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SCOTUS

The fact that SCOTUS was planning to overturn Roe v. Wade was not a secret, even before the draft opinion was leaked. The supporters of Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanagh, and Barrett were quite open about wanting them to overturn Roe v. Wade even if the judges claimed during their confirmation hearings that they had open minds.

I am against abortion, so let's get that out of the way quickly. But as with most things that I am against, there is nuance. I do believe that health considerations for the mother are relevant. I do believe that rape-induced pregnancies require a good deal of thought.  I believe that if we want a child not to be aborted we need to provide health-care, day-care, all of the support services that the affluent take for granted and the rest lack. There is nuance.

Most importantly in this discussion, I do not believe that making abortion illegal stops abortion. The history of illegal abortions in this country prior to Roe v. Wade does not go away; if anything, medical science has made abortions easier. I am immediately contemptuous of politicians and political lobbyists that do not address this, equating abortion and legal abortion.

As it stands this is an unfunded mandate to raise a child. Social support for raising a child is at an all-time low in my lifetime, running through access for the poor to health-care to day care etc. etc. etc.

The fact that the members of SCOTUS voting to overturn Roe v. Wade lied during their confirmation hearings that they considered it to be established law means that in theory any policy they dislike can be deemed unconstitutional.  As someone who deeply loves my country's freedom it is a scary time.

At this point I'd have to say that AOC has given me the most hope with her writings. She has very quickly (probably with some anticipation) stated what the legislature can do as a check to SCOTUS, and called upon its leaders not to just roll over.

Scary times. The fact that Clarence Thomas immediately stated that it was time to go after same-sex marriage makes it clear that we are on the verge of having second-class citizens when it comes to matters of the heart. Not what I think of when I think of freedom.

I have to cling to something I heard Bernard Lafayette say once of his decades-long work in civil rights; every defeat is an opportunity. This may be when we do away with that offense to good governing, the filibuster. This may be when we add more justices to the Supreme Court, effectively diluting the power of individual justices. Change is happening; good change is possible if we seek it.

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