In the recent ruling that was handed down yesterday there was an absolutely scathing report by Judge Myron Thompson on the anti choice protesters in Alabama.  Huntsville was particularly highlighted in the ruling, and Judge Thompson scolds the protesters for their actions and exposes the truth about their tactics.

 

But lets talk a moment about the ruling itself. In a great victory for Alabama women a part of the TRAP laws was ruled as unconstitutional.  Specifically the part of the law that required abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges.  On the surface it would appear that the law was designed to protect women and expedite medical care in the event of an emergency (which, as pointed out by the court, is extremely rare. ) But considering that other outpatient procedures and surgeries, for example oral surgery which has a much higher complication rate, do not require these measures it becomes evident that abortion providers are being singled out. Consider also that most abortion providers live out of state or in a different county than the clinics for their own safety, which would bar them from gaining those privileges. Add on the fact that admitting privileges at a local hospital has its own set of requirements such as a minimum number of admissions per year and its easy to see that this would be an almost impossible requirement  for abortion providers to meet. It could have shut down 3 out of 4 of the clinics  that are currently up and running.

 

But the Judge saw the bill for what it was, a veiled attempt to close down clinics under the guise of safety for women. He also took it further to publicly chastise the anti choice protesters for their actions. He said:

“Although the vast majority of those who oppose abortion do so in nonviolent ways, this court cannot overlook the backdrop to this case: a history of severe violence against abortion providers in Alabama and the surrounding region. […]The effect that this climate of violence, harassment, and hostility has on abortion providers in Alabama was palpable at the trial in this case. In their testimony, discussed at length below, the doctors described their daily fears for their professional livelihoods as well as their personal safety. One of the physicians described being followed and threatened by abortion opponents, and fearing for herself, her spouse, and her children every day that she goes to work in Alabama. Indeed, that fear was driven home to this court even in the conduct of the trial itself: in order to protect their identities, the doctors were referred to by pseudonyms throughout the case and would testify in open court only from behind a black curtain.”

 

Huntsville was of particular interest as it was mentioned over a dozen times. Judge Thompson had this to say about them protesting outside of one of our doctors private practices:

“The protesters in Huntsville were not targeting abortion patients and trying to dissuade them from going through the procedure, instead, they were approaching women who sought to carry their pregnancies to term. Rather than attempting to change general public perceptions on the issue of abortions or dissuade women from obtaining abortions, the court must infer that these protesters sought to threaten economic destruction for any doctor who enabled the provision of abortion within the city. They succeeded twice in ending a doctor’s obstetric practice.”

 

He went on to say the the Huntsville protesters “go beyond the run-of-the-mill political protests prompted by an issue as morally and politically charged as abortion.” He didn’t name names in his ruling, but we all know he was talking about the good Rev. Henderson and his band of merry do gooders. And apparently their little feelings are hurt and they are just shocked that anyone would have anything bad to say about them. After all they only harass everyone from the patients to unsuspecting citizens buying groceries at a local Publix.

 

But we are ecstatic about the ruling and everything it included. The truth is out about these so call peaceful protesters,  and I am sure there will be some backlash.  There have already been talks of appeals and the Governor has vowed to back the Attorney General in that appeal. I say go ahead. Make my day. If you would like to read the ruling in all its glory, here is the link: http://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/235820667?width=360

I have been getting a lot of questions and comments in the last 24 hours, and a lot of it is in the vein of “well you lost, now what?” And I have been very quiet, for me, about it until I could come up with a direct answer that encompassed exactly what I wanted to say. This is going to be a long one, so put on your seat belts. In the latest SCOTUS ruling it has become evident that we need to KEEP FIGHTING as long as it takes. We are lucky in some ways that this is an election year. Let me take a moment to remind women what that means. My grandparents mothers didn’t vote. They did not have the right to. In a very narrow decision they earned that right through the work of the suffragists who with hunger strikes and campaigning managed to convince the men in charge that women are of equal value to society and deserved a voice. We have an opportunity to use that voice this year. Our grandmothers and mothers fought hard for our right to be able to have control over our own bodies. Their generation saw great strides in the advancement of health care for women. Women no longer had to die for pregnancies that didn’t go as planned, suffer at the hands of back alley doctors out of sheer desperation, or have sex be used as a method of control dismissed largely by society as acceptable. Women could choose when to start a family. Women gained more legal leverage against rape, incest, and domestic violence. There was a level of fear that was starting to be stripped away. They still had many layers to go, but it was a starting place. They began to enter the work force and seek higher education in much larger numbers. They gained ground there with FMLA and anti discrimination laws. And then began a generation of people that through selective history lessons have taken these rights, laws, hard won battles for granted. They didn’t notice the slight, or if they did they didn’t care much because everything was “mostly” even and nothing was really being threatened. They focused on other things. Now we have found ourselves not only needing to expand and blaze new trails for our future generation of women, but we have to regain ground that we had already secured. While we were sleeping special interest disguised as religion and protecting the family has snuck into our government, workplace, and bedrooms. Its actually so brilliant that it has convinced women to voluntary give up a lot of their rights. I will give them credit where it is due, but after all money can buy the best in the business of politics. So where do we go from here? I look at my daughter and think about what I want for her. I think about my sons and what I want for them. It isn’t very different. I don’t want my children to be victims of circumstance. I want my daughter to have the choice to decide who and when she will marry, and if she will at all. I want her to decide when she will have children and have access to what she needs to achieve that goal. I want the same for my boys. I want my children to walk through this life, free from shame inflicted upon them by other people. I want my children to know the value of hard work, and also that their paychecks will be the same regardless of their gender. I want them to be able to see a doctor when they need to, and not be enslaved by medical bills. I want them to have equal healthcare available to them. I want my daughter to be able to leave the house safely without feeling like she has to be in a group or dressed a certain way to be deserving of basic respect as a human being. I want my sons to be able to have emotions without being told not to and to be treated as more than sex crazed animals without any capacity for self control. I want my daughter to not have to make excuses for everything while my sons are excused by society. I want this for all of our sons and daughters. So until these things happen, I’m not going to stop. I will not shut up. I am not going to back down, and in the words of Harvey Milk, “LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!”