US states set "trigger laws" to ban abortion if right overturned

[deadparrot]

CHICAGO (AFP) - A number of US states are preparing to ban abortion by creating "trigger laws" that would be implemented as soon as the Supreme Court reverses its position or the constitution is amended to make regulation of abortions a state responsibility.

Thirteen states saw bills introduced in the last legislative session aimed at criminalizing abortion, including Louisiana which passed a trigger law last week.

Seven states currently have trigger laws on the books, although legal experts say they might not immediately prompt a ban because they are not detailed enough.

The flurry of activity was sparked in part by South Dakota's passage of a bill criminalizing abortion even when it is necessary to protect the health of the mother, a direct violation of current federal statutes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060613/ts_alt_afp/uspoliticsabortionban

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Why not go all the way

and put a woman in prison if she doesn't proudly and gladly carry to term the product of rape and incest? :sarcasm:

Are they readying "trigger laws" to ban contraception too? I've heard that certain fundies say that is next.

[cornermouse]

2. I figure contraception is next.

Also the vote. And after that probably a return to the 12th or 13th century.

[niyad]

3. Days of the theocracy

Days of the Theocracy
by Kristin Lems


First they fight abortion,
Birth control is next,
Then comes sex if you're not married,
Finally, out goes sex.
Put the prayers back in the schools,
Install parochiaid,
Allow for corporal punishment,
And then you've got it made!

Chorus:
We're going back, back
To the good old days,
When men were really men
And women knew their place;
Back, back a couple of centuries,
And welcome back the days
Of the theocracy!

The family is so holy
There must be no divorce.
And if a wife is not content,
She must adjust, of course.
And if he's forced to beat her
It's all for her own good;
She must know what her limits are
As any woman should!

Chorus

The next to go is daycare,
It's all a commie plot!
What could be more fulfilling
Than a child, wanted or not?
The woman's work is housework--
God wanted it that way!
A salaried job degrades her, since
She never works for pay!

Chorus

They teach us woman's lot
Is love, honor and obey,
And while their crusty notions
Seem like jokes to us today.
They're sitting in the Capitol,
They're voting on our lives;
If we don't stop them soon
Our freedom will not long survive!

No going back, back
to the bad old days,
When men were really masters
And women were their slaves;
Let's go ahead, ahead
For future centuries
And build a world that's based
On true democracy.
And build a world that's based on true equality.
(A-person)

©1979 Kleine Ding Music (BMI). All rights reserved. Used by permission. Special courtesy Kristin Lems from her album "In the Out Door."

[depakid]

5. You bet it is

No question whatsoever in my mind that certain states will ban all forms of contraception except possibly condoms. Especially as to unmarried couples. No question.

To overturn Roe, you have to overturn the Griswold decision- which held that laws criminizing contraception were unconstitutional. Anyone who thinks that the likes of Mississippi won't do this is very naive.

[Kailassa]

6. I guess you know that's already happening in El Salvador?

They have official "Forensic Vagina Specialists" to check for signs of abortion.

All doctors there are mandated to tell the government if they suspect any woman has had an abortion.

And women there are serving 30 year sentences for murder, for having abortions, while their children are left motherless.

This is the world these fundies are trying to foist on us.

[Xithras]

4. There's an upside to this.

I've had many conversations over the years with people who thought that the Roe v. Wade case was unimportant because "modern" state governments wouldn't ban it anyway. This 'trigger laws' provide a glaring example of why Roe v. Wade is so important...it is the ONLY impediment to an outright abortion ban across much of the United States. These laws may help to energize many otherwise apathetic people to our cause.

[Kailassa]

7. It would only be an upside if people would open their eyes.

It's an uphill battle you're waging, I hope many others join in and help you educate Americans about what could happen.