You Cannot Be Serious: Unjustifiable Homicide

Have you heard about HB 1171 in South Dakota? The one that is trying to expand the current definition of justifiable homicide to include murdering abortion providers? Yeah. That one. Honestly, in recent months, there have been so many utterly fucked up proposed bills to further restrict abortion access, that I'm about to vomit. Seriously: I want to stick my fingers down my throat and puke all over these fucked-up assholes who somehow got a bunch of dumbshits to vote for them. After spewing all over South Dakota - in particular - I would like to stick said fingers in my ears (after cleaning them off, of course) and go "lalalalalalalalala," trying pretend none of this is going on.

Let's face it. We're all busy. We work on the frontlines. We work in clinics. We work with abortion funds. We escort. We volunteer. Who of us has much time to keep track of all this shit when we have direct service work to do? I hate all the crazy - absolutely crazy - things that policymakers are coming up with. At the same time, I have to try to get xyz client gobs of money by tomorrow or she's not having an abortion. You might be writing letters to detention centers to demand your client get escorted to her abortion appointment. Or one of you, like vegan vagina, might be tidying up your house right now so that you can host a client tomorrow for her abortion appointment. These assholes have no clue what it's like for the women we work with, nor do they give a fuck.

Okay, I know I'm preaching to the choir here, and though I have really done a pretty good job of sticking my fingers in my ears and lalalalala-ing recently, I cannot ignore this horrific bill in South Dakota. I can hardly bring myself to write about it. This is all that runs through my head (it's jumbled, I'm afraid; but at least I believe you will all understand the jumbledness):

- George Tiller.
- Oh.my.god.
- Tiller.
- There have already been seven murders.
- Are you fucking kidding me?
- Dr. soandso (my doctor)
- Dr. soandso (my clinic's other doctor)
- Michelle soandso (our nurse)
- soandso (our director)
- soandso and soandso and soandso (co-workers)
- Fucking South Dakota idiots
- Fucking sickos. Sickos. SICKOS!
- What about the women?
- What about the 17 attempted murders that have already taken place?
- Does this mean more crazies are going to start protesting outside work?
- Do I need to start watching that weirdo jerk protester even more closely?
- Do I need to get an alarm system at home? (Honestly, we probably all should have one.)

If you want to read more about this diabolical house bill, you can go here. You can also read more from Vicki Saporta, the President of NAF. Dakota Women, a great blog for women, write about it here. They call it "chilling and sadistic" and I couldn't put it better myself. You can also check out a blog called Moral Low Ground which gives a good account of the hideous bill. Please check those links out if you want more info, because AboutaGirl just can't handle writing anything more in depth about it tonight.

PS: Sorry for the over-use of the word "fuck" tonight. I'm just really fucked-off. Oh, fuck. I said fuck again. FUCK!



UPDATE: Although the bill passed in the SD House on Tuesday morning (asdsgrd&*#$WTF) and was set to proceed to a Senate vote yesterday afternoon, there was so much attention brought to these potential consequences that the sponsor of the bill (a) amended it Tuesday afternoon [to take out the parent/spouse/child] thing and (b) ended up withdrawing the bill entirely before yesterday's vote. He now claims (contrary to anti-abortion groups' stated support) that he didn't intend for the bill to be construed as applying to legal abortion providers -- though legal analysts say the wording was totally open to that interpretation -- and that he wants to consider new wording (that explicitly excludes situations where a woman is choosing an abortion) before bringing it back to the table, if at all. So, YAY (sort of). Or at least, PHEW.

I really think this highlights that it's important and worthwhile to raise our voices and sound the alarm EVEN IF we think it's hopeless because a legislature is packed with anti-abortion representatives (as South Dakota's is). Sometimes enough public concern can still shame them into backing off with the bullshit. PLEASE don't stop paying attention and speaking up about these things!