Don't Tread on Me

or what the Right gets wrong about abortion rights.

In the past year or so I had been consuming a lot of right-leaning media and I found a lot of the arguments new to me and convincing. When the vaccine mandates started around the world in US and Canada I thought they were immediately wrong. Having the government tell anyone what they can or cannot put in their body and that your rights were tied to this seemed hugely dystopic to me. In Canada where people were told that whether they had a vaccine or not was their “choice” they just would get fired, could no longer travel, or watch their kids play hockey, it was clearly mass coercion, and violated the rights of individuals. The “right” agreed with me.

Then about a week ago when Politico published leaked a Supreme Court draft opinion on striking down “Roe vs Wade” I felt completely tribeless again. Instead of good arguments from the right I was hearing, emotional ones or ethical ones. Precisely what the right is constantly criticizing the left for.

Now I understand that many are saying are abortion rights guaranteed in the constitution or was “Roe vs Wade” some strange stretch and interpretation of the constitution. Not being a constitution scholar the right seems to get this part correct. At least explicitly it’s not in the constitution. If you are a judge on the supreme court and a textualist this debate is over. Abortion rights are not explicitly in the constitution, “Roe vs Wade” was a stretch or perversion. The supreme court will not enshrine the right to abortions it is instead something that will need to be decided by the individual states. Fine. This all holds together reasonably well.

Now here is where the deception lies. Many people on the right are saying
this does not necessarily restrict abortion rights it just leaves it up to the individual states. Well theoretically speaking that may be true but practically speaking it’s false. Thirteen states have Trigger Laws. that would ban abortion in the first and second trimester if Roe vs Wade were overturned. Perhaps if Roe vs Wade is overturned some of these will be modified or changed, perhaps not: State Abortion Laws.

Then most of the arguments I hear are tangential. When is a pregnancy a “human”. The moment of conception? Which would also make illegal things like IUDs, Plan B and IVF illegal. Most people think first trimester abortions should be accessible but people disagree with late-term abortions. Creepy, concerning things including late stage abortions and apparently California introducing a bill that would not require a coroner to investigate peri-natal deaths, which the right is referring to as legalizing infanticide, California Bill. As far as I can see the right has lost their head and principles.

Here is the important question. If I am pregnant, and let’s say for example for medical reasons my health is in jeopardy and I require an abortion, who do I want to make this decision? Who gets to decide whether I am sick “enough”? Do I want state legislatures that do not know me and do not have to suffer the consequences to make this decision? Do I want the tyranny of the majority to make this decision? Or do I want to be able to make this decision, the best decision for myself and my family’s health and well-being. If your answer to this question is not the latter you are no longer apart of my tribe. Nolite Nos Calcare.