Another Day, Another Step Closer to Theocracy

I'm not even shocked any more. I calmly get out of bed, shower, dress, fix a cup of tea, take a deep breath, and open the paper. If I'm still standing after that, I come into work, grab a cup of high-octane coffee, and open Firefox to see what fresh hell the day brings.

In the Next Logical Step, Missouri seeks to prevent publicly funded health clinics from providing free contraception to low-income women. Let's see what arguments are being trotted out in support of this one:

"If you hand out contraception to single women, we're saying promiscuity is OK as a state, and I am not in support of that," Susan Phillips, R-Kansas City, said in an interview.

Let's see what our expert Panel of Me says to that. Again, this is the tired canard that contraception--or perhaps just the taxpayer-funded version--is only used by promiscuous single women, or somehow causes virtuous virgins to decide they're going to be sluts. Perhaps it has not yet occurred to Rep. Phillips that married women might have a vested interest in obtaining birth control pills. Next.

"State taxpayers should not be required to subsidize activities they believe are immoral or unethical, relating to contraceptives or abortions," said Larry Weber, executive director of the state Catholic Conference.

Hmmm. Is that dependent clause there at the end of his statement the trump card? Should state taxpayers be exempt from supporting all activities they find immoral or unethical--say, executions in the state pen, or the deployment of state National Guard units to Iraq--or is that exemption reserved solely for activities related to reproduction?

Note: In another example of Female Sex in a Vacuum Syndrome, the Daily Star printed a letter this morning from a woman who insists that the pregnant woman has already exercised her freedom of choice; if a woman doesn't want to get pregnant or have a baby, she should choose to not have sex. Period. How refreshing life must be when you remove all those annoying shades of gray and insist on only seeing black and white.

So this is coming from a state that is champing at the bit to follow South Dakota's lead and ban all abortions. Let's see here... no subsidized contraception for low-income women + no abortion for low-income women ==> burgeoning low-income population. Do you think Missouri was happy about the number of people they had on welfare before? They're about to get a lot less happy. Missouri (particularly St. Clair county) has a crap-ass meth problem too. Think the numbers of meth babies might climb a bit, should this legislation be passed? Think anyone in the statehouse has taken a long-range look at this, perhaps planning for what their landscape is going to look like 20 years from now? Hmm? Anyone? Bueller????

Here. If you haven't read ABB yet today, go read this one now. No, right now.