February 23, 2006
I'm still ready to secede from the country with the rest of New York City at the first available moment
Yeesh -- I knew the South Dakota abortion law was bad, but I didn't realize how bad things in South Dakota were already.
Even without this latest ban, South Dakota was already one of the most difficult states in the country in which to get an abortion, those on both sides of the issue say. It is one of three states with only one abortion provider (Mississippi and North Dakota are the others), and its one clinic, the Planned Parenthood clinic in Sioux Falls, offers the procedure only once a week. Four doctors who fly in from Minnesota on a rotating basis perform the abortions, since no doctor in South Dakota will do so because of the heavy stigma attached.
This is all part of one of those cycles where a period of repression and scaling back of individual rights will eventually be followed by a period of social progress, right? Right?
Posted by Francis at 01:57 PMI am at the point where I'm just waiting for the old white guys to die. I'm hoping it will change something...
Posted by: marsha at February 23, 2006 02:52 PMProbably. Or else it's part of one of those cycles where a thousand years of progress is followed by a thousand years of social regression, fear of science, and religious persecution. It'll be interesting to see which.
Posted by: Rick at February 23, 2006 04:59 PMI hope you're right...
Posted by: Michelle at February 23, 2006 11:16 PMMy bags are packed.
Posted by: Samalee at February 24, 2006 12:17 PMI think Rick is right, although he forgot to mention the thousand years of war, irreversible damage to the planet, and decimation of art and culture that's also part of that cycle. *We* may not have to worry about all that, but our children's children's children will, once they finally climb out of the nuclear ooze.
Posted by: Victoria at February 24, 2006 10:22 PMI couldn't help being slightly amused by the quote in the Boston Globe:
"I think the stars are aligned," said House Speaker Matthew Michels, a Republican. "Simply put, now is the time."
Oh, now I see! We determine the illegality of abortion based on astrology!
Yes, yes, I know it's just a figure of speech, but it still struck me as a horribly apropos metaphor for a clock-back-setting action.
Posted by: Lance at February 26, 2006 08:02 PM