Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
A Texas man is suing three women he claims helped his ex-wife use the abortion pill to end her pregnancy without his knowledge. The ex-husband Marcus Silva is suing under Texas’s wrongful death statute, arguing that a person who helps a pregnant woman obtain a self-managed abortion has committed murder and thus is liable for wrongful death