Now that Roe v Wade has been overturned, multiple red states passed laws claiming “personhood” begins at conception. Okay, let’s look at how that law and others might affect state and federal laws.
One story I read yesterday was hilarious and, at the same time, appears to be a question for the courts. One of the facts of life is that utter bullshit creates even greater bullshit. Of course, it happened in Texas.
Brandy Bottone was driving down a highway in the Lone Star State and was pulled over by an officer. He was ready to write her a ticket for driving in the HOV lane, the lane designated for carpools. Ms. Bottone explained her theory about why she was driving legally, according to Texas law. She was pregnant. Because the Supreme Court repealed Roe, and Texas’ anti-abortion law declares that a fetus is a person, she had a passenger in her vehicle. This story went viral.
Let’s take this story farther down the yellow brick road.
If a restaurant is offering a promotion that gives two patrons meals for the price of one if a woman is pregnant, does she have the option of ordering two items on the menu but only paying for one?
Can a pregnant woman deduct her fetus as a “dependent” on her federal and state tax returns?
Do airlines have the right to charge pregnant women one full fare and one-half fare?
Must insurance companies cover a fetus from conception and be required to cover problems during pregnancy fully, and all deformities after birth?
If a woman is pregnant when convicted of a crime, can the fetus be placed behind bars without due process?
It is undeniable that these are ridiculous questions and even more ridiculous presumptions. However, each of them has sufficient validity to be challenged in a court of law. These and others might even reach the Supreme Court. The Six Bad Actors may have to decide on issues they created by overturning a valid decision made nearly 50 years ago.
America’s judicial system is nothing but a huge mess. It is actually two systems, one for the rich and powerful and one for the poor and minorities. Thanks to the worst Court in history, it became worse on one of the darkest days in our nation’s history, June 24, 2022.
Once praised for being known as a “nation of laws,” America is now the laughingstock of the world. Our three branches of government continue to make up their own laws to allow the success of their personal ambitions. It is a crime that the decision of six Supreme Court justices is allowed to control the fate of 331 million people when they are unqualified for the jobs they have for the remainder of their lives.
The Constitution has virtually been shredded. Our government protects the parts it chooses while ignoring others, including the First, Fourth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Although the Second Amendment should be repealed as written, it will do anything to protect the profits of gun manufacturers and gun sellers.
Op-ed by James Turnage, Novelist
Sources:
Daily KOS: After ticket violation, Texas mother argues her unborn baby should count as passenger in HOV lane; by Aysha Qamar
The Conversation: When does the fetus acquire a moral status of a human being? The philosophy of ‘gradualism’ can provide answers; by Amanda Roth
Featured and Top Image by Kelly Sikkema Courtesy of Unsplash – Creative Commons License
Inset Image by Nathana Rebouças Courtesy of Unsplash – Creative Commons License
