BlogWood: MT Archives

OFaL and the religious right

In today’s Village Voice, James Ridgeway writes of Bush’s extreme religious views:

... Bush quickly sent a message of support to anti-abortion protesters in front of the Supreme Court: "We share a great goal: to work toward a day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law. . . . But the goal leads us onward: to build a culture of life, affirming that every person, at every stage and season of life, is created equal in God's image."

Roe v. Wade is still law, but Congress, with Bush's backing, has done everything possible to get rid of it: Bush backed a ban on what abortion foes call partial birth abortion and tried to end stem cell research. Congress is well on its way to giving fetuses constitutional rights, maybe even the ability to sue for damages under terrorism laws. Like a mullah, Bush pushes abstinence, proposing to spend $135 million to promote it, and administration mouthpieces preach that it's important for young people to delay the "debut" of their sexual life. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson explained the no-fuck policy like this: "When adolescents become sexually active, it can have negative effects on their physical and emotional health."

Well, yeah it can have a negative health impact, mostly since OFaL refuses to admit that some kids are gonna have sex. This leads logically to restricting the availability of cheap (government subsidized) condoms and STD and pregnancy screenings. Unfortunately, those wacky kids have sex anyway, and are now faced with having to make do with no birth control or protection against STDs. Of course, they can always pray for divine protection.