Just when you thought Republicans couldn't reach any deeper in their quest to control the rights of women through anti-abortion laws, up pops Arizona.
Last Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court (seven justices appointed by a Republican governor) approved a long dormant pre-Civil War law (1864) that bans abortions with few exceptions.
It seemed bad enough when the conservative United States Supreme Court sent the country back nearly 50 years by reversing Roe v. Wade a year ago, which legalized abortions in 1973. Now we have a state supreme court sending us back even further – 160 years to be exact.
The law predates Arizona's statehood (1912) by nearly 50 years, which means Arizona was simply a territory back then. Also, the law makes no provisions for rape or incest, allowing abortions only if the mother's life is in danger.
The state court also hinted that doctors who perform abortions can be prosecuted under the 1864 law. If that happens, resurrecting the 1964 law throws out a lower court decision that said doctors couldn't be prosecuted for performing abortions in the first 15 weeks. Doctors might now serve terms between two to five years if convicted.
The 1864 law, designed by men, also occurred before women were given the right to vote under the 19th amendment in 1920. You can see where this is going.
If immoral and incompetent decisions like this continue, the next thing you know, women will be required to remain barefoot and pregnant because that's a way for men to keep control over them.
Why is this thing even given new life after lying dormant for so long? The implications are enormous. How many obstetricians do you expect will remain in Arizona if there's a threat of a jail term hanging over their heads for virtually any treatment of a pregnant woman? How many industries will reject Arizona as a state with its head in the 19th century? How many women will die for the lack of proper health care?
All of this is pending, of course. The court gave the parties involved two weeks to file objections, so there's that.
But for now, we're living in a world created by the rapist/ex-president/presidential candidate Donald Trump (You did this), who just so happens will be in court this week in Manhattan to begin a criminal trial, allegedly for paying two women (one of them a porn star) six-figure sums to keep quiet about their affairs with him prior to the 2016 election.
In technical terms, Trump is being charged with falsifying New York business records.
It was under Trump that Roe v. Wade was overturned by a court where he appointed three Supreme Court injustices for a 6-3 conservative majority and which ultimately set in motion the fevered time machine that is now engaged in reversing women's right to choose.
Ironically, and sadly, a reversal for all of us...
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