Texas, the GOP, Abortion and the USSC

[kallend 1,621]

And there is no exception for rape and incest. That means an assailant could rape a young woman and if she became pregnant and got an abortion,  could report the girl, sue her provider and pocket $10,000 while getting away with it by claiming it was consensual - "he said she said. . ." 

[Phil1111 908]

Evangelicals have found a new home along with Neo-nazis and white supremacists. So they are right at home. Its kind of all warm and fuzzy for them all.

"An online whistleblower portal created by an evangelical organization to punish anyone providing abortion services in Texas has reportedly found a new home alongside neo-Nazis and white supremacists after getting the boot Friday by hosting provider GoDaddy....

To facilitate enforcement of the law, Texas Right to Life set up a digital tip line that lets Texans file anonymous reports about suspected violations.

“The Texas Heartbeat Act is unique because it calls upon private citizens to hold abortion providers and their enablers accountable,” the site explains (emphasis theirs)....This week, the site was overwhelmed with obviously bogus tips about people like Gov. Abbott seeking abortions, Shrek porn, and countless copies of the screenplay for 2007’s “Bee Movie.” Texas Right to Life reportedly had trouble keeping the site online"

In other news for the evangelicals behind the site and injunction was just issued against them: Texas Right to Life temporarily barred from enforcing 6-week abortion ban against Planned Parenthood

No word yet on the brain abortion involving Gov. Abbott.

[ryoder 1,381]

48 minutes ago, kallend said:

And there is no exception for rape and incest. That means an assailant could rape a young woman and if she became pregnant and got an abortion,  could report the girl, sue her provider and pocket $10,000 while getting away with it by claiming it was consensual - "he said she said. . ." 

 (j)  Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section may not be brought by a person who impregnated the abortion patient through an act of rape, sexual assault, incest, or any other act prohibited by Sections 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code.

Bill Text: TX SB8 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled

Edited September 4, 2021 by ryoder

[jakee 1,254]

3 minutes ago, ryoder said:

 (j)  Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section may not be brought by a person who impregnated the abortion patient through an act of rape, sexual assault, incest, or any other act prohibited by Sections 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code.

Bill Text: TX SB8 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled

Accused of or convicted of? If it's the latter, Kallend's point stands.

[ryoder 1,381]

So the whole intent of TX SB8 was to circumvent the unconstitutionality of banning abortion, by enlisting citizen vigilantes to enforce it, instead of the state. And 5 fools on SCOTUS bought that bullshit, and ignored the insanity of the vigilante enforcers.

So here is the plan:

The anti-gun crowd begins pushing legislation for a ban on private ownership of firearms, and includes the sections from SB8 on the civil lawsuits, word for word. All it will take is for one state, (probably with Democrat governor and Democrat majorities in the state legislature).  And the pro-gun crowd will go apeshit. They will be demanding SCOTUS take up the case.

a) If SCOTUS follows their precedent (on SB8), they must ignore the 2nd Amendment, (since the state is not enforcing the ban), and can only strike down the gun ban, based on the citizen vigilante enforcers. This contradicts their position on SB8.

b) If SCOTUS does not follow their precedent (on SB8), then they can only strike down the gun ban based on the 2nd Amendment, contradicting their position allowing SB8 to stand even though it violates of Roe v Wade.

I'm sure the pro-gun crowd would gladly see SB8 struck down to preserve the 2nd Amendment.

 

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

Hi folks,

And, the backlash begins:  Portland City Council to vote on banning Texas commerce, travel in protest of abortion ban - oregonlive.com

I fully expect to see a lot more of this.

Jerry Baumchen

[billvon 2,384]

3 hours ago, jakee said:

Accused of or convicted of? If it's the latter, Kallend's point stands.

Exactly.  "I am only accused of raping her!  I have not been convicted, so I can get my $10K if she's magically not pregnant now - but was pregnant six weeks ago.  And I should know!"

[jakee 1,254]

8 hours ago, billvon said:

Exactly.  "I am only accused of raping her!  I have not been convicted, so I can get my $10K if she's magically not pregnant now - but was pregnant six weeks ago.  And I should know!"

As if there wasn't enough intentional callousness and cruelty in the legislation this is a lovely little unintentional bonus.

[Phil1111 908]

1 hour ago, jakee said:

As if there wasn't enough intentional callousness and cruelty in the legislation this is a lovely little unintentional bonus.

