Hey, want to go see a movie? NARAL Pro-Choice SD, Planned Parenthood SD, and the Augustana Democrats are hosting a one-time showing of the Sundance-honored documentary Trapped tomorrow (Tuesday, April 26) at 6:30 p.m. at the West Mall 7 Cinema in Sioux Falls.
The film focuses on the story of Whole Women’s Health in Texas, which is currently involved in the Supreme Court case of Whole Women’s Health vs. Hellerstedt.
The title refers to how state legislatures are trying to trap women in government mandates about their reproductive decisions. It also refers to TRAP policies—Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers—like that imposed in the Hellerstedt case. 24 states have TRAP policies that impose extra licensing requirements and clinic rules that go beyond any real protection of women’s health and safety and are intended to drive abortion providers out of business. TRAP policies are another attempt to evade the constitutional impermissibility of explicit abortion bans.
NARAL Pro-Choice SD issues this statement on why this film matters in our state, which imposes TRAP rules and other restrictions that make it harder for women to get an abortion than almost anywhere else in America:
South Dakota has only one clinic remaining that offers the full range of women’s reproductive health care, and the implications of the court’s decision are crucial to maintaining safe abortion care for women in our state. Each year, our state legislators introduce new legislation for restrictions that continue to strip away abortion rights. This past session, two more bills were signed into law: SB 72, a bill that threatens physicians with felony charges if they perform an abortion past 20 weeks gestation with no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal viability; and HB 1157, the “informed consent bill,” which requires physicians to provide their patients with medically unproven information. If the Supreme Court makes this decision with a 4-4 ruling, the lower court’s decision stands, which states that bills such as SB 72, HB 1157, and those similar in nature, are legal and do not present an undue burden to women seeking an abortion. There would be no protection for clinics that perform abortion from further legislation that works to erode the 1972 Roe v. Wade ruling, which ruled that abortion is constitutionally legal [NARAL Pro-Choice SD, press release, 2016.04.20].
Admission to this unique showing of Trapped in Sioux Falls is $10, or $5 with a student ID.
War on Women is an expression in United States politics used to describe certain Republican Party policies and legislation as a wide-scale effort to restrict women’s rights, especially reproductive rights. The Republican War on Women is now being labeled “political correctness”, attempting to shield zealous, overly-religious bigots from valid criticism.
I doubt wingnuts will bother to watch. They can sit at home and label it propaganda and then pat themselves on the back as they goose-step their way into the Reichstag for their next hapless victims.
For me, this is really a foundational issue for the most basic religious freedoms we have. When someone goes out of their sphere or personal space and decides they are going to answer the deepest questions that some of the most brilliant minds have puzzled over for entire lives and not answered, to have those who have read a few Bible verses or had them read to them in Sunday school and decide to answer them for me is endlessly fascinating. Think of all the money and power that tens of millions of Pro-Lifers could martial to really go a long way toward saving millions of lives of mostly women and children who starve to death each year or are in the process of it. Because it might require some of their own treasure they have little interest, except in a few instances, and those are usually the more liberal churches. I guess Jesus has suspended the parable of The Good Samaritan?
It really looks like cheap or stolen grace to force someone else into doing or not doing something so a bunch of sanctimonious “Christians” can feel moral. Some young woman who is pregnant, at some point becomes realistic about her ability to support another child and makes a hard decision. I strongly stress this is none of my or anyone else’s business. It is between she and her doctor and her conscience, period.
But, along comes the conservative hard-ass and in addition to forcing her to have the child, really wants to cut any, or as much assistance as they can get away with. See, “welfare” or assistance just makes her weak and she is not learning the hard realities that the Social Darwinist God wants wingnuts to teach her. Never mind the loss of millions of decent paying jobs and the very real prospect that her situation won’t change because she just isn’t college material. I am very well acquainted with some who have been in this position in my family.
I have a deal for wingnuts. My own God, Baphomet has communicated to me – and I know he isn’t speaking with wingnuts – so I will do them the honor of explaining what Baphomet desires. He tells me that he is sore displeased that they continue to consume ribeye, sirloin, and other tasty muscles and he forbids it. So, knowing what their response is, can any explain why someone’s Jesus gets to rule over someone’s choices who doesn’t accept a church’s assertion that 2 cells are equal to a human (does this apply to a dog or a tree or a fungus?) or it best defined by the scientific definition where this is a process that gets more complex over time? What kinds of things are you willing to accept my final decision on if you expect to dictate any to me?
If there isn’t any “right to privacy” I can envision political operatives of one kind or another sifting through medical records of politicians or prospective ones to see if there is a venereal disease or something else that might make hot copy.
Good points, Jack. Doing God’s will cannot be the basis for law, since not every citizen believes in the same God. Even majoritarian believers have to find other find common ground with their fellow citizens in other shared civic, secular values, or the moment demographics tilt a voting plurality to another religion, the majoritarian believers will find themselves subject to the oppression your Baphomet would impose.