Abortion in South Carolina and Texas — Travel plans — Evening statistics
South Carolina failed to pass a bill that would ban abortions, regardless of whether the mother was a victim of rape or incest, for all fetuses of six weeks and older. Interestingly, the most determined opposition came from the party whose members sponsored the bill in the first place. Republican Tom Davis brought the voting on the bill to a halt by filibustering. The Republican-led Senate did not have a sufficient number of votes to overcome the filibuster and proceed to voting to ratify the bill, so at this point the current ban on abortions for fetuses twenty weeks after conception remains in effect, providing a much greater amount of time for women to find out whether they are in fact pregnant (many do not receive confirmation until well after six weeks past conception) and have time to make their decisions accordingly.
There are only three women among the Republican Senators, and all of them strenuously opposed the bill. “Yes, I’m pro-life,” said Senator Katrina Shealy. “I’m also pro-life with the mother, the life she has with her children who are already born. I care about the children who are forced into adulthood that was made up by a legislature full of men so they can make take a victory lap and feel good about it. You want children raising children who will most likely suffer domestic violence and live in poverty. But you don’t care because you’ve done your job and you will forget about them once they are born.” It is too early to tell how much ramifications this particular debate may have eventually, but it is possible that it is beginning to dawn upon the Republican Party that misogyny is a very dubious basis for long-term political strategy.
The sort of results that such a strategy can produce was exemplified by the episode of Cade and Kailee DeSpain, of Texas, both of them staunch pro-lifers. Kailee underwent several miscarriages after their marriage but in November, 2021, she was overjoyed to learn that she was pregnant. This elation, however, was short-lived, after she learned that the infant in her womb had heart, lung, brain, kidney and genetic defects to such a degree that he would either be stillborn or struggle for breath for just a few minutes after emerging and then expiring. Moreover, carrying the infant to term would put Kailee at risk for severe pregnancy complications, including blood clots, preeclampsia, and cancer. But the law of Texas as it currently stands forbade her to obtain an abortion for an infant who could not possibly survive and whose birth would put her own life at risk. She and her husband had to travel to New Mexico to have the abortion performed. The procedure and travel costs amounted to $3500. Texas law strictly limits abortion coverage and would not pay the clinic that performed the operation; so it all came out of their own pockets.
Doctors in Texas are understandably reluctant to perform abortions even when the mother appears to be in imminent risk of dying; if the doctor is mistaken in his diagnosis on this point, he faces heavy fines, loss of his medical license, and a possible life sentence in prison. In addition, citizens can file lawsuits against physicians whom they believe to have performed an illegal abortion, and if they win, they can receive $10,000. If the citizen is wrong and the doctor wins the lawsuit, the doctor still has to pay his own legal fees, as Texas law specifically forbids doctors from recouping fees from plaintiffs. With such a reward for initiating legal harassment, Texans are far too wise not to harry their physicians to the greatest extent possible.
From such matters I must turn my attention to personal matters and to travel plans in particular. It is time to pack up for another trip to the mountains; Colorado beckons. How will I fare in those high altitudes? I did reasonably well in New Mexico last month, but I was above 10,000 feet for only one day.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 612,928,197; # of deaths worldwide: 6,513,963; # of cases U.S.: 97,021,377; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,075,312.