After SCOTUS Ruling, Conservatives Stop Pretending Anti-Abortion Law Was About Women’s Health

After SCOTUS Ruling, Conservatives Stop Pretending Anti-Abortion Law Was About Women’s Health

Monday provided perhaps the biggest, most important victory for the pro-choice movement since the Roe V. Wade ruling, as the Supreme Court struck down HB2, Texas’s anti-abortion law. The law allowed the state to force abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers, meaning that essentially only hospitals or large medical clinics could provide abortions. Also, it required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital close to the clinic. (Newsflash: Texas hospitals weren’t giving admitting privileges to abortion doctors and won’t provide abortions.)

In essence, this was a de facto ban on abortions in the state. With states realizing that they had essentially reached the limits in the court system when it came to placing restrictions on women themselves when it came to obtaining an abortion, they decided to focus on doctors, providers and clinics. HB2 was seen as a huge win for the anti-abortion side, and one in which other red states would start copying. It was also the reason Wendy Davis became a household name in 2013, when she stood for hours filibustering it in the Texas Senate.

In response to pro-choicers, conservative politicians and pundits claimed that this law wasn’t so much about restricting abortion, but about protecting the health of women. That’s why they were demanding onerous regulations — y’know, the kind right-wingers usually despise — their hearts were just SO BIG when it came to caring about the ladies.

Well, funny thing happened on Monday. Immediately after the SCOTUS ruling was made public, those same Republicans and conservatives that were promising this was all about women’s health, suddenly changed their tune and talked about baby killing and BIG ABORTION.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who was the state’s AG when the law was passed and beat Davis to succeed Smart Glasses ™ Rick Perry, released a statement lamenting the loss of innocent life in the wake of the decision:

“The decision erodes States’ lawmaking authority to safeguard the health and safety of women and subjects more innocent life to being lost. Texas’ goal is to protect innocent life, while ensuring the highest health and safety standards for women.”

HuffPost’s Marina Fang highlighted how this was in direct opposition to how Abbott described the law previously.

 

In admitting that the law, HB 2, was meant to limit abortions, Abbott deviated from the state’s initial justification for the law, as presented during the case’s oral arguments. Attorneys for the state noted that the law was implemented in order to “protect women’s health” and improve safety at abortion clinics. When pressed by the justices, they insisted that “abortion is legal and accessible” in Texas.

 

However, the best came from the right-wing noise machine. All of those same people who poo-pooed liberals and progressives for rightly calling out HB2 for what it was back then, claiming it was about protecting women first and foremost, were screeching and crying about how there’d be more DEAD BABIES now.

 

 

And there are dozens more likes these if you scour the Twitter and Facebook accounts of the Conservative Entertainment Complex. In the end, this had NOTHING to do with improving women’s healthcare or whatever other bullshit the right was tossing out there. No. It was purely about finding a new way to outlaw abortion. Pur and simple. And SCOTUS rejected this end-around.

So, I guess it is back to the drawing board for the GOP, which means the War on Women ain’t over by a long shot.

 

Image via The Independent

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the founder/publisher of Contemptor and a contributor to The Daily Beast. He was previously the Cable News Correspondent for Mediaite and prior to starting Contemptor, he worked on the editorial staff of PoliticusUSA. During that time, he had his work quoted by USA Today and BBC News, among others. Justin began his published career as a political writer for 411Mania. He resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife and pets.

One thought on “After SCOTUS Ruling, Conservatives Stop Pretending Anti-Abortion Law Was About Women’s Health

  1. The so-called “Pro-Life” movement lost all credibility when it refused to get on the bandwagon for contraception. These desperate weasels have no life and they try to overcompensate by controlling other peoples’ lives–particularly women’s’ sexuality.

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