority, because in fact there is no religious majority in the United States, other than no religion at all. But the religious-right doesn’t respect majority “rule” in America. They don’t respect it in elections, voting rights, or behavior. They have claimed the “reins” of power, and they are taking our national stage coach on an out of control ride from an old John Wayne movie. We all know how that ends – wheels spinning off and riders flying like tumbleweeds out over the dusty trail.
That doesn’t just include abortions. I see legislatures all over the Nation trying to regulate transgendered children. That’s an even greater contradiction: as they demand more “parent control” of schools, they take away parental control for care of a transgendered child. I guess they only want “parental control” if the parents “do controlling” the way they want it done. There can’t be anything more difficult than a child who feels trapped in the body of the opposite sex. Everything must seem wrong, from names to clothes, to toys. And, as they get older and become aware of sexual identity, that’s even harder. Why would the “power of the state” be used to stand in the way of making those folks feel “right” and “whole”?
Rule by Fear
The answer is, the power of the state is being wielded by those who play on fears to stay in office. Among the older generations, there is fear of the different, of those who are not the norm, not “Adam and Eve”. So how best to gain and keep power? Make those generations think that Democrats are not only coming for your tax dollars, but to kill babies and take your kid’s genitalia.
Younger generations don’t feel that way – which, of course, is a challenge to the power and authority of the pseudo-majority. Younger generations are OK with friends being gay, or trans, or whatever. They are comfortable with live and let live. In fact, in some newer schools they are building restrooms without labels. Everyone gets a stall, no one is required to disrobe in public. As an “old guy”, it’s weird the first time – but it takes all of the stigma, all of the “identification” off of the table. Everyone just – goes.
And it’s those kind of challenges to the pseudo-majority that draws new attacks on public schooling. Schools are teaching acceptance of differences – racial, gender, physical, mental and social – and it flies in the face of the Christian-Right control efforts. The Ohio State Board of Education is trying to “ride shotgun” on these efforts, planning to vote in November to restrict equity rights from extending to LGBTQ students (Cleveland).
Prerogatives
Don’t like gay people? That’s too bad, but it’s your right. Scared by “trans” people, afraid they might “peek” in the restroom? Probably should worry about the security cameras more. Feel comfortable with a kid getting beat up in the locker-room because of their identification, or a thirteen year-old carrying a pregnancy to term? What the Hell is wrong with you – but it’s your right, your prerogative.
But you don’t get to take your biases and make them law. It ain’t the 1950’s, and we aren’t living in “Leave it to Beaver” world where the “white” suburbs were “pure” and Mom vacuumed the carpet in high heels and pearls. You can have your prerogatives, your prejudices.
But you can’t make me live by them.
