(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Will the Next Civil War Be Over Abortion? [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2023-03-30
Watching Chris Hayes last night (he was in a strange mood, too), I was struck by a comparison he may or may have been consciously making: The United States may be approaching a second civil war over abortion for the same reason the original Civil War was over slavery.
Between 1793 and 1850, Congress passed a number of Fugitive Slave Acts, by which the northern states, which were opposed to slavery, were nonetheless forced to return escaped slaves to their southern masters. When the Supreme Court upheld the 1850 act in the Dred Scott case, which further held that Blacks had no rights that the white man was bound to respect, civil war was inevitable.
We are moving in that direction today with the growing movement by a committed minority to restrict and prevent abortions being confronted by an increasingly aroused majority determined to preserve women’s rights. If, as many expect, the anti-abortion federal judge in Amarillo TX issues a nationwide ban on abortion pills, that will force pro-choice states to enforce an anti-abortion ruling. The decision could thus become this century’s Dred Scott.
History never precisely repeats itself (though it is said to rhyme). Among the many differences between 1854 and today are the geographic diffusion of the opposing parties, the prevalence of military weaponry among civilians, and the religious fervor that drives much of that anti-abortion crowd. While slavery was not the only trigger for the Civil War of 1861-65, it was absolutely the most important one. In the present day, abortion is an important issue, but it is conflated and intermingled with a host of other important issues, including theocratic ones.
Still, abortion is very likely to be the trigger issue. What happens if one day soon, the Supreme Court (which includes a woman justice straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale) decides that women have no rights that men are bound to respect?
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/30/2161077/-Will-the-Next-Civil-War-Be-Over-Abortion
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
