U.S. Rules The World???

Posted on by under Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants, religion, Social commentary

As I noted in a post earlier this week, there is a movement among republicans and groups who misnomer themselves as “pro-life” to overturn Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision from 1973 that gave women the right to make their own medical decisions when it comes to abortion.  A growing number of states have passed or are attempting to pass highly restrictive laws that contradict Roe v Wade and would take away women’s rights.  I had not planned to revisit this issue this soon, but something came to my attention that stirred my anger yet again …

Trump is trying to impose his and the evangelical’s heinous views on other nations as well, cutting off all funding to any overseas organization or clinic that will not agree to a complete ban on even discussing abortion.  The ban, dubbed the “global gag”, was actually instituted by Ronald Reagan, but has been revoked by every democratic president, and re-instated by every republican president since then.  And along came Donald Trump.  Donnie, so eager to please the only people who support him, the radical right-wing evangelicals, has decided that he (or rather people like Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham) knows what is best for the 7.7 billion people living on planet Earth.

In March, the US extended the gag, stating that any organization counselling women on abortion and using funds from elsewhere – even from its own government or a donor in another country – will no longer be eligible for any US funding.  Take, for example, an international health care agency that provides women’s health care, possibly including family planning and abortion counselling, but also treating kids with HIV in other countries … countries where there is no women’s health planning, for it is illegal.  Those organizations will no longer be eligible for any funds from the U.S., not even to take care of sick children in African nations.

My friend Jeannie, who lives in the Netherlands, told me the other day that “The Netherlands have one most liberal laws about abortion in Western Europe, but the number of actual abortions are amongst the lowest worldwide.”  Think about this, folks … facts, not fantasy.  A study published last year by the Guttmacher Institute found that countries with the most restrictive abortion laws also have the highest rates of abortion and that easier access to birth control drives down abortion rates.

A 2012 study found that when women got no-cost birth control, the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions fell by between 62 and 78 percent. But political appointees under Trump advocate for abstinence-only approaches, which have been shown not to affect unplanned pregnancy rates.  Not to mention that they are impractical.

This isn’t just about abortion, people … this is about making women second-class citizens around the globe.  This is about men’s dominance over women.  In many nations women already have few independent rights, but in the Western world, women have come a long way in the past century or two.  In the U.S., we are now allowed to vote as we choose, to own property, and there are laws to ensure we receive equal pay and treatment in the workplace, though the reality is often something different.  And for the past nearly 50 years, we have been able to make our own health decisions.  We cannot … we must not … allow this abomination to continue.

The United States is a secular nation whereby the government does not favour any one religion over another, and no religious organization or cult should be able to influence the law of the land to the detriment of all others.  The United States is one of 195 nations on this globe, and we do not have the right to set policy in other nations.  It is the height of arrogance to think that we do.  It is time for the evangelicals to understand that they may have a place in this country, but that their beliefs are not shared by us all, and that the rest of us have rights also.  It is time for government to base decisions on facts, not the religious fantasies of one group.

If abortion rights are taken from us, the abortion rates won’t drop, but more women will die as they seek back-alley or do-it-yourself abortions.  That is an undisputable fact.  Let this nation legislate based on facts, and let other nations decide their own policy … nobody died and left the right-wing white evangelicals leaders of the world.  They will take us back to the Dark Ages if we let them.

28 thoughts on “U.S. Rules The World???”

  2. American White Evangelicals, a gift to the UK followers of the Holy Book of Dawkins. Amazing the number of them who accused folks like me of being just like the ‘Let’s selectively read the Bible literally’ brigade over your side of ‘The Pond’.
    If I was ever in the US it would be a powerful urge to quietly walk into one of those churches and whisper to folks in the back row: ‘It’s ok I’m a catholic and I forgive you,’…. probably get to five before the tar and feathers come out.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Yep, you’d probably be run out of town on a rail, but still … I love the idea. Did I ever tell you about when I first married Donnie and we moved to the small, rural town in the mountains of Virginia/Tennessee? One day I went into town to do some shopping, and there was a man on the street handing out flyers for some Baptist religious ceremony to be held that weekend. (I later found out he was one of Donnie’s uncles whom I hadn’t yet met). I declined his flyer, saying, “No thank you, I’m Jewish”, to which he replied, “That’s okay, honey, we can forgive you even for that.” I was incensed!!! Wanted to slap the smile right off of his face!

