September 12, 2022: “The Church–State Wall

Posted on September 12, 2022 at 12:00 AM

by Karen Pataky, Chair, Health Policy Task Force
(based on Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post, July 17, 2020)

Far-right Christians have planned to reverse Roe v Wade since the day of the SCOTUS decision in 1973. Between ex-President Donald Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, two Supreme Court seats were unfairly ceded to far-right Catholic nominees. All three lied to Congress and stated that Roe v Wade was “settled law” and would be honored. But all three voted with the other Catholic justices appointed by previous Republican presidents.

When news leaked of pending Roe v Wade reversal in October 2021, Chief Justice John Roberts tried to reassure us that “birth control” would remain untouched and that the exemptions of rape, incest, and the life of the mother would be untouched. All lies again.

Only far-right Christian dogma gives “personhood” to the 2-celled zygote from the moment of conception, and therefore forbids abortion from the first missed period. And the promised exceptions of rape, incest, and the “life of the mother” are being ignored.

Tragically, the life of the pregnant woman is also being treated in such a cavalier way that additional legal opinions are necessary to allow physicians to provide life-saving measures. Two frightening examples illustrate:

In one case where an ectopic pregnancy is diagnosed, which is 100% fatal to fetus and mother, but abortion is delayed until the woman has bled out at least a full pint of blood.
Another woman had a dying fetus, but abortion had to be postponed until the fetus began to decay and the woman almost died of sepsis.
Another problematic area is that of spontaneous miscarriage, which occur in about 15% of all pregnancies. No woman can prove that her hemorrhaging is NOT actually from an abortion. It is up to the emergency room to treat her or send her home to die. And, many women did die via this scenario before Roe v Wade.

Historically, medical providers have not been forced to obtain permission from a lawyer or judge before initiating the medical interventions necessary TO SAVE A WOMAN’S LIFE. This is not “PRO-LIFE” for the pregnant woman.

We must make abortion legal in every state and enshrine the right to an abortion in our Constitution!