America the Disgraceful

Last week, I visited my doctor, who works for the government-funded National Health Service. While I was sitting in the waiting room, I saw a sign tacked to the bulletin board that instructed any patient wanting emergency contraception to ask the nurse for it. Very straightforward. No controversy involved.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, even many rape victims in the US cannot get access to emergency contraception in hospitals. And the nation’s largest retail chain, Wal-Mart, refuses to carry it at all, meaning that thousands of women do not have access to a legal drug.

It’s painful to think about how backwards America is in so many respects. How did our country get hijacked by religious fanatics? How did we lose our moral compass? Women's health care options are restricted by the government. Men's health care options are not. We now have a health care system based upon principles of gender apartheid.

Nothing is more backwards or frightening than the South Dakota abortion ban. I have been trying to ignore this story. People have been e-mailing me about it and to be honest, I just wasn’t that interested. Alito’s confirmation was the real battle. Attempts by states to outlaw abortion were inevitable. Is anyone actually surprised this is happening?

Furthermore, South Dakota is an insignificant state. I mean, America could give South Dakota to the Canadians and no one would notice or even care. The lawmakers in this primordial backwater obviously crave attention and why give it to them? Their abortion ban will not take effect anytime soon (maybe not ever). It will be tied up in the courts for years and will eventually land on the Supreme Court’s doorstep. That’s the whole point of the ban anyway. With Alito’s confirmation, the Court is now dominated by right-wing thugs. Anti-abortion activists are desperate to see Roe overturned and they see this as their big chance.

The South Dakota bill – passed by both the Senate and House and awaiting the governor’s signature – bans all abortions, even in the cases of rape and incest. The only exception is to save the life of the mother. Though this law will not go into effect anytime in the near future, the mere fact that the legislature has overwhelmingly passed this bill is an assault against women’s basic human rights. As such, I have to speak out.

If this ban were ever to take effect, women would be forced to bear the children of rapists. In turn, these rapists could demand their parental rights in court. This may sound far-fetched, but this is exactly what would happen if this law took effect. From USA Today:

“If a rape victim becomes pregnant and bears a child, the rapist could have the same parental rights as the mother, said Krista Heeren-Graber, executive director of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault. ‘The idea the rapist could be in the child's life ... makes the woman very, very fearful.’”

Blogger Bob Cesca writes: “Break out the celebratory cigars, Rapist Dad, because now you can sleep at night, comforted with the knowledge that any woman you assault and violate – perhaps torture – won't be allowed to abort the fruit of all your planning, stalking, and raping.”

Upon reflection, I feel that it’s time for the United Nations to intervene. I have never been a huge fan of the UN – I have a thing against bureaucracies that spend a lot of public money – but the South Dakota legislature has declared war against women and the courts are now more likely to uphold such laws. So where can women turn for protection? Not to our own government, that’s obvious. I think we must look to other nations to help us fight for our rights and dignity. No group of American women – today South Dakotans, tomorrow who knows – should be forced to live under a hostile regime that rewards those who perpetrate one of the most horrific crimes imaginable. This is disgraceful. It is morally repugnant. And it is a clear violation of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, of which the U.S. is a party. The South Dakota ban, and its embrace of rapist fatherhood, clearly violates this code. Here are just three examples of what the declaration states:

Article 2, Section C, states that violence against women includes “Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.”

Article 3, Section H, states that women have the right “Not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Article 4, Section D, states that the State must “Develop penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in domestic legislation to punish and redress the wrongs caused to women who are subjected to violence…”

South Dakota’s ban is clearly a violation of international accords that protect women. There can be no doubt about that. The governor of South Dakota has indicated that he will sign the bill. He needs to become aware of the consequences of his actions. If he signs this bill, his state could very well become a national pariah. The tourist board in SD is already receiving notice that Mount Rushmore and other attractions will be boycotted if he signs the ban. It will only be a matter of time before goods and services produced in the state will also be targeted.

Here is the governor’s contact information:

Governor Mike Rounds
Office of the Governor
500 E. Capital Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: 605-773-3212
E-mail: click here.

In addition, what follows is a list of legislators who introduced this bill. Anti-abortion websites regularly list the contact information of doctors who perform abortions. I wish to list the names of those who introduced this bill. By clicking here, you can get contact information for any of these individuals, including home and work contacts. We should all take a moment to send them a little note. Sure, they already voted for the bill. And obviously, they are not what could ever be considered intelligent, rational or decent human beings. But why not let them know that they should be ashamed of themselves? Shame is underrated nowadays, especially in America. One of my favorite sayings is Have you no shame?

House

Roger W. Hunt (Primary Sponsor)
Thomas J. Brunner
Thomas J. Deadrick
Joel D. Dykstra
Margaret V. Gillespie
Mary Glenski
Jeffrey K. Haverly
Phyllis M. Heineman
Gordon K. Howie
Jean M. Hunhoff
Barry Jensen
Gary L. Jerke
Ted A. Klaudt
Al Koistinen
Elizabeth Kraus
Shantel Krebs
Gerald F. Lange
Alice McCoy
Matthew Michels
Kathy Miles
Paul Nelson
Al Novstrup
Gordon R. Pederson
Val Rausch
Larry Rhoden
R. Shawn Tornow
Charles M. Turbiville
Don Van Etten
Keri K. Weems
Hal G. Wick
Mark K. Willadsen

Senate

Julie Bartling (Primary Sponsor)
Gene G. Abdallah
William F. Earley
Dick Kelly
Frank J. Kloucek
John Koskan
Kenneth McNenny
Garry A. Moore
William M. Napoli
Lee Schoenbeck

Have you no shame, those of you on this list?

It’s interesting to note how many women sponsored this bill, including the primary sponsor in the Senate. It reminds me of the epigraph from Alice Walker’s novel Possessing the Secret of Joy, which is about female genital mutilation and women’s willingness to inflict this torture upon other women. The epigraph quotes a bumper sticker: When the axe came into the forest, the trees said the handle is one of us.