Category Archives: Alabama

Alabama, healthcare, law, obits, politicians, politics

Why in the HELL are women staying in Alabama?

The featured photo is a public domain image of the Alabama state flag.

Don’t answer that. I know moving isn’t so easy for most people. It costs money to move. It requires the ability to travel, and the time off work to be able to make the move. It just galls me about the latest news about the abortion ban in Alabama, where Attorney General Steve Marshall has said that “he has the right to prosecute people” who aid and abet women who travel out of state for the purpose of getting abortion care.

Make no mistake about it. Abortion bans will hurt poor people the most, as they don’t have the money to go where abortion is legal. So when abortion is made illegal in almost all cases, that means these poor women are forced to stay pregnant, even if they don’t have the ability to provide for a baby. People with money will be able to travel without help from someone else, so they can go somewhere else for private, compassionate, respectful medical care. But poor women are TRAPPED.

I know a lot of people would say something along the lines of the women should have thought about the abortion bans before they had unprotected sex (what a romantic thought). However, it’s not really that simple… as a lot of women have sex because they’ve been pressured, cajoled, or even coerced by a male partner, many of whom won’t wear a condom. Many of the same women can’t afford birth control for themselves.

Or the women are victims of rape or incest, or they have medical problems or economic issues that make abortion the best decision for them. WHY IN THE HELL IS IT ANYONE ELSE’S BUSINESS if they travel to get an abortion, or who pays for the travel? Aren’t Republicans the ones who scream the most about medical freedom?

Alabama is not a good place to be a young, poor woman…

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s incredibly creepy and gross that so many conservative white men are so interested in whether or not a woman is pregnant. Especially given how these same disgusting MEN don’t want to do fuck all to hold the MEN who get them pregnant accountable! And they don’t want to pay for any programs that will make pregnancy healthier and more affordable, and parenthood easier for these women.

Listen… I don’t cheer for abortion. I was the poster child for NOT having premarital sex. I actually waited for marriage before my first time. But the vast majority of people don’t do that, and WON’T consider doing it. We don’t have enough resources for the people who have already been born! And we have far too many people in jail, already… although not enough of them are MAGA Rethuglicans.

I have been trying not to write too much about the insane situation going on with US politics over the past ten years or so… I find it very scary and kind of unreal. But these people in power have clearly forgotten that the United States is supposed to be the “land of the free”. These disgusting invasions of privacy into the personal healthcare decisions of pregnant women are not what America is supposed to be about.

I don’t have to worry about ever needing an abortion, but I know there are so many young women who will find themselves in need… and not just because they were “careless”, but because they could die without one. We’ve just got to get the politicians out of our wombs. Otherwise, things are going to get much worse for anyone who isn’t wealthy enough to travel in secret. These assholes don’t care about the women or the babies who will be born into poverty and potentially abusive situations. They only care about money and power, and they are flexing their muscles against people who are least able to fight back. It’s absolutely SICKENING.

I’m glad to see that Mr. Marshall is rightfully being sued by the non-profit organizations that want to help women who need abortions and deserve privacy. I hope he gets his ass handed to him. I would encourage women to get the hell out of Alabama and move somewhere safer, where they aren’t regarded as second class citizens.

In other news…

I just learned that Jimmy Buffett, the great master of laid back beach music celebrating the Caribbean and Florida Keys, has passed away. I was not as big of a fan of his music as a lot of my friends were/are, but I do have an appreciation for his persona. And I have many great memories of listening to his music, especially when I was in college.

Rest in peace, Jimmy.

Alas, I will never have the chance to witness Parrothead mania at one of his concerts. But I still enjoy his live albums, and the festive mood they always bring… and I’m gratified to know that even though he spent a lot of time in Alabama, Mississippi, and of course, Florida, Mr. Buffett was not a Republican.

May he rest in eternal peace…

I also heard that Mohammed Al Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed– Princess Diana’s late boyfriend– has also passed away. He was 94 years old.

I hope he is now at peace… He died the day before the 26th anniversary of Diana’s and Dodi’s deaths in 1997.

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Alabama, healthcare

I hope you have the sex life of an agoraphobic eunuch…

Last night, while enjoying wine and a nice dinner, I happened to read a news article out of Alabama that made me flip my noodle a bit. It seems that last month, 19 year old Ryan Magers sued the Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives, an abortion clinic in Madison County. Mr. Magers was evidently perturbed that two years ago, his girlfriend aborted their six week old fetus, despite his repeated requests that she continue the pregnancy. His response was to bring legal action against the clinic where the abortion was done without his consent.

Magers petitioned Madison County’s probate court to allow him to represent the aborted fetus’s estate. Amazingly, Probate Judge Frank Barger granted the petition, which means that Magers can sue on behalf of the fetus. Of course, since the fetus did not leave behind a spouse, real property, or a will, I’m not sure exactly what Magers hopes to gain from this, other than some dimwitted judge’s stamp of approval that a developing fetus is a person with rights that equal those of a person who has been born. According to the second article I linked, it’s possible that Judge Barger didn’t even realize that he was granting these rights to a six week old fetus.

This isn’t the first time such a stunt has been pulled in Alabama. Back in 2014, Alabama legislators passed a law that would allow lawyers to represent fetuses in cases where minors wanted to have abortions. Fortunately, that law was struck down by a wiser federal judge in 2017.

My comment about this case was this:

Utter nonsense. I hope his girlfriend broke up with him and no one else ever fucks him. He deserves to be celibate.

A male friend of Bill’s (and mine) asked if I thought Magers shouldn’t have access to the courts simply because I disagreed with him. Actually, I never said anything of the sort. I didn’t make any comment about whether or not he has the “right” to sue. I just think this case is ridiculous and potentially dangerous, and I find it appalling that a judge would allow the rights of a potential person to supersede those of people who have already been born. Moreover, it really disturbs me that so many men think they should have the right to force a woman to stay pregnant. If things keep going the way they’re going, pregnant women are going to wind up under house arrest to make sure they do nothing that will put their developing fetuses at risk. It’s sickening. Indeed, in another article, Mr. Magers is quoted:

“I’m here for the men who actually want to have their baby,” Magers told WAAY 31. “I believe every child from conception is a baby and deserves to live.”

Perhaps Mr. Magers would be better suited to find someone compatible with whom he can have “his baby”. I’m sure there’s a woman out there who wouldn’t mind having a child with him, despite his disturbing ideas about forcing women to birth. I think that’s where his efforts should go, rather than having unprotected sex with women who aren’t ready to be parents.

Our country is becoming more and more bizarre by the day, with men who are hellbent on forcing women to birth babies they aren’t prepared to care for. I’ve seen all kinds of ridiculous claims about abortion, even some that compare abortion to slavery. Hell, if anyone is a slave in a pregnancy situation, it’s the mother-to-be. She must do everything she can for the developing fetus as well as put up with non-stop comments and judgments from the public at large.

Bill’s friend apparently deleted his comment before I could directly reply to it, but I was so fired up I had to say something. So I posted this:

For those of you who wonder about my thoughts on the “father’s” rights… first off, in this case, it was an early abortion. Secondly, whether it was an early or late abortion, it’s not his body, health, finances, or life on the line. She was quick to have the abortion, which I think was ultimately more responsible than waiting. Of course, the most responsible thing to do would have been not to have sex with him at all, which I think is what HE deserves, since he took no precautions and clearly thinks he has the right to dictate what his girlfriends do with their bodies. To all who are curious about “his rights”, I say that when he can get pregnant, I will care. At this point, I really don’t. And I hope his case goes down the proverbial shitter and he has the sex life of an agoraphobic eunuch for the rest of his days. Clear enough?

I don’t know how I was inspired to wish the sex life of an agoraphobic eunuch on Mr. Magers. As I have mentioned before, I’m not very religious. In fact, I had never even heard of eunuchs until I was in college. A college friend of mine commented that a slightly built man we both knew, who had a habit of wearing tight pants that should have outlined his junk, appeared to be a eunuch. I remember being confused by that until I looked up “eunuch” in the dictionary. Indeed, an agoraphobic eunuch would not be getting any play at all.

This morning, I’m still sitting here laughing about it… an “agoraphobic eunuch”. If I ever do start my fiction blog, I will have to make a character out of that. I’m glad it’s almost time for the third season of The Handmaid’s Tale.

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