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Post by aj2hall on Feb 29, 2024 18:13:25 GMT
The shift that the Republican Party has taken towards theocracy and white Christian nationalism is really alarming. Maybe the only positive aspect of Project 2025 and the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling is that this seismic shift is getting some attention. www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/alabama-abortion-ivf.htmlI never thought I’d be grateful to the Alabama Supreme Court for anything, but now I am. With its decision deeming frozen embryos to be children under state law, that all-Republican court has done the impossible. It has awakened the American public, finally, to the peril of the theocratic future toward which the country has been hurtling.
But there’s no avoiding the theological basis of the Alabama court’s solicitude for “extrauterine children,” to use the majority opinion’s phrase. In a concurring opinion in which he referred to embryos as “little people,” Tom Parker, Alabama’s chief justice, rested his analysis on what’s become known as the Sanctity of Unborn Life Amendment that Alabama voters added to the state’s constitution in 2018. “It is as if the people of Alabama took what was spoken of the prophet Jeremiah and applied it to every unborn person in this state: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I sanctified you,’” the chief justice wrote.
The decision was a shock, causing immediate chaos and heartbreak as fertility centers in Alabama paused their in vitro fertilization practices, crushing dreams of long-deferred parenthood even for couples whose embryos were days away from being transferred.
More than 120 Republican members of the House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of the Life at Conception Act. Among them is their leader, Speaker Mike Johnson, an evangelical Christian who has called abortion “an American holocaust.” The bill provides that “The terms ‘human person’ and ‘human being’ include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.”
A startling example of religion infiltrating the engines of government is playing out in Idaho. The state’s attorney general, Raúl Labrador, has brought on the group Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent Christian legal organization, to help argue Idaho’s Supreme Court challenge to a Biden administration policy that requires hospitals to provide abortion if necessary when a woman arrives in the emergency room in a pregnancy-induced medical crisis. The federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, requires hospitals to provide either “necessary stabilizing treatment” for any emergency room patient or a transfer to another hospital, while Idaho’s abortion law permits terminating a pregnancy only in cases of rape and incest and to prevent “death.”
In making its argument, Idaho argues in its brief to the court that it has a record of “150 years of protecting life” and that the federal medical treatment law “does not require emergency rooms to become abortion enclaves in violation of state law.” The case is set for argument in April. |
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 29, 2024 18:17:36 GMT
An interesting perspective with historical context for the separation of church and state and theocracy
The Alabama Supreme Court on February 16, 2024, decided that cells awaiting implantation for in vitro fertilization are children and that the accidental destruction of such an embryo falls under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. In an opinion concurring with the ruling, Chief Justice Tom Parker declared that the people of Alabama have adopted the “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” and said that “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
Payton Armstrong of media watchdog Media Matters for America reported today that on the same day the Alabama decision came down, an interview Parker did on the program of a self-proclaimed “prophet” and Q-Anon conspiracy theorist appeared. In it, Parker claimed that “God created government” and called it “heartbreaking” that “we have let it go into the possession of others.”
Parker referred to the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” a theory that appeared in 1975, which claims that Christians must take over the “seven mountains” of U.S. life: religion, family, education, media, entertainment, business…and government. He told his interviewer that “we’ve abandoned those Seven Mountains and they’ve been occupied by the other side.” God “is calling and equipping people to step back into these mountains right now,” he said.
While Republicans are split on the decision about embryos after a number of hospitals have ended their popular IVF programs out of fear of prosecution, others, like Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley agreed that “embryos, to me, are babies.”
House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) identifies himself as a Christian, has argued that the United States is a Christian nation, and has called for “biblically sanctioned government.” At a retreat of Republican leaders this weekend, as the country is grappling with both the need to support Ukraine and the need to fund the government, he tried to rally the attendees with what some called a “sermon” arguing that the Republican Party needed to save the country from its lack of morality.
As Charles Blow of the New York Times put it: “If you don’t think this country is sliding toward theocracy, you’re not paying attention.”
In the United States, theocracy and authoritarianism go hand in hand.
The framers of the Constitution quite deliberately excluded religion from the U.S. Constitution. As a young man, James Madison, the key thinker behind the Constitution, had seen his home state of Virginia arrest itinerant preachers for undermining the established church in the state. He came to believe that men had a right to the free exercise of religion.
In 1785, in a “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments,” he explained that what was at stake was not just religion, but also representative government itself. The establishment of one religion over others attacked a fundamental human right—an unalienable right—of conscience. If lawmakers could destroy the right of freedom of conscience, they could destroy all other unalienable rights. Those in charge of government could throw representative government out the window and make themselves tyrants.
