Indigo 'n dye Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 http://www.salon.com/2014/03/22/a_terrifying_precedent_woman_to_be_tried_for_murder_for_giving_birth_to_stillborn/ Lynn Paltrow, the executive director of NAPW, said that decisions to arrest and charge women often have political and moral overtones and are mostly based on unproved or discredited notions about the effects of prenatal drug exposure. The U.S. Supreme Court has established stringent rules limiting the use of unproved science in legal proceedings, but these often fall by the wayside in fetal harm cases, Paltrow said. She said that women are typically convicted based on evidence that would be demolished by lawyers with the time and resources to effectively refute it in court – lawyers, say, for pharmaceutical companies whose drugs are challenged in court as being unsafe Copyright © 2014 Salon Media Group, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 That poor girl. Isn't it bad enough that she lost her baby? This is nuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterRosie Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 *...sigh...* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo 'n dye Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 I know, I know. I did a great deal of soul-searching before posting this. After many hours I decided the information was important and necessary and that the pain we each experience in reading the damning article must give us the heart to continue carrying on for equality and justice. I do apologize if this unintentional pasquinade is difficult for anyone, yet feel at my core, that it should be difficult for each of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I posted this story on FB. The war on women is getting more intense and powerful. It's going to end up like The Handmaid's Tale (shit, think I referenced this in old post, so sorry for the repeat.) It makes me sick and everyday I think about moving out of this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Oh, Indigo, if it doesn't disquiet everyone there is something morally bankrupt. How does a full-throttle assault on women positively affect men in the long run? It doesn't. No human rights abuse does. I am glad you posted this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatsizbucket Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 How sad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterRosie Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 It's not that... I grew up suckled on feminism. My grandmother did women's lib and risked arrest for it. She helped to open the first abortion clinic in this country (and in a Catholic province, too!). It sucks that women like her fought so hard... and we're backsliding so far. It is upsetting and frustrating. And yes, mal. Handmaid's Tale has been my favourite book for over a decade now. I'm terrified that that's what will become of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Rosie, I feel we are just seen as walking sex objects and baby incubators by a lot of men and women these days. It's dehumanizing and it has a real effect on my psyche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 *big sigh* That's awful for the woman.. and I agree with a lot of posts here.. we're going backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Indigo I am glad you posted. It's terrible news but I like to be informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo 'n dye Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Rosie, I feel we are just seen as walking sex objects and baby incubators by a lot of men and women these days. It's dehumanizing and it has a real effect on my psyche. Yes...and it the women who view other women in this manner that make want to once again become a card-carrying, picket walking, in your face activist. In the absolute naivety of my 20, 30, and even 50s I truly thought that women would be socially, sexually, politically, and religiously equal by now. Yes, it does appear that we are going in reverse, and at a quite high rate of speed. I am aiming to rise above sad and get into full-angry-bitch mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterRosie Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I'm of the "honey" method when it comes to attracting flies. But it can take a lot out of you - to be so sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I'll join you in angry full-bitch mode. I'm sick of feeling trapped by sexism and I am turning into a pretty bossy bitch at this point, and I love it! I am slowly developing a complete lack of regard for what other people think of me. It's beyond freeing. I must find out about some feminist activities in town. That might just be what I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo 'n dye Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 While I am certain to be proved wrong, I believe that half the failure of the women's movement has been giving way from solid bitch to the honey mode. Right now I am not looking to attract flies of any variety, I am just looking for others who share my outrage and that can give voice to my voice. There is little that I can do, in concrete terms, for this young woman, yet if I keep battering the walls of government, I may bring a tad of attention to the next woman who suffers from such horrendous vitriol. Or, I suppose that I could melt down in worry that my outrageous could heap more coals on the heads of women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterRosie Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Oh don't worry. I have outrage in spades. My anger keeps me strong. I just can't find any useful ways to direct it right now. So it sits in check waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintalto Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I live abroad and this is yet more news coming from the USA that makes me feel so ashamed to be an American citizen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Beyond disgusting. And terrifying. Not to mention the travesty against reproductive rights currently unfolding in, lo and behold, Texas. I really hate my country some days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I am Indigo's age contemporary, and joined the National Organization of Women in 1970. It tears me up that we are going backwards like this. Will young women no longer be able to buy birth control? Will we go back to the coat-hanger days? Where will this all end? This is so disheartening. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koa Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 (edited) My mother smoked and drank while she was pregnant with me. Should she be tried in court for possibly contributing to my current mental illness? We are learning more and more about epigenetics and the way anything positive or negative in our lives, even before pregnancy, can contribute to the outcome of our offspring. So we might as well press charges for any and all poor life decisions that are made. I am also disturbed by the racial aspect of this court case. Neo-cons can suck my ass. Edited March 29, 2014 by koakua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo 'n dye Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 I have 24 letters ready to be mailed this morning: some to the Mississippi governor's mansion, so the state's legislative bodies, some to its courts. I just cannot get rid of the feeling of dread this carries with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 There was a bill passed by the West Virginia legislature to ban all abortions after 20 weeks, no matter what the circumstances or medical necessity. The governor vetoed it, which is a good thing. He actually consulted medical experts---what a concept. I know it's off-topic, but it is a hopeful bit of news. Arizona passed a similar law last year, but it was struck down by the courts. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo 'n dye Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 Good news is NEVER off-topic. I finished letter writing yesterday. I will watch this case unfold, while neither getting obsessed nor too very outraged, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts