Bill to "Protect Reproductive Rights" is a Worthless Piece of Shit

A law to prevent further erosion of women's constitutional right to abortions that does nothing to correct the dozens of state laws that already make getting an abortion impossible for non-rich women is worse than worthless.

Steve Benen at Maddowblog:

Last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) unveiled new federal legislation to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, regardless of the medical dangers and constitutional concerns. The Republican South Carolinian said he thinks it’s important to put social issues on Congress’ legislative agenda in advance of the 2014 midterms.

 

Be careful what you wish for, senator. Laura Bassett reports today:

Following an unprecedented three-year wave of state legislative attacks on abortion and family planning services, a group of Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate plan to go on the offensive Wednesday with a historic bill that would make it illegal for states to chip away at women’s reproductive rights.

 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2013, joined by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Reps. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Lois Frankel (D-Fla.). The bill would prohibit states from passing so-called Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws, which impose strict and cost-prohibitive building standards on abortion clinics, require women seeking abortions to have ultrasounds, and create other barriers to abortion access.

SNIP

 

If signed into law – and with the current House, it’s best to keep expectations low – the Democratic measure wouldn’t automatically invalidate the state restrictions, though as Roll Call reported, the Women’s Health Protection Act “would set markers for federal courts.”

I appreciate the point Wonkette is trying to make, but it's wrong.

It won’t actually get School House Rocked into law, of course, because even if the Senate manages to pass it, there is no way the Republican-controlled House is going to let it go through. Sigh. But it’s still nice to see Team Blue fight back a little and maybe, just maybe, try to change the conversation about women’s health to how we can maybe improve women’s health instead of make it illegal because it makes the Republican menfolk and their chick accomplices so darned mad.

No. You don't respond to someone stealing everything inside your house by threatening to call the police if they try to take the porch furniture, too.

Free, no-questions-asked, no-restriction, available-everywhere Abortion on Demand. Anything less is a violation of human rights.