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  3. It’s all spinning out of control. I blame religion, but is it really some defect in the mind or brain that allows for this eventual end to everything. Some primitive fear factor that causes man to create religion and all the negativity that comes from it…all the destruction….all the cruelty. I read somewhere that perhaps our brains have evolved too much, too fast and it has produced insanity…just saying.

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    • I’ve thought about it a lot, and it seems that the majority of people need to believe there is some power controlling things, that “somebody” is in charge. They need to believe that, plus they need to believe there is something more than the lives we live here on earth. Hence, somewhere way back when, people created religion to give them a sense of comfort. As for the brain-evolving theory … I can’t really say that it makes much sense to me but then I am not a scientist. I just think the human race has far too much arrogance for its own good. Sigh.

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  4. “The line between confidence and arrogance is very fine, and the line between arrogance and stupidity is even finer.” – Michael Scott, Irish Author. Methinks, the line has been crossed. Thank-you!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Jill, this goes well beyond abortions and effects women and girl’s health, HIV and STD transmission for both genders and family planning and poverty rates. Birth control tools like prophylactics are reduced in number. This more than anything increases the number of abortions, STDs and HIV.

    To me, narrow thinking, no matter how righteous, hurts far more than its intended mission. Birth control, sex education and family planning are key tools to help lessen the number of abortions and unwanted pregnancies. Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    • Agreed. It will have wide-reaching ramifications for global health, and of equal concern is that … if he were to get by with this, what next? He seems to think that he can set policy not only in the U.S., but elsewhere. The prospect of him doling out ‘punishments’ to other countries for not following his policies, for not “obeying” him, is chilling.

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  6. If the dumpy one thinks he is still respected anywhere in the world, beside the USA, this proclamation or whatever it is called will destroy that thought. Cutting off promised funding will be like a knife in the back to half the world, and to a large section of the other half. We thought he was aiming for king of America, but his real goal is emperor of the world. But that aint about to happen! It cannot be allowed to happen…

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  7. Hey Jill, on a side note. I have been always amused by the ‘abstinence only’ folks. Obviously, they did not grow up with the same hormones and temptations which I encountered. My senior class of 112 kids graduated minus 20 girls who became pregnant and a handful of fathers who had to quit school and get jobs. Yeah, abstinence only works really well. That’s as ridiculous as advising girls to always keep their legs crossed. REALLY? 🤣

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      • Well, obviously those religious folks don’t copulate until they are married and then only in the missionary position. (anybody else ever wonder why it’s called missionary position?) I have a theory but it’s not printable.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Heh heh heh … I knew somebody who was a uber-religious sort many years ago, and she was criticizing another whose daughter had become pregnant in high school. ‘Bout a year later, it happened to her own daughter. As they say, “what goes around, comes around.” I can only imagine at your theory! 🤣

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  8. the “good” news is that any funding already approved can NOT be denied due to new rules the asshat wants. This would be for future funding only. It is still awful, but most non-profits have grants for multiple years so he probably will not be in office when they have to reapply and this “rule” will go the way of the dinosaurs. My public grants were in five to ten year increments…so keep your fingers crossed everyone else is doing the same thing.

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  9. Now he’s getting dangerous. He is taken America to a grim male centred place. Not sure If the Democrats have a coherent strategy to keep him in check and defeat him. In the UK May is on her last legs, hoping to force through the disaster which is her brexit solution. So she can claim to be the PM to take us out regardless of the consequences and in the wings Boris Johnson has thrown his hat into the ring. Imagine the Donald and Boris shitstorm.

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    • Sadly, you are right that the democrats do not have a coherent, cohesive plan. I think the Democratic Party is still trying to get their heads back on after Hillary’s loss in 2016. I suspect May is going … going … and will soon be gone, but please … NOT BORIS!!! Donnie & Boris … NO … just NO!!! Surely you guys can look across the pond and see what a mess we’ve made of things? Sigh.

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