FeminismPolitics

Alabama, Goddam.

The Handmaid's clock tics towards midnight.

Alabama’s republican governor signed one of the most restrictive abortion bans into law yesterday. The bill was passed by a whole bunch of white men on the Alabama senate (there were 3 women who voted no) and signed into law by a white woman who invoked God as her reason. Said Gov. Kay, “every life is a sacred gift from God.” Subtext: Unless that life is of a woman who is already born. Those living women, you and I, and your sisters and daughters, are disposable in the eyes of the religious right. Say so-long to separation of church and state and say hello to the death of countless women who will be forced into birth, should they become pregnant, even in cases of rape and incest.

As we well know, outlawing abortion does not stop abortion. It simply increases dangerous back alley abortions, suicides and ultimately, the death of women who could have been saved by procedures early in a pregnancy. Women deserve health care. This law is anti-health and anti-life for women.

Make no mistake, this is not a pro-life law. This is a law about controlling and subjugating women. We are not considered equal in today’s United States. As was once said by garbage-face-Justice-Scalia,

“Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t. Nobody ever thought that that’s what it meant. Nobody ever voted for that.”

We currently have a conservative majority Supreme Court. We have a president who treats women as disposable blow up sex toys and a GOP run Senate with a disdain for law and a fear of any progressive values. We are headed directly towards a reversal of Roe v. Wade and worse.

I’m exhausted. I really am. I wasn’t going to post about this. This fight has been going on since my mother was pregnant with me. When I was born, my unwed mother had no choice. She HAD to birth me. That breaks my heart. Every woman deserves control over their own life. Everyone deserves control over their own body. Not JUST the men. Full stop.

I felt like we needed to post something here to remind everyone that we NEED to pass an equal rights amendment to protect women and the people who are being minoritized by a religious right who wants power and money more than they want to understand the teachings of a Jesus. Don’t be fooled, it’s not about God, Governor Kay, it’s about hatred of “the other” and fear of women and the people who don’t look like you. Your Jesus would be ashamed at how you treat those who are considered less than you. That guy loved sex workers and the poor. Read your book.

I leave you with the wise and powerful words of Nina Simone, Mississippi Goddam. True in 1965 and sadly so very, very true today. Understand that we need to rise up and fight back or the Handmaid’s clock will hit midnight.

Amy Roth

Amy Davis Roth (aka Surly Amy) is a multimedia, science-loving artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. She makes Surly-Ramics and is currently in love with pottery. Daily maker of art and leader of Mad Art Lab. Support her on Patreon. Tip Jar is here.

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5 Comments

  1. You know how this has been breaking my heart. Thank you for posting about it. I definitely lost followers for making a statement on Instagram, but it was soooo worth it. We all need to be speaking up on every platform we have.
    These laws are designed to keep women (especially WOC) in poverty, uneducated and/or dead. This isn’t even a political and shouldn’t be a religious issue, it is healthcare issue. I am so glad I live in California, but women in other states are just shit out of luck if we can’t help them.

    1. I loved what you wrote. If you have time please just copy paste it here in the comments. It’s valuable information that people need to understand.

      1. Amy, Here is what I posted to Instagram. Copy and paste at will.
        I have been trying to think of ways to phrase this post. The subject is so big and complex and the ramifications of these laws is so immense, I really cannot cover it here on Insta, so I am distilling it to a few important points.
        I am an RN in Labor Delivery/PostPartum. I work with patients to ensure their safety, autonomy and informed consent around pregnancy and delivery and termination.
        1. The laws being passed these last 2 years (especially last 2 weeks) WILL KILL women. Women will die, there is no way around that. They are written specifically so that women will die, black women disproportionally to all other race categories. Currently black women die 3-4x more often than white women in childbirth and the immediate post part period. This is racist and misogynistic legislation.
        2. The laws passed WILL ENSURE PENURY for women. They will keep women pregnant and mothers, forced out of the workforce and out of education. They will strengthen the chains of poverty already established in the USA.
        3. The laws passed enshrine the power of (mostly white) men over the bodies of women. Men are in the majority in passing these laws. Men who hold not responsibility in childbearing and often not in childrearing.
        4. These laws will decide that women alone are incapable of health care decisions. That women do not deserve to make their own choices. No other law governs a man’s body the way these laws govern a woman’s body.
        5. This will have a crippling effect on progress for the entire country. When you relegate 51% of your population to enforced brith, you lose overall. Think about that. 50.8% of US citizens are female, we are the fucking MAJORITY. Let’s act like it.
        If you live in the USA, please, I am seriously BEGGING, do not vote these men into power any longer. This is detrimental to progress and basic humanity. This WILL effect you.
        Very sincerely,
        Cris Orr, RN, BSN, PHN.

  2. I don’t have enough words to express how furious I am over these laws. And terrified.

  3. I recall vividly a few years ago on this very site being emphatically splained to by some hard talking lawyer that none of this would happen because nothing could overturn Roe vs Wade.

    Yet here we are. Disgust emoji.

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