Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
As We Await the Dobbs versus Jackson Decision

As We Await the Dobbs versus Jackson Decision

Last updated on: June 24, 2022 at 12:44 am by Mary Pezzulo

As We Await the Dobbs versus Jackson Decision 2022-06-24T00:44:16-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As I write this, I don’t know the result of the Dobbs decision. I think I can guess how the Supreme Court is going to rule. We’ll just see if I’m right.

We all might know by the time you read this.

The first time I wrote anything public about abortion was in 2016. I don’t even think it was obvious that Trump was going to win the Republican nomination at that point. I’ve become a bit notorious for it now. I say things I think ought to be obvious, such as that keeping a corpse for decades without burial is wrong and that racism is wrong and that bullying is wrong, that stealing and lying about cadavers for a publicity stunt is wrong. And people get mad at me. All kinds of people get mad at me. Pro-choice people have harassed me in nasty ways, but most of the vitriol is from pro-lifers who want me to know I’m disgusting and a slut and a baby-killer. I’m used to it now.

I have learned that if I insist I don’t want to kill anyone, people will not believe me. So I’m not going to bother to explain or defend my position anymore. I don’t even call myself pro-life anymore because I have found the movement to be nothing but con artists and I don’t want to be associated with con artists. I would rather focus on saving lives and helping people than whatever it is they’re doing, as my Catholic faith demands of me and as people of any faith should.

I am just going to point out that we now know what I predicted in the first place: that abortion rates have stopped their decades-long decline and begun to rise since Trump took office in 2017. In 2017 and 2018, the Republican party had total control of the White House and Congress, and abortion rates went up. They went up in every state including the red ones. When the so-called pro-life movement gets everything it wants with a cherry on top, abortion rates go up.

I’d also like to point out the fact that, as I predicted, when women can’t get abortions in one state, they go to another, and the results can be chaos. Abortion doesn’t seem to be a thing that goes away when it’s illegal.

I want to remind you that lawmakers with no medical knowledge who have no idea what an ectopic pregnancy is, and not doctors, are going to decided what happens to a pregnant woman in an emergency now.

And I remind you that after decades of telling us they only wanted abortionists prosecuted and never women who obtain abortions, pro-lifers have already shifted the conversation. They’re talking about putting women in jail and in mental hospitals.

Is this really what you want?

Is it worth sacrificing what credibility you had, for monster of a president who couldn’t care less about babies?

Was it worth it to drive abortion rates up, and to murder other human beings as well, and to make other forms of killing more likely, slaughtering actual people born and unborn for the sake of a plan you thought might work?

Was it ever really about saving lives?

Was it really?

I don’t believe you anymore.

I’ll never let you gaslight me again.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Image via pixabay

Mary Pezzulo is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross, The Sorrows and Joys of Mary, and Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy.

Steel Magnificat operates almost entirely on tips. To tip the author, visit our donate page.

Previous Post

June 23, 2022

Nobody Prays at the Slumlord's House

Next Post

June 25, 2022 Drop Dew, Ye Heavens

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Rabboni" mean, as Mary Magdalene called Jesus after the resurrection?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Savior Messenger Shepherd Teacher