coronavirus also hits reproduction rights!

“The [UK] Department of Health says reported changes to the abortion law, that would allow women to take both pills at home during the coronavirus outbreak, are not going ahead.” Independent, 23 March

“Texas and Ohio have included abortions among the nonessential surgeries and medical procedures that they are requiring to be delayed, saying they are trying to preserve precious protective equipment for health care workers and to make space for a potential flood of coronavirus patients.” The New York Times, 23 March

“Le ministre de la Santé, Olivier Véran, et la secrétaire d’Etat chargée de l’Égalité femmes-hommes, Marlène Schiappa, ont tenté lundi de rassurer : les IVG « sont considérées comme des interventions urgentes », et leur « continuité doit être assurée ». Le gouvernement veillera à ce que « le droit des femmes à disposer de leur corps ne soit pas remis en cause », ont-ils assuré.” Le Parisien, 23 March

“Lawmakers voted on Wednesday to liberalize New Zealand’s abortion law and allow unrestricted access during the first half of pregnancy, ending the country’s status as one of the few wealthy nations to limit the grounds for abortion during that period.” The New York Times, 18 March

and it only gets worse [verbatim]

“Iran is facing a catastrophic toll from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. sanctions should not be contributing to this humanitarian disaster. As a caring nation, we must lift any sanctions hurting Iran’s ability to address this crisis, including financial sanctions.” Bernie Sanders, 20 March

“The whole world should know that humanitarian assistance to Iran is wide open, it’s not sanctioned (…) The Wuhan virus is a killer and the Iranian regime is an accomplice,” Mike Pompeo, 20 March

“Expelling Médecins sans Frontières [from installing a  field hospital in Isfahan] will be a decision based on wisdom because their presence is a cover for non-humanitarian activities. As France has in practice repeatedly proven its enmity against Iran, the question is why our officials allowed the group to enter in the first place,” he said, describing the permit as “dangerous recklessness.” Hossein Shariatmadari, 24 March

“We lose thousands of people a year to the flu. We never turn the country off. We lose thousands of people per year to automobile accidents.” DT, 24 March

“The economic sanctions are working. If we didn’t have these sanctions in place, literally Iran would have tens of billions of dollars. They would be using that for terrorist activities throughout the region. There is no question that by cutting off the economics to the regime we are having an impact” Stephen Mnuchin, 10 Jan

“…we have [the coronavirus pandemics] totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine..” DT, 22 Jan

“I think the numbers are going to get progressively better as we go along.” DT, 18 Feb

“I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.” DT, 9 March

 

Parasite in chief [verbatim]

““How bad were the Academy Awards this year? Did you see? And the winner is a movie from South Korea. What the hell was that all about? We’ve got enough problems with South Korea, with trade. On top of it, they give them the best movie of the year? Was it good? I don’t know. Can we get, like, ‘Gone With the Wind’ back, please?” DT, 20022020

and it only gets worse [verbatim]

and it only gets worse [verbatim]

“[DT] is a racist and he stokes racism in this country, and it does not just offend our sensibilities, it fundamentally changes the character of this country and it leads to violence.” Beto O’Rourke, 4 August

“I am the chosen one, somebody had to do it.” DT, 08/21

““Essentially [Greenland] it’s a large real estate deal. A lot of things can be done.” DT, 08/18

“They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?” DT, 08/25

“If that perfect phone call with the President of Ukraine isn’t considered appropriate, then no future President can EVER again speak to another foreign leader!” DT, 09/27

“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!).” DT 10/07

“[The Kurds] didn’t help us in the second world war, they didn’t help us with Normandy.” DT 10/10

and it only gets worse [verbatim]

““We do so much for Sweden but it doesn’t seem to work the other way around. Sweden should focus on its real crime problem.” DT, 25 July

“The Justice Department upholds the rule of law—and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system.” William Barr, Attorney General, 25 July

“And you had the Nobel Prize? That’s incredible. They gave it to you for what reason?” DT, 17 July

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” DT, 14 July

“Donald Trump is responsible for this. He is responsible because he is stoking fears and hatred and bigotry. He is responsible because he is failing to condemn white supremacy, and seeing it as it is.” Corry Booker, 4 August

The Long, Cruel History of the Anti-Abortion Crusade [reposted]

[Excerpts from an editorial in the NYT of John Irving, American author of the Cider House Rules novel we enjoyed reading 30 years ago]

“(…) I respect your personal reasons not to have an abortion — no one is forcing you to have one. I respect your choice. I’m pro-choice — often called pro-abortion by the anti-abortion crusaders, although no one is pro-abortion. What’s unequal about the argument is the choice; the difference between pro-life and pro-choice is the choice. Pro-life proponents have no qualms about forcing women to go through childbirth — they give women no choice (…)

I must remind the Roman Catholic Church of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In other words, we are free to practice the religion of our choice, and we are protected from having someone else’s religion practiced on us. Freedom of religion in the United States also means freedom from religion (…)

The prevailing impetus to oppose abortion is to punish the woman who doesn’t want the child. The sacralizing of the fetus is a ploy. How can “life” be sacred (and begin at six weeks, or at conception), if a child’s life isn’t sacred after it’s born? Clearly, a woman’s life is never sacred; as clearly, a woman has no reproductive rights (…)

Of an unmarried woman or girl who got pregnant, people of my grandparents’ generation used to say: “She is paying the piper.” Meaning, she deserves what she gets — namely, to give birth to a child. That cruelty is the abiding impetus behind the dishonestly named right-to-life movement. Pro-life always was (and remains) a marketing term. Whatever the anti-abortion crusaders call themselves, they don’t care what happens to an unwanted child — not after the child is born — and they’ve never cared about the mother.”