This is the news that sparked these thoughts - that fertilized eggs are people in Alabama:
https://rewire.news/ablc/2018/11/07/in-alabama-fertilized-eggs-are-now-people/
As long as Roe stays, we have a chance at being okay - with some more work to protect/provide birth control and clinics, but if that goes, Alabama's 'fertilized eggs are people' rule could get rid of not only abortion, but also contraception and IVF and put all women at risk for jail time (and risk tacking on more charges for doing x while pregnant and "endangering" the fertilized egg or fetus).
Far be it from ME to tell a man or religious nut how science works, but eggs are generally fertilized before implantation and women expel tons of these unknowingly. So basically if you criminalize "aborting" a fertilized egg, you can go on and put ALL women in prison.
'Life begins at conception' has always been a way to criminalize women's bodies and also kind of a big lie. I have never heard people say 'life begins at implantation,' which would make more sense to argue without you sounding a bit nutty, but still would endanger ectopically pregnant women who must "abort" to save their lives. In Alabama, they could go to jail. Yay ignorance and patriarchy! Nope.
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Finally, some science -
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/conception_how_it_works/
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The percentage is subject to debate and hard to measure, but it happens likely to all women that we have expelled a number of fertilized eggs, or killed people, as Alabama says. This position, like a fertilized egg that doesn't implant, is not viable.
Anti-choice is anti-science and anti-logic. (And pro-life is a misnomer.) Banning abortion puts women's lives at risk. Christian ideologues want to argue that their right to impose their religion on the entire population trumps the right of women to life and constitutional rights. What the religious right is doing with ALEC and local government to subvert Roe is not covered by freedom of speech or religion or any sort of moral or scientific standard.
No one is pro-abortion. Strike that. I'm not going there to apologize for my belief in equality. It doesn't matter if you're "for" or "against" when we're talking about human rights.
What I'm saying is that is not the issue here - abortion or no abortion. The issue is that fight against abortion is used to normalize the policing of women's sexuality, autonomy and health. When abortion is criminalized, women's health is endangered. Not only with the obvious self harm and "back alley" abortions - but we're already seeing it with the targeted closing of clinics (TRAP laws) that provide cancer screening and other vital services. The anti-choice laws could extend to women's behavior - driving and eating or any normal activity someone deems reckless endangerment. But these are probably the same folks who are concerned that someone's buying a steak with food stamps and wish they could ensure they only ate out of dumpsters to "save us money" - that we're using to give tax cuts to the rich...
And what of embryos IVF patients have stored in the case of criminalization of "aborting" a fertilized egg, which is considered a person when a decision is made that these are not needed? Is the doctor going to prison? The tech? The patient? All of the above? If not, then it's not really a crime and we can back off this tossing women in jail for their biology/healthcare idea.
Other troubling reproductive news:
Abortion clinic bomber released:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/convicted-abortion-clinic-bomber-shooter-released-from-prison
Birth control rule subverted by our theocracy:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/07/health/birth-control-exemption-trump-bn/index.html
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