Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Are You Going To Stone Her?


It's called closing the trap. The far right anti-abortionists in the US are about to get their faces shoved in the pile of manure they've created. Daily Kos sends us to Digby and Atrios where they ponder a serious question. How do the anti-abortionists propose to punish a woman for having an illegal abortion?

Given the fact that states, such as South Dakota, are rushing headlong to create legislation that makes abortion illegal, there has to be a consequence for violating the law. Except that apparently, none of them have thought about it.

Chris Matthews on MSNBC, (of all people), took on Pennsylvania congressman Pat Toomey on the issue. Toomey, a rank anti-abortionist, is running for a Senate seat in PA. Matthews launched a merciless attack on him and caught him out on the question of punishment for offenders. Toomey's answer, in short: I don't know. (Readers will have to scroll WAY down... or go to the Atrios link for a clipped version.)

It's time we started to hear from the anti-abortion crowd on this. They've either thought it through or they don't have an argument. While they push to outlaw abortion they have no remedy for breaking such a law. Most will tell you they want the doctor involved to be punished. But, if abortion is made illegal, the only victim, according to the anti-abortionists, is the fetus. The pregnant woman is as culpable as the doctor in the intentional disregard for whatever law becomes codified.

What are you going to do to her?

The anti-abortionists are standing under the south end of a recently fed north-bound horse.

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