Implications Of The Alabama Ruling...

If an embryo is a human, that's means victims of rape should be forced to bring them to term. So should victims of incest.

And Republicans claim they're only concerned for the innocent life? And for the handicapped too? Recent studies have shown the woman's body rejects over 70% of the fertilized eggs because they have serious genetic diseases. And conservatives claim they're all human? Maybe we should try to save them all.

 

Maybe Ala-friggin-bama should concentrate on getting electricity, running water and public schools to half of the state. I dunno what genetic-geographic anomaly makes them all think the way they do there - you can tell the instant you cross the state line.

 

I suppose that soon it'll be illegal to beat off into the sink!! I mean--those little wigglers could have been turned into republicans!!

 

Alabamans say "Thank God for Mississippi....they make us look good and educated..." On my last trip down to Huntsville (Hooterville) I drove past no fewer than six roadside stands that were selling Trump flags and stuff.....one even had a giant "F*ck Biden" sign, betcha it was 10' x 12', right off the highway....there's class for you.

 

Another disturbing feature of the ruling was the rationale of Chief Judge Parker's concurring opinion explaining the phrase "the sanctity of unborn life" in the Alabama Constitution. My State of Oklahoma is considered pretty extreme in holding that life begins at conception, even before the fetus is implanted in the womb. But the Alabama Court is applying it to in vitro fertilization outside the womb. "Even before birth," said Judge Parker, "all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory." “We believe that each human being, from the moment of conception, is made in the image of God, created by Him to reflect His likeness. It is as if the People of Alabama took what was spoken of the prophet Jeremiah and applied it to every unborn person in this state: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, Before you were born I sanctified you.’ Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV 1982)." Therefore, a fertilized embryo produced by in vitro fertilization is protected by the State's wrongful death statute, and a person who negligently brings about its death by dropping it on the floor or other careless or deliberate act can be sued. The dissenting opinion by Justice Greg Cook pointed out that the 1872 law did not define "minor child" and was being stretched to cover frozen embryos. Judge Parker got there by a controversial interpretation of the Bible, which hasn't officially been adopted as a source of law even in the Bible Belt. The Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Art I, prohibits the federal government from passing any law "respecting an establishment of religion", and the Fourteenth Amendment has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court as imposing this prohibition on State governments, even including Alabama.

As a 'born again" Christian myself, I sympathize with the notion that humans are created in the image and likeness of God. But I don't believe this view is incorporated into U.S. law. There are about 100 Bible passages referring to fetuses leaping in wombs What Does the Bible Say About Leaping In The Womb?, but Jeremiah was the best Judge Parker could dig up applying it to fetuses before the womb. I find it unconvincing that this is conclusive evidence of fetal personhood. The early church accepted Aristotle's view that the fetus didn't become fully human until "ensoulment", which happened some time after conception. The idea that a fertilized embryo was a "child" wasn't accepted by the Church until 1588, and was soon reversed, only to be revived again in 1869 under Pope Pius IX. The history of Catholic teaching on abortion isn’t as clear cut as you think. I personally find it hard to think of a fetus as human until it is sentient and conscious. But that's beside the point. The First Amendment makes clear that religious views can't be imposed on the U.S. population by legislatures and courts--at least until the Republicans explain it away. The U.S. isn't a theocracy--yet!

 

Sounds about right, assuming a child is a person in Alabama. Betcha they find some loophole on the tax exemption: "Render unto Caesar?" Mark 12:17? But maybe she could just send the child fetus to the IRS in payment of the debt (Exodus 21:7–11). Besides, if it's the IRS we're talking about, they're still under the First Amendment. (So is Alabama, but it apparently doesn't know it, or think the Bible trumps it.)

 

Just waitll all these rite2lifers see a huge population growth.

 

That's what they want, but it will probably have the opposite effect, by inducing risk aversive medical personnel to move to give up IVF, moving to more reasonable states, or going into some other specialty.

 

How many here live in states with reproductive rights? This affects Alabama only.

Its shocking / curious to see out-of-State politicians cry here, when their own state constitution enshrines these rights.

 

I have never heard anything so fucking ridiculous in a very long time. The people of Alabama should be truly ashamed of their law makers!!!!!

 

I find your post "shocking" and "curious'. So you think we should be concerned only with our own interests and not with the welfare of others? You find it "curious" and "shocking" that anyone should have concerns about what goes on in other states? Same logic Retrumplicans in Congress apply to Ukraine funding and NATO. But enlightened self-interest dictates that if we give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile. I happen not to live in a state with reproductive rights. My own state of Oklahoma seems to be in a contest for the most extreme "pro-life" position. It's likely that if successful, the Alabama model will infect other states--maybe mine. As the late Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it re the Nazis: "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionist, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew. And then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.” As the father of four kids, I'm not expecting my wife and I to be utilizing IVF in the near future or to have further concerns about reproduction. But I am concerned with the immediate harm the Alabama decision is already doing to those fellow humans who live in that benighted state. The creeping spread of theocratic thinking and Christian nationalism is a threat to all of us. As a Christian myself, I'm concerned at the possible backlash which my religion will experience when the authoritarian march of the religious right is finally routed.

P.S. Who are those out-of-state "politicians' you're talking about? Politician: a person experienced in the art or science of government especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government
2a.a person engaged in party politics as a profession
b. often disparaging : a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons
Definition of POLITICIAN

 

Ppl unhappy about the law it is what it is

 

So? That could be said about anything bad unless or until something is done about it!

 

Oregon: No restrictions.

 

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and the IVF clinic Alabama Fertility have stopped all IVF treatments. One of AFs clients, Meghan Cole, tried to move her seven embryos to the state where her surrogate lives, but was told "No can do". Something bad might happen to them in transit. Whatever happened to parental rights? Interference with those is a tort--a legally actionable civil claim; so is false imprisonment, which those poor "children" are experiencing! Ms. Cole and her husband should sue on behalf of their children. That'd keep the doctors on their toes!

 

Well you are not a politician. Your concerns are your own. When the Governor of New York, (who's State Constition features a guaranty for abortion ) , starts in on this its pure virtue signaling and deflection from large fiscal and legal issues in her home state.
A state that is losing residents due these issues.

I do see that Oklahoma is the most Republican state in the Nation, One worry that you dont have is Oklahoma going bankrupt.

I am shocked and curious to hear that Theocratic Christian nationalism is a threat. Here, I'm worried about carjacking, assaults, fentamyl, and an un-serious political class, But then again, I watch Fox news which is beating those drums.

Best regards.

 

Street crime is certainly a concern for everyday Americans. Overall crime seems to have gone down considerably since the 80s and 90s, but auto theft and violent crime, especially homicides seems to be increasing.
How bad is the rise in US homicides? Factchecking the ‘crime wave’ narrative police are pushing
America Is Having a Violence Wave, Not a Crime Wave
Of course, there are lots of guns in circulation what could account for some of that.

Ordinary folks can worry more about street crime than threats to our democracy and liberties, since they take those for granted--and may practice "rational ignorance" in tuning out information that doesn't seem relevant to their day-to-day concerns. But as the saying goes: Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." And those who do are doomed to stand helplessly by why others repeat it. If FOX is your main news source, you'll never be exposed to news that would make you concerned about things like theocratic Christian nationalism. They hype crime cuz that's what Republicans do. Tricky Dick got elected and reelected on it. LAW AND ORDER! (Lucky for him, Ford pardoned Nixon for his crimes.)They fret about street crime while staying mum about corporate crime that takes a larger toll on the country, and promoting a serial criminal as President. Fox is a Republican disinformation machine, and Christian nationalists are a large part of its MAGA viewer base. (I'm even more worried about FOX than about the theocratic Christian nationalists). But in the long run, a Putin-style dictatorship would, in my opinion, be much worse for this country than carjackings. P.S. Lay off the FOX, man. It'll rot your brain!

Yes, the legislature is pretty good at budget balancing--ranking 23rd in the nation in U.S. News rankings ! Unfortunately, we're not so hot on other things like education (48th) and overall rankings (43rd). We have the distinction of being # 4 in the nation in unwed teen birth rates, and lead the pack in incarceration of women. As for crime, which you seem to be concerned about, we're #43rd on that. There is still some debate over whether New York or Oklahoma has the higher rate of violent crime, but in 2019-21 the title seems to have gone to Oklahoma. Fact check: Is violent crime rate in Oklahoma higher than New York?.
Our legislature and governor, like those of other Red States, have other priorities, especially protecting human eggs at he point of fertilization, clamping down on transgendered kids, and putting the Ten Commandments in public spaces (unconcerned with being unable to carry thru because of the U.S. Constitution).