The Church, the State, and You

Abortion. To some, it’s a harsh and dirty word used to define the ‘sin’ of terminating a pregnancy. To others, it’s a rallying cry. A movement that spearheads the most modern of feminist movements. The relevance of abortion has skyrocketed as a result of the overturn of the landmark decision Roe v. Wade that formerly protected the constitutional right to abortion.

  The American populace is highly regimented in their beliefs towards abortion. That regimentation is mostly along partisan lines, with the GOP leading the fight against abortion. The regimentation is also grounded in religious beliefs. For example, some adherents to Christianity may find an abortion ban in the explicit ban on infanticide. Their evidence is the passages of both Jeremiah 1:4-5 and Job 10:2 8-9 to use as grounds for opposing abortion, although, within proper context, such passages do not actually relate to abortion.

  Nevertheless, the alliance between the Grand Old Party (GOP) and the Christian movement is strong. So strong, in fact, that according to the Pew Research Center, 82% of Republican-leaning voters are Christians, compared to the 63% of Democrats who are Christians.

  These numbers allow us to infer that there is a considerable link between the voters’ religious views and the lawmaker’s mouth. Imagine for a second, that you are a member of the Republican party, fighting for a senate seat right here, in Alabama. Straight in the heart of the Bible Belt, it would be wholly in your best interest to swap your Constitution for a Bible. You will weld yourself to the Good Book in order to win your seat, and keep it for years to come.

  You will not give second thought to whether or not writing your or your constituents’ personal religious beliefs into law is unconstitutional. 

You see,the weight of American law and American ideology undermine the legitimacy of an abortion ban.     In fact,prioritizing one religious tradition over others. Thus, it's forcing the religious tradition upon the Jews, the Hindus, the Muslims, and many other groups. To just put that into perspective, that's like outlawing pork in our nation to satisfy the portion of our population observing a halal diet.  

  Our elected officials have become so terrified of religiously assertive voters that they are now scared to support settled law and secular traditions . But succumbing to religious pressure will have consequences: increased unrest, distrust of the government, overcrowded foster care systems, miscarriages, and perhaps most importantly, maternal deaths. The Supreme Court is losing its legitimacy. If the trend continues, our nation could become a far worse place.

  An example of such damage is already present. A Louisiana woman had to travel to New York to abort a fetus - one without a skull. This child could not have possibly survived, yet the law was so restrictive that the state would not permit the abortion in Louisiana, regardless of such a circumstance.

  Another example was that of Lizelle Herrera, a Texas woman who had a self induced abortion (because at this point Texas was closing abortion clinics). She was then arrested and charged for “intentionally and knowingly causing the death of an individual…” per a statement from the local sheriff to the AP. Such a statement did not include which law she had violated. Herrera was released on bond. Although not much information has been made available about the case, it highlights the potential legal penalties that may be imposed on women seeking abortions.Similarly, State Rep. Briscoe Cain (Republican)sent cease and desist letters to every abortion-funding group in Texas (such groups aid women to travel across the country to obtain a legal abortion), in which he called them, “criminal organizations”.

  And for what? Frankly, pro-life is an unsustainable, dying movement. It’s not even possible to enforce the law when you could have a mifepristone pill shipped straight to your house by hacktivist groups. Such groups are already hacking databases used to enforce bans ,protecting women who have had abortions from facing manslaughter charges. On live TV, an activist swallowed an abortion pill to fight its stigma. Any abortion ban will simply be a law that can’t be enforced.

Our politicians need to stop being so scared of their most religiously vocal voters . Protecting rights from religious suppression has never been so important.