Thats just a silly statement. "Callousness and cruelty have become hallmarks of the GOP since trump. Well even before trump. Just read the transcripts of trump's speeches. Its how they managed to get the Proud Boys and the Christian right to applaud the same speech. Sometimes applauding the same lines of the speech together.

[kallend 1,621]

"The fact that our next president could appoint as many as three or four justices in the next four years is a striking reminder that we can’t take rulings like today’s for granted.

 “Just consider Donald Trump, the Republicans’ presumptive nominee. The man who could be president has said there should be some form of ‘punishment’ for women seeking abortions. He pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. And last year, he said he’d shut down the government rather than fund Planned Parenthood.

“If we send Trump to the White House and a Republican majority to Congress, he could achieve any — or all — of these things. And that’s why this election is so important."

 

H. Clinton, following the Supreme Court’s June 27, 2016 decision rejecting of two restrictive provisions in a Texas House bill regulating abortion.

 

Clinton handily won the popular vote.

[Stumpy 256]

On 9/5/2021 at 1:49 PM, Phil1111 said:

... the Proud Boys and the Christian right.....

Basically the same thing.

[TriGirl 268]

On 9/3/2021 at 10:16 PM, GeorgiaDon said:

Apart from the reprehensible impact of this law on women's ability to control their own lives, I am also concerned that it establishes a blueprint for all kinds of trouble.  Imagine the tactic of "deputizing" the general public applied to voting.  

Don

Actually, I thought they kind of did.  The law on the abortion restrictions was just one of the 666 (I'm not making that up) new pieces of legislation that went into effect this week if they were not in force upon signature.  One of the others has to do with an online tracking system for mail-in ballots and the application for such ballots.  I just did a search again and found https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/31/new-texas-laws-september-2021/, which at least covers some of them. 

Another allows for open carry without a license, one that mandates the national anthem at sporting events, one that calls for distribution of Texas patriotic history material at the DMV and another that forbids teachers' discussing current events and systemic racism in class (also taking away school credit for participating in civic engagement).  

On the good side, you have laws limiting pre-K class size to match caps in other grades, a medical marijuana expansion (not far enough, but making progress), simplifying access to SNAP, creation of an active shooter alert system, requiring police body cameras to remain on at all times, and a law prohibiting a fatal choke hold.  

[JoeWeber 2,294]

35 minutes ago, TriGirl said:

Actually, I thought they kind of did.  The law on the abortion restrictions was just one of the 666 (I'm not making that up) new pieces of legislation that went into effect this week if they were not in force upon signature.  One of the others has to do with an online tracking system for mail-in ballots and the application for such ballots.  I just did a search again and found https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/31/new-texas-laws-september-2021/, which at least covers some of them. 

Another allows for open carry without a license, one that mandates the national anthem at sporting events, one that calls for distribution of Texas patriotic history material at the DMV and another that forbids teachers' discussing current events and systemic racism in class (also taking away school credit for participating in civic engagement).  

On the good side, you have laws limiting pre-K class size to match caps in other grades, a medical marijuana expansion (not far enough, but making progress), simplifying access to SNAP, creation of an active shooter alert system, requiring police body cameras to remain on at all times, and a law prohibiting a fatal choke hold.  

Well, the good side items are certainly inspiring for all who favor an open and forgiving society. Sure, there will be a coterie of liberal ingrates who will fail to see how a law prohibiting fatal choke holds by our police is a significant societal advance. But ignore those fools and current events and systemic racism, and women's rights, and instead invest in DMV brochure racks.

I am so, so tired of the ignorance.

[SkyDekker 1,121]

On 9/4/2021 at 4:07 PM, ryoder said:

 (j)  Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section may not be brought by a person who impregnated the abortion patient through an act of rape, sexual assault, incest, or any other act prohibited by Sections 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code.

Bill Text: TX SB8 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled

So what, get your brother, father, cousin, buddy to sue and split the proceeds.

[SkyDekker 1,121]

12 hours ago, TriGirl said:

Another allows for open carry without a license, one that mandates the national anthem at sporting events, one that calls for distribution of Texas patriotic history material at the DMV and another that forbids teachers' discussing current events and systemic racism in class

I guess the good news is that girls are still allowed to go to school.

[Phil1111 908]

2 hours ago, SkyDekker said:

I guess the good news is that girls are still allowed to go to school.

