Mississippi abortion law has no exception for incest

The Monday Musings

Nobody asked me but...

***Here's hoping that all of the Hobbservation Point readers who are mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and mother figures had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

***The older I get, the more social media posts that I see each year from people whose mothers have passed away; such posts are even harder when they feature women who were the mothers of kin and friends, or teachers/mentors who played a role in my development.

Thus, my prayers remain for everyone who spent part or all of this past weekend mourning the mothers in their lives who have passed on, and on a personal note, I dedicate today's blog in loving memory of my two dearly departed grandmothers, Helen L. Williams and Arilla J. Hobbs.  

Requeiscat in Pace!

***Maybe it's just me, but I found the timing of the leaked draft indicating that the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe vs. Wade curious; Supreme Court final decisions usually are announced in June, which makes me wonder why last week—Mother's Day week—was chosen for the spill?

Seriously, I mean why not Memorial Day weekend, or even Father's Day weekend, for that matter? Methinks that on some sinister level, the leaker was making an opprobrious statement about forced motherhood that I find rather off-putting. 

***The latest CBS News/YouGov poll has found that, "58 percent of U.S. adults favored making abortion legal, while 42 percent opposed it. When divided along party lines, 76 percent of Democrats oppose making abortion illegal compared to 52 percent of Republicans."

So, if the majority of Americans in both parties oppose ending Roe, how then, can such be weeks away from occurring?

The simple answer is presidential politics, meaning, once Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton for the presidency in 2016, it was crystal clear that he would get two and a possible three Supreme Court picks. If the vote as leaked stands, Trump nominees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett will join Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in overturning Roe. 

Looking back, many abortion rights supporters now regret that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg didn't retire earlier in President Barack Obama's second term. Why? Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the last Trump appointee, replaced RBG on the Court and serves as the tie breaking vote for conservatives!

Simply stated—no Justice Coney Barrett, no Roe being overturned in 2022...

***Remember your old civics lessons about the First Amendment to the United States Constitution's "separation of church and state" language in the Establishment Clause? Well, I cannot help but wonder how much religion played in the decision of each of the five Justices that are voting to overturn Roe?

Consider the religion of the anti-Roe five:

Justice Samuel Alito—Catholic

Justice Clarence Thomas—Catholic

Justice Neil Gorsuch—raised Catholic

Justice Brett Kavanaugh—Catholic

Justice Amy Coney Barrett—Catholic

Trend? Maybe, but maybe not, as dissenting Justices John Roberts and Sonia Sotomayor adhere to the Catholic branch of the Christian faith as well.

To be clear, this thread is by no means meant to disparage Catholicism because even among the Supreme Court justices, there is no monolithic thinking on the Church's role in a political/legal matter.

But still, with a nod to my Morehouse Brother and fellow blogger, Ayinde Waring, "Ol' Hobbs wonders as he wanders...” about the “why” that went into the majority's individual holdings on a matter, Roe, that most called “well settled law” during their Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

***I really like the fight that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is showing by forcing a vote this week on an abortion bill that would codify the right to an abortion under Federal law.

Verily, the vote WILL fail, as there is no way that 10-12 Republicans, not to mention the two fence-straddling Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Kristen Synema (AZ), will provide the 60 vote super-majority needed to escape a filibuster on this matter.

Nevertheless, forcing Republicans, especially moderates, to place their votes about abortion rights on front street is a good move to create accountability in the mid-term and 2024 elections!

Nota Bene: The historian in me reminds that since the Roe decision was issued in 1973, that in 1993 during Bill Clinton's first term, and in 2009 during Barack Obama's first term, that there were enough Democratic and Democrat leaning Independent Senators to get to that 60 vote threshold to codify abortion—but to the chagrin of abortion rights supporters, it simply did not get done. 

***In the months ahead, stay tuned for other pet right-wing causes to start stirring in the conservative cauldron en route to the Supreme Court, including possible attacks on contraception rights out of Mississippi—and attacks on publicly funded education out of Texas.

Again, the Roe reversal is only the beginning as the minority of conservatives have the judicial numbers to create an America more to their liking and control, as opposed to one in which racial, cultural, gender, and economic diversity are respected. 

***I really hated to laugh, but I burst out in gallows humor guffaws this morning when I read that Mississippi's abortion law, one that will go into effect once Roe is finally overturned next month, would allow exceptions for women/girls who have been raped or if the procedure will protect the life of the mother, but will…wait for it…offer NO exception for children conceived of incest!!!

The incestuous Lannister twins from HBO's hit series, Game of Thrones

Why am I not surprised that deep in Dixieland, where some folks were siblings and first cousins long before Game of Thrones introduced us to the Targaeryans and the Lannisters, that some right-wing politicos are taking a "hear no evil, see no evil" stance on fetuses conceived of incest?

Again, it would be all too funny—if not so very deplorable and typical!

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