The conservative crusade against reproductive freedom is extremely serious. Two controversies in the past week have highlighted some of the violence of the MAGA movement’s attack on the idea of people choosing when and whether to have children.
In Tennessee, two Republican state lawmakers are gauging interest in legislation that would make people who undergo or assist in abortions eligible for homicide charges and potentially the death penalty.
The bill’s co-sponsor in the state Senate said he doesn’t believe the bill has yet received a vote but may eventually do so. According to Nashville television station WSMV:
“We want to be very open to having a conversation, controversial or not – let’s hear from all sides and see where we are and where we stand in Tennessee,” [state Sen. Mark] Purdy said. “After speaking with some colleagues, we currently do not have the votes to advance a similar bill in the Senate.”
Purdy said he did not believe the bill was dead once it reached the Senate, adding that he believed there was still the possibility of negotiations and that House and Senate Republicans could agree on language that could pass both chambers.
Most Americans seem to think we shouldn’t Stop state-sponsored executions of abortion recipients. Purdy clearly disagrees.
His co-sponsor in the House, state Rep. Jody Barrett, didn’t sound any wiser when speaking with CBS Nashville affiliate WTVF reporter Chris Davis about the bill.
“Murder should be murder, whether of a living person or a person in the womb,” Barrett said.
I asked Barrett directly about criticism that the bill unfairly targets mothers.
“I think it’s a conversation that says you’re targeting mothers. We’re not targeting mothers. We’re targeting unborn children and trying to protect them and provide them with legal protections for you and me,” Barrett said.
Later he acquiesced:
“A simple examination of the death penalty in Tennessee shows that it is unrealistic. Now, do I have to admit that the death penalty is possible? Absolutely. But since Tennessee reinstated the death penalty in 1977, fewer than 200 people have been sentenced to death, and only 16 have actually been executed — none of whom were women,” Barrett said.
It’s safe to say that the latter rhetoric may not be enough to assuage concerns about this sick proposal — which is similar to several others across the country in the past year.
In Vermont, another controversy is swirling around a right-wing influencer named Hank Poitras, who was elected chairman of the county Republican committee and gave a speech. extremely A graphic diatribe about violence against a woman’s uterus after she becomes pregnant.
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