Thursday, August 16, 2007

We should also take away their right to vote because they might regret their vote later

"While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained," Justice Kennedy wrote, alluding to the brief. "Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow."

Given those stakes, the justice argued, "The state has an interest in ensuring so grave a choice is well informed."

In short, Justice Kennedy concluded that women couldn't be trusted to make their own decisions, because they might make choices that they would regret later. Therefore, the government should make those choices for them (recall this cartoon).

This goes a bit to explaining why fundies insist on criminalizing abortion, but not on punishing the women who break the law: they aren't in their right mind!
[Richard] Land doesn't deny that women who have abortions might be addled, but he, along with Yoest, Earll, and Gans, takes exception to them being described as bystanders -- or as enlightened women making free, educated choices.

"It's not demeaning to assume that any person who is a mother who could make the decision to do this must be suffering from some form of psychological impairment because of the crisis of the pregnancy or because of societal demeaning of human life," Land said.

Of course; they came to a conclusion that you don't like, therefore they're mentally deficient. Those silly women--why should anyone think they could be able to think for themselves.

"choice joyce", commenting at Pam's House Blend has an excellent analysis of this:
They believe that all women are naturally mothers and want to be mothers. They believe motherhood is woman's primary, ennobling, most fulfilling role. They believe it's instinctual in fact, it's what women are made for, and women are ruled by their biology. Therefore, any woman who has an abortion is obviously not in her right mind, because she's violating her natural maternal instincts. There has to be something wrong with her or her decision-making process, or she's being coerced by someone or circumstances, because ALL women naturally want to be and should be mothers.

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