In order to make sure men had the right of conscience, the framers added the First Amendment to the Constitution. It read: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”
Madison was right to link religion and representative government. In the early years of the nation, Americans zealously guarded the wall between the two. They strictly limited the power of the federal government to reflect religion, refusing even to permit the government to stop delivery of the U.S. mails on Sunday out of concern that Jews and Christians did not share the same Sabbath, and the government could not choose one over the other. The Constitution, a congressional report noted, gave Congress no authority “to inquire and determine what part of time, or whether any has been set apart by the Almighty for religious exercises.”
But the Civil War marked a change. As early as the 1830s, southern white enslavers relied on religious justification for their hierarchical system that rested on white supremacy. God, they argued, had made Black Americans for enslavement and women for marriage, and society must recognize those facts.
A character in an 1836 novel written by a Virginia gentleman explained to a younger man that God had given everyone a place in society. Women and Black people were at the bottom, “subordinate” to white men by design. “All women live by marriage,” he said. “It is their only duty.” Trying to make them equal was a cruelty. “For my part,” the older man said, “I am well pleased with the established order of the universe. I see…subordination everywhere. And when I find the subordinate content…and recognizing his place…as that to which he properly belongs, I am content to leave him there.”
The Confederacy rejected the idea of popular government, maintaining instead that a few Americans should make the rules for the majority. As historian Gaines Foster explained in his 2002 book Moral Reconstruction, which explores the nineteenth-century relationship between government and morality, it was the Confederacy, not the U.S. government, that sought to align the state with God. A nation was more than the “aggregation of individuals,” one Presbyterian minister preached, it was “a sort of person before God,” and the government must purge that nation of sins.
Confederates not only invoked “the favor and guidance of Almighty God” in their Constitution, they established as their motto “Deo vindice,” or “God will vindicate.”
The United States, in contrast, was recentering democracy during the war, and it rejected the alignment of the federal government with a religious vision. When reformers in the United States tried to change the preamble of the U.S. Constitution to read, “We, the people of the United States, humbly acknowledging Almighty God as the sources of all authority and power in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Ruler among nations, and His revealed will as of supreme authority, in order to constitute a Christian government, and in order to form a more perfect union,” the House Committee on the Judiciary concluded that “the Constitution of the United States does not recognize a Supreme Being.”
That defense of democracy—the will of the majority—continued to hold religious extremists at bay.
Reformers continued to try to add a Christian amendment to the Constitution, Foster explains, and in March 1896 once again got so far as the House Committee on the Judiciary. One reformer stressed that turning the Constitution into a Christian document would provide a source of authority for the government that, he implied, it lacked when it simply relied on a voting majority. A religious amendment “asks the Bible to decide moral issues in political life; not all moral questions, but simply those that have become political questions.”
Opponents recognized this attempt as a revolutionary attack that would dissolve the separation of church and state, and hand power to a religious minority. One reformer said that Congress had no right to enact laws that were not in “harmony with the justice of God” and that the voice of the people should prevail only when it was “right.” Congressmen then asked who would decide what was right, and what would happen if the majority was wrong. Would the Supreme Court turn into an interpreter of the Bible?
The committee set the proposal aside.
Now, once again, we are watching a minority trying to impose its will on the majority, with leaders like House speaker Johnson noting that “I try to do every day what my constituents want. But sometimes what your constituents want does not line up with the principles God gave us for government. And you have to have conviction enough to stand [up] to your own people….”
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 29, 2024 18:21:43 GMT
www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/opinion/alabama-ivf-trump-biden.htmlAlabama’s I.V.F. Ruling Shows Our Slide Toward Theocracy Feb. 21, 2024 If you don’t think this country is sliding toward theocracy, you’re not paying attention.
The drumbeat of incidents moving us ever closer to the seemingly inescapable future is so steady and frequent that we’ve developed outrage fatigue — we’ve grown numb.
For instance, on Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children and that destruction of those embryos, even by accident, is subject to the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. In his concurring opinion, the chief justice, Tom Parker, wrote, “Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory.”
The ruling could mean less access to reproductive care in Alabama if specialists in the field of in vitro fertilization simply choose to practice in states that don’t threaten their efforts.
There have been cases before in which embryos were destroyed as a result of negligence, but the Alabama decision significantly ups the ante. It essentially turns cryopreservation tanks into frozen nurseries.
The idea is absurd and unscientific. It is instead tied to a religious crusade to downgrade the personhood of women by conferring personhood on frozen embryos.
I called Sean Tipton, the chief advocacy and policy officer at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, who told me: “One of the points in the abortion debate is, ‘Is it really about abortion or is it about controlling women and controlling sex?’ And this clearly exposes the idea that it’s not just about abortion.” He said, “There is no more pro-life medical treatment available, ever, than in vitro fertilization, and this decision clearly threatens the ability for that to continue.”
Control of women’s bodies is the endgame. And some religious conservatives won’t stop until that goal is achieved. For that reason, intervening victories — like the overturning of Roe v. Wade — will never be seen as enough; they will only intensify a blinding sense of righteousness.
There is an array of reproductive rights cases percolating around the country that could make their way to the Supreme Court — the same court that Donald Trump brags about transforming, having appointed a third of its justices. The legal and political battles over these issues are far from over, and the preservation of women’s remaining rights is far from certain.
The only thing that seems to be temporarily stopping congressional Republicans from pushing for a national abortion ban — after years of arguing that their goal was merely to allow individual states to make their own laws — is that the issue of reproductive choice is an electoral loser for their party.
But now Trump is reportedly talking privately about supporting a national 16-week abortion ban, with some exceptions.
This is what many of his supporters want, and many of them believe he has been singularly chosen by God to advance their theocratic aims. It’s one of the reasons that they overlook Trump’s glaring flaws and the fact that Trump himself is not a particularly religious man.
It’s worth noting that many of the right’s efforts, including on the issue of abortion, are led by men who want births but can’t give birth, reflecting an imbalance between power and expectation that may carry over to a younger generation. A fascinating new report from Pew Research found that although men and women 18 to 34 “are about equally likely to say they want to get married,” 57 percent of young men say they want children one day, compared to just 45 percent of young women.
Abortion is just one front on which this religious fight is being waged. As of last week, the A.C.L.U. was tracking 437 anti-L.G.B.T.Q. bills being considered by state legislatures.
Then there’s the alarming effort by conservative groups to transform and reshape the federal government in ways that curtail American freedoms, but also, according to Politico, to bring Christian nationalist ideas into a second Trump administration.
To those advancing these ideas, the will of God counts more than the will of the American people, even when Americans object or disagree.
Reportedly, one idea among the various proposals is invoking the Insurrection Act on Trump’s first day back in office to facilitate deployment of the military against protesters.
We are perilously close to all this becoming a reality, potentially aided and abetted by disaffected Democratic voters.
I’m talking about many Democrats with single-issue objections to President Biden — whether it’s opposition to his position on the Israel-Hamas war, disappointments about the overall state of the economy or concerns about the president’s age — who haven’t committed to supporting his re-election, who don’t seem to see that in November the country faces one of the most existential electoral decisions it ever has faced.
If these Democrats decide to punish Biden by sitting it out, they could wind up performing one of the greatest acts of self-immolation in recent political history: abandoning an administration committed to the protection of democracy and possibly allowing the ascension of a theocracy intent on destroying the very freedoms that progressives cherish.
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Post by Merge on Feb 29, 2024 18:30:03 GMT
In a theocracy like Republicans envison, an embryo or fetus is more important than the 11 year old child forced to carry and give birth to it. I'm guessing the pregnancy and birth put a real damper on her 5th or 6th grade year. SMDH. x.com/jen_rice_/status/1762907692534837478?s=20 |
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 29, 2024 18:31:22 GMT
Then there's this. The Superintendent of schools in Oklahoma leading a prayer at an elementary school.
Also this tweet from him. Translation - religious liberty for Christians only and imposing their religion on everyone.
Tragically, a nonbinary student died after an altercation in a school bathroom with classmates. One of the superintendent's anti-LGBTQ and strict gender policies is the requirement that students must use the bathroom of their gender assigned at birth. After their death, the superintendent just doubled down on his policies.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Feb 29, 2024 20:41:29 GMT
Alabama needs to be watched very carefully.. There is discussion to put off writing the 'laws' to enforce the the court ruling on IVF until April of 2025. Note AFTER the election when the people will be in place to screw everyone of us!!
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luckyjune
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,687 
Location: In the rainy, rainy WA
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Post by luckyjune on Feb 29, 2024 21:22:04 GMT
"We eliminated DEI programs in our schools, put an end to 'drag queen' and other sexually provocative behaviors by teachers and administrators, and reaffirmed our uncompromising support for religious liberty for teachers and students." Supt. Ryan Walters
Does he really think teachers and administrators are doing their jobs in drag? Does he think they have time to put on costumes, a full face of make up and wigs? Has he ever tried teaching all day in stiletto heels?
Me thinks someone's mind is a little too preoccupied with the lives of drag queens and not things like, oh, I don't know, keeping teens trying to use the bathroom at school alive...
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Post by epeanymous on Feb 29, 2024 21:58:43 GMT
There were a few Dominionists in the online parenting community I monitored 15 years ago or so and their vision for America is pretty terrifying, I am going to say. And they really believe it. They don’t care that Trump is a venal non-Christian. He’s a means to an end.
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Post by Merge on Feb 29, 2024 22:01:28 GMT
"We eliminated DEI programs in our schools, put an end to 'drag queen' and other sexually provocative behaviors by teachers and administrators, and reaffirmed our uncompromising support for religious liberty for teachers and students." Supt. Ryan Walters Does he really think teachers and administrators are doing their jobs in drag? Does he think they have time to put on costumes, a full face of make up and wigs? Has he ever tried teaching all day in stiletto heels? Me thinks someone's mind is a little too preoccupied with the lives of drag queens and not things like, oh, I don't know, keeping teens trying to use the bathroom at school alive... "Religious liberty" means that conservative Christians can be assured of an environment where they're never confronted with anything that goes against their beliefs. |
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Gem Girl
Pearl Clutcher
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Posts: 2,686
Jun 29, 2014 19:29:52 GMT
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Post by Gem Girl on Feb 29, 2024 23:19:47 GMT
Alabama needs to be watched very carefully.. There is discussion to put off writing the 'laws' to enforce the the court ruling on IVF until April of 2025. Note AFTER the election when the people will be in place to screw everyone of us!! Just another reason voting blue needs to be a tidal wave. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Feb 29, 2024 23:24:10 GMT
Alabama needs to be watched very carefully.. There is discussion to put off writing the 'laws' to enforce the the court ruling on IVF until April of 2025. Note AFTER the election when the people will be in place to screw everyone of us!! Just another reason voting blue needs to be a tidal wave. Unfortunately not likely in Alabama! |
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Gem Girl
Pearl Clutcher
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Posts: 2,686
Jun 29, 2014 19:29:52 GMT
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Post by Gem Girl on Feb 29, 2024 23:26:43 GMT
Just another reason voting blue needs to be a tidal wave. Unfortunately not likely in Alabama! I get that there are places that are happy to wallow in their red. I'm thankful every day that I don't live in one! |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Feb 29, 2024 23:29:09 GMT
Unfortunately not likely in Alabama! I get that there are places that are happy to wallow in their red. I'm thankful every day that I don't live in one! It is Alabama's case. They have tables the new law/bill until 2025. |
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 29, 2024 23:34:30 GMT
I posted this in another thread, but it's relevant here, too
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dawnnikol
Prolific Pea
'A life without books is a life not lived.' Jay Kristoff
Posts: 8,555
Sept 21, 2015 18:39:25 GMT
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Post by dawnnikol on Mar 1, 2024 0:19:04 GMT
In a theocracy like Republicans envison, an embryo or fetus is more important than the 11 year old child forced to carry and give birth to it. I'm guessing the pregnancy and birth put a real damper on her 5th or 6th grade year. SMDH. "Assistant District Attorney Abraham Chopin, who is assigned to the DA's Crimes Against Children Division, prosecuted Williams and said justice was rendered in this case, especially since the victim did not have to testify. 'This was truly a just result, not only for the victim and their family but for Harris County," Chopin said. 'We never want to re-traumatize the victim in the trial process, but it's important that criminals know that regardless of when the outcry occurs, survivors of sexual abuse have a voice here in Harris Count."So, she didn't have to testify, but she HAS TO CARRY HIS FUCKING BABY. My God the idiocy. AND he can get parole in 20 years. I hate, hate, hate all of them. That poor girl. |
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Post by epeanymous on Mar 1, 2024 6:34:16 GMT
"We eliminated DEI programs in our schools, put an end to 'drag queen' and other sexually provocative behaviors by teachers and administrators, and reaffirmed our uncompromising support for religious liberty for teachers and students." Supt. Ryan Walters Does he really think teachers and administrators are doing their jobs in drag? Does he think they have time to put on costumes, a full face of make up and wigs? Has he ever tried teaching all day in stiletto heels? Me thinks someone's mind is a little too preoccupied with the lives of drag queens and not things like, oh, I don't know, keeping teens trying to use the bathroom at school alive... "Religious liberty" means that conservative Christians can be assured of an environment where they're never confronted with anything that goes against their beliefs. It actually means that we are a Christian nation but they won’t literally kick non-Christians out of the country. Wheeeee. |
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 1, 2024 18:29:28 GMT
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 1, 2024 18:30:13 GMT
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