Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Guv'ment Legislature on schedule to restrict reproductive rights
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 8:43 PM
This isn't a bad thing. Having a variety of points of view under one roof is the foundation of what we call democracy. But the cultural disconnect — intensified by partisan politics — can sometimes take your breath away.
That was my reaction this afternoon as I watched more than two hours' worth of House arguments over House Bill 954, the latest measure to restrict abortion rights in Georgia.
The bill would shorten the period during which pregnant women could legally obtain an abortion in Georgia from the current 26 weeks down to 20 weeks. It's around 20 weeks that most women are getting back test results that show whether their unborn babies are normal or severely deformed, sometimes with little or chance of survival after birth.
Several female lawmakers — mostly Democrats, but also one high-ranking Republican who's a nurse — came to the House well to relate tragic stories about expectant mothers who learned after 20 weeks about fetal anomalies such as malformed lungs that would result in the newborn's death or in profound mental or physical disabilities.
As Rep. Elena Parent, D-DeKalb, put it, "It's not OK for the state to force women to give birth to a child that will die."
The 102-65 vote in favor of the bill sent the clear message on behalf of the majority: Actually, it's OK with us.
For the most part, those who spoke in support of the bill made no effort to argue that it wouldn't force women to carry babies to term that have no hope of survival. That was clearly less of a concern than "preserving the sanctity of life," as one member said.
Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, decried the "absolute brutality of abortion" and said no one should have the right to kill "living, whole human persons."
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Dalton — yes, most of the pro-bill speakers were men — asked the rhetorical question: "If you were a fetus…wouldn't you want this protection?"
And Rep. Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville, claimed that an obstetrician once advised that she abort her unborn child. She didn't and now that baby is a thirtysomething man with children of his own. "To this day, I don't know why that doctor told me to get an abortion," Taylor said.
It was unclear how Taylor's odd story related to the subject at hand. But it certainly demonstrated that there are things under the Dome that I, for one, will never understand.
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