About the Alabama ban

Alabama Senator Bobby Singleton Blows Through Republican Hypocrisy On Abortion Law

State Senator Bobby Singleton argued valiantly for an exception in the case of rape and incest, but that was voted down. 

The only exception will be if the mother's life is in danger. 

How very "pro-life" of them. 

Through tears on the floor of the state Senate, Singleton made the following pronouncement:

You just said to my daughter, "You don't matter. You don't matter in the state of Alabama." 

That "the state of Alabama don't care nothin' about you, baby." I gotta go home and tell her, "The state of Alabama don't care nothin' about you, baby."

This morning, he told Alisyn Camerota he felt like the state of Alabama "raped women last night." 

She asked him if he felt Republicans were doing this just for the purposes of overturning Roe v. Wade, or if they really believed women should never have an abortion unless and only unless they're about to die from the pregnancy. 

Sen. Singleton said he wished he could say it was purely for the purpose of overturning Roe, but he knows there are members on the other side of the aisle who sincerely believe that women do not deserve access to safe and legal abortions under any circumstances. 

Even if you're an 11-year-old girl impregnated by rape.

If it were medically possible to safely retrieve an embryo or fetus and bring it to babyhood in an artificial womb (always supposing there is no good case for euthanizing it ) with reliability comparable to or greater than natural gestation, I would favor laws totally forbidding abortion, but supporting such retrieval.

The baby "delivered" alive could be made available for adoption if neither natural parent wanted it.

While that is not possible I favor permitting abortion at will before the fetus is far enough along for it to be convincing that it is an unborn baby and forbidding it afterward, except in case of danger to the mother's life or when fetal euthanasia would be justified, always supposing it can be safely delivered.

But that position does not satisfy most of the pro-lifers though it utterly enrages the pro-baby-killers, so my second choice is a complete ban, except when either euthanasia of the fetus is apt or the mother's life is at significant risk.

No, absolutely no exceptions for rape or incest.

The rapist's child, or the abuser's child, did not commit the rape or the incest.

You don't get to kill it.

I strongly prefer this stand to the positions of the general run of baby-killers, among Democrats or not.

And I agree both the woman seeking an unlawful abortion and the provider should be prosecuted and punished, though the Alabama law errs in both directions, being too cowardly to punish abortion-seeking women at all and providing far too harsh punishment for providers.

But of course, here as pretty much always, what I would actually prefer is not even on the menu.

PS.

While we're in political fantasy land, my first choice regarding abortion would require fussing with but not rejecting Roe.

But if they overturn Roe my preference would be that the Supremes leave standing the rulings forbidding criminalization of homosexuality or use of contraception.

Not that my preferences matter.

PPS.

Yes, the law of fetal personhood, criminalizing the possibly risky behavior of pregnant women, and legally mandating suspicion of bad intent in case of miscarriage are all absurd.