South Dakota Coathanger Brigade
by digby
This defense by the South Dakota legislator who sponsored a bill to make the killing of anyone attempting to harm an unborn child, justifiable homicide, would be a lot more credible if it weren't for the sordid history of South Dakota's abortion politics in recent years.
Just recently, there was the proposed law which would have banned abortion even without a sodomized virgin exception and the ongoing long time work of people like Leslee Unruh, the dishonest forced pregnancy zealot who, among other things, created the sick "Purity Balls" for little girls to pledge their virginity to their daddies:
UNRUH:We think that its important for fathers to the be the first ones to look into their daughters eyes and To tell her that her purity is special, and its ok to wait until marriage.
HINOJOSA:It might have all the trapping of a regular prom, but this one ends a little differently.
GIRLS RECITING PLEDGE:"I make a promise this day to God...
HINOJOSA: The young women here all make a promise to their fathers that they won't have sex until the day they get married.
GIRLS RECITING PLEDGE:...to remain sexually pure...until the day I give myself as a wedding gift to my husband. ... I know that God requires this of me.. that he loves me. and that he will reward me for my faithfulness.
When I first wrote about that I noted that it explains why they don't want an exception for rape or incest ...
Here's a testimonial from Generations of Light magazine:
"How can you measure the value of your eleven year old looking up into your eyes (as you clumsily learn the fox-trot together) with innocent, uncontainable joy, saying, 'Daddy, I'm so excited!' wrote Wesley Tullis in a letter describing his grateful participation. 'I have been involved with the Father-Daughter Ball for two years with my daughters, Sarah and Anna. It is impossible to convey what I have seen in their sweet spirits, their delicate, forming souls, as their daddy takes them out for their first, big dance. Their whole being absorbs my loving attention, resulting in a radiant sense of self-worth and identity. Think of it from their perspective: My daddy thinks I'm beautiful in my own unique way. My daddy is treating me with respect and honor. My daddy has taken time to be silly, and even made a fool of himself, learning how to dance. My daddy really loves me!"
I can understand why the little girls would want to do this. It's a chance to dress up and spend time with their father. If it were for another purpose, it might be sweet. But this is what that little girl is reading to her father from that card:
I pledge to remain sexually pure...until the day I give myself as a wedding gift to my husband. ... I know that God requires this of me.. that he loves me. and that he will reward me for my faithfulness.
And this is what Daddy says in turn:I, (daughter’s name)’s father, choose before God to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the area of purity. I will be pure in my own life as a man, husband and father. I will be a man of integrity and accountability as I lead, guide and pray over my daughter and as the high priest in my home. This covering will be used by God to influence generations to come.
That is what the anti-abortion movement in South Dakota is all about. They are not about "life" they are about female subjugation. So when I see people like Amy Sullivan, the allegedly progressive "common ground" specialist of the Religion Industrial Complex saying this on twitter, I want to scream:
Of course, it isn't too crazy to be true. It's South Dakota, ground zero of the forced childbirth movement.
The idea that this bill isn't an anti-abortion bill is absurd, and all the reporters did was report the legislators stupid justifications. After all, if a boyfriend abuses his pregnant girlfriend one assumes she already has a right to self-defense. But hey, maybe in South Dakota is legal to beat your girlfriend or wife but they want to give fetuses the right to fight back. It wouldn't surprise me.
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