In “Well, That Was Inevitable” news, Rick Perry announced today that he’s dropping his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. His campaign started out strong but faded fast after the politician’s dismal performances in debates where it seemed like he couldn’t remember the basic bullet points of his platform or form complete sentences.
After his homophobic-rant of a campaign ad disgusted Americans from all ends of the political spectrum earlier this fall, it became clear that this dude was bad news. As a native Texan, I’ve known this for a long time. You see, Perry has been waging a war against women in my home state for years now. In 2011, the situation hit a fever pitch when the largely conservative Texas Legislature cut its family-planning budget by two-thirds, hurting organizations like Planned Parenthood in astronomical ways. Instead of recognizing the life-saving screenings and health services the clinics provide, Republicans instead focused in on the “abortion warehouse” myth.
In “Horrifying, Government-Enforced Invasion of Privacy” news, earlier this week, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling which immediately implemented the controversial “informed consent” law. The law subjects any woman seeking an abortion to an ultrasound in an invasive, transvaginal procedure in which the doctor must describe fetal development and make the patient listen to the heartbeat. The woman then must wait 24 hours before going through with the abortion. Perry, who is not shy about his anti-choice leanings, celebrated this decision, stating that it allows Texas to enforce the will of the state which “values and protects the sanctity of life.” Yikes! This is coming from the man who vetoed a law which would have banned texting while driving because he didn’t believe government should “micromanage the behavior of adults.” Yeah, let that dose of hypocrisy marinate for a while. I might be missing something here, but this law sounds like a pretty invasive and offensive case of government micromanaging.
There will be a summary judgment hearing on Friday, January 20th. The Center for Reproductive Rights will seek to have this law put to an end once and for all, and the state will hope to dismiss the CRR’s lawsuit.
Illustration by Jason Stout