Of course Texas law and schools need to thump the bible into the young minds of children. How Texas Public Schools Teach the Bible

"A Dalhart ISD PowerPoint presentation used a graphic image from the Holocaust on a slide describing the massacre of King Ahab’s family and supporters. As the biblical story reads, the slaughter is performed at God’s request....

The Bible as a Science Textbook

Course materials presented events in the Bible as factual, despite a lack of scientific evidence....

Example: Students in Amarillo ISD were given a chart titled “Racial Origins traced from Noah,” that described how African races and Canaanites descended from Noah’s son, Ham, who had a curse placed upon him by his father. This belief was used as a rationale for nineteenth-century slavery “and is sometimes still present in modern racist ideology.”

No wonder Lindsay Graham wants to go back to Afghanistan. The only rightful god needs another crusade.

[kallend 1,621]

Meanwhile Mexico decriminalizes abortion, the second largest majority Catholic country to do so.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/07/americas/mexico-criminalizing-abortion-unconstitutional-intl-latam/index.html

[ryoder 1,381]

Deleted because Kallend beat me to the post.

Edited September 7, 2021 by ryoder

[TriGirl 268]

15 hours ago, TriGirl said:

On 9/3/2021 at 10:16 PM, GeorgiaDon said:

Imagine the tactic of "deputizing" the general public applied to voting.  

Don

Actually, I thought they kind of did.

Update: there it was in my news feed this morning:https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/01/texas-voting-bill-greg-abbott/

 

From the article:

 

While SB 1 makes some changes that could expand access — namely increasing early voting hours in smaller, mostly Republican counties — the new law otherwise restricts how and when voters cast ballots. It specifically targets voting initiatives used by diverse, Democratic Harris County, the state’s most populous, by banning overnight early voting hours and drive-thru voting — both of which proved popular among voters of color last year.

The new law also will ratchet up voting-by-mail rules in a state where the option is already significantly limited, give partisan poll watchers increased autonomy inside polling places by granting them free movement, and set new rules — and criminal penalties — for voter assistance. It also makes it a state jail felony for local election officials to proactively distribute applications for mail-in ballots, even if they are providing them to voters who automatically qualify to vote by mail or groups helping get out the vote.

 

 

(bolding mine)

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

Hi folks,

Actions have consequences:  Portland’s planned boycott over Texas abortion law could cost Lone Star State $7M a year - oregonlive.com

We can only hope other cities & states do the same.

Maybe once it is costing them money, they might just reconsider.

Jerry Baumchen

[Phil1111 908]

52 minutes ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi folks,

Actions have consequences:  Portland’s planned boycott over Texas abortion law could cost Lone Star State $7M a year - oregonlive.com

We can only hope other cities & states do the same.

Maybe once it is costing them money, they might just reconsider.

Jerry Baumchen

The Taliban announced their religious conservative hard line government today. I heard news reports that they need money so will co-operate with other western governments. No, they have a base to appeal to.

The Texas government has announced laws and voting restrictions to appeal to their base. Some think that they would be motivated by money to change their views. No they have a base to appeal to and power always trumps money.

[Stumpy 256]

8 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

The Taliban announced their religious conservative hard line government today. I heard news reports that they need money so will co-operate with other western governments. No, they have a base to appeal to.

The Texas government has announced laws and voting restrictions to appeal to their base. Some think that they would be motivated by money to change their views. No they have a base to appeal to and power always trumps money.

Plus - $7M sounds like a lot to you or me but it's a rounding error at this level.

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

9 hours ago, Stumpy said:

Plus - $7M sounds like a lot to you or me but it's a rounding error at this level.

Hi Stumpy,

And, I agree.  But, one has to start somewhere.

Plus, it has gotten the Texas's Lt. Gov's. attention.

Jerry Baumchen

[ryoder 1,381]

WSJ: Biden Administration Prepares to Sue Texas Over Abortion Law

More w/o a paywall:

DOJ Plans to Sue Texas Over New Abortion Ban

Edited September 9, 2021 by ryoder

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

5 hours ago, ryoder said:

WSJ: Biden Administration Prepares to Sue Texas Over Abortion Law

More w/o a paywall:

DOJ Plans to Sue Texas Over New Abortion Ban

Hi Robert,

While the feds do not have a perfect track record; they damn sure have more money & more lawyers than Texas does.

Jerry Baumchen

PS - ETA)  Looks like the feds are going to spend some of that money:  Justice Dept. sues Texas over state’s new abortion law - oregonlive.com

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by JerryBaumchen