There are no words, but Pennyfarthing gives it a shot... 
- Aldous J Pennyfarthing
- Community Contributors Team
- Blue Country Gazette Blog
- Rim Country Gazette Blog
America used to be a beacon of freedom in an uncertain world. Sadly, that was before a rabid minority of our citizens tapped Adderall Hitler to remake our Supreme Court in The Federalist Society’s image. Now our nation is not so much a beacon as a UV black light in a gross motel room Donald Trump just slept in.
The rest of the world is still watching, but they’re no longer nearly as inspired by what they see. And SCOTUS’ seismic decision to vaporize Roe v. Wade is a case in point.
I used to hope the U.S. might eventually embrace Scandinavian-style social democracy. Eventually, I lowered my expectations and thought, “Well, Canada’s nice. Universal health care. Reasonable gun control laws. Ted Cruz-free since 1974. Let’s be more like Canada!” Now I just wish we could be as enlightened as Kazakhstan.
It’s embarrassing to live in a country that does this to its own citizens, but it’s even more horrifying than it is embarrassing. That said, American progressives have been in the boiling-frog stage of this rolling disaster for some time. We see the rot up close. But what does the rest of the world think?
Spoiler alert: They think we’re effin’ bonkers.
The end of constitutional protections for abortions in the United States has been described as a “backwards” move by world leaders and health organisations, while handing a huge boost to pro-life groups around the world.
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, all condemned the supreme court’s overruling of the landmark Roe v Wade decision, while New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the decision was “incredibly upsetting”.
“Watching the removal of a woman’s fundamental right to make decisions over their own body is incredibly upsetting,” she said.
You know, when Boris Johnson thinks you’ve gone off the deep end, maybe it’s time to reexamine your choices.
Trudeau, Macron, Johnson, and Ardern were hardly alone, of course. World leaders have been nearly universal in their condemnation of SCOTUS’ shocking rollback of individual rights. (The Taliban could not be reached for comment.)
In the wake of the ruling, UN Secretary General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated, “[S]exual and reproductive health and rights are the foundation of a life of choice, empowerment and equality for the world's women and girls.” She continued: “It’s also important to note that restricting access to abortion does not prevent people from seeking abortion; it only makes it more deadly. UNFPA [United Nations Population Fund] tells us that some 45 percent of all abortions around the world are unsafe, making it a leading cause of maternal [death].”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez tweeted, “We cannot take any rights for granted. Social achievements are always at risk of going backwards and their defense has to be our day to day. Women must be able to decide freely about their lives.”
In another tweet, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated, “This is a serious step backwards for women's rights!”
And Belgium PM Alexander De Croo tweeted, “Very concerned about implications of [the Supreme Court] decision on #RoeVWade and the signal it sends to the world. Banning abortion never leads to fewer abortions, only to more unsafe abortions. Belgium will continue to work with other countries to advance #SRHR [sexual and reproductive health and rights] everywhere.”
Meanwhile, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon noted that this rot could spread elsewhere, now that America has decided to get medieval on our ass.
Eventually, with enough dedication and hard work, we may be able to wrest these rights back from the fiends who snatched them away in the night. But it’s easy to get demoralized by the fact that we’re still arguing about this—this!—in 2022.
But argue—and plead, and wheedle, and rage against the system—we must. Two steps forward, one giant leap back. But we keep moving, because we have no choice.
Make them pay, folks. They’ve left us no other option. This is war.
No comments:
Post a Comment