I think Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, spoke for most of the militant movement to restrict women’s reproductive rights when she rhapsodized over her state’s new abortion ban. The so-called “heartbeat” legislation, signed into law just days ago, prohibits abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat has been detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy. Said Gov. Reynolds, “(I}f death is determined when a heart stops beating, then doesn’t a beating heart indicate life? For me, it is immoral to stop an innocent beating heart.”
Taking you at your word, governor, can we now expect you, and the legions of anti-abortion activists who share your professed reverence for all life, to lead sustained crusades to end American war-making abroad, assault-rifle killings at home, police shootings of unarmed people of color, and unchecked degradation of the ecological systems that sustain all life on the planet?
If not, why not? “Innocent beating hearts” by the thousands (virtually all of them considerably older than six weeks) are already sacrificed daily, both here and abroad. Factor in nuclear war (growing more probable by the day, it seems), and the number of innocent hearts that will stop beating instantly skyrockets into the millions. Throw in large-scale ecosystemic collapse (likewise rapidly growing in probability) and millions become billions – and that’s only the human lives at stake.
It’s immoral, indeed.
The Southern Miss School of Social Work 