(More satire to read over your morning cup of absinthe.)
Amidst the latest wave of anti-abortion legislation, the 69-page Kansas bill may be the most controversial. If passed, women in Kansas will be forced to undergo a tubal ligation within 6-months of having an abortion. Tubal ligation, or “tube tying”, is a surgical procedure that permanently prevents the patient from becoming pregnant in the future. The hotly debated measure was defended by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback:
“Abortion is murder, but until we can change the [U.S.] Supreme Court’s decision on the matter it’s still legal. However, just because it is legal does not mean it should be used as it is today – as birth control. We are told that the decision to abort a child is the most difficult a woman will ever make. If she goes through with the abortion then she obviously believes that she is not mentally able to raise a child, and she is too selfish to give the child to a deserving family through adoption. If a woman is not taking responsibility to either care for the child or give him or her up for adoption, then she should not be trusted with that responsibility in the future.”
Though the sterilization measure has ignited mass protests, Governor Brownback has refused to back down. When asked whether women should be punished for life for choosing to have an abortion, Brownback responded, “Well, her child was punished for life by her decision to kill him or her, I think it is only fair that we not reward her carelessness and irresponsibility.” Brownback further incited protestors when he spoke on the issue of abortion after rape or incest. According to Brownback, “The perpetrator’s crime was his action and he should pay for that. The woman’s action is to have the abortion. That was her decision, and she should pay for that.”
Brownback has stated that he will sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. The Kansas bill is yet another in a string of anti-abortion laws spreading throughout the country. States are forcing women to have medically unnecessary ultrasounds, instituting new taxes on abortions, allowing doctors to withhold medical information that might lead to an abortion and even permitting doctors to lie to their patients about abortions causing breast cancer. Mississippi went so far as to institute a 270-day waiting period requirement before being able to have an abortion. Unfortunately, Brownback is optimistic that the bill will soon become law and he will be able to get back to his regular duties which include monitoring the comments of teenager girls on Twitter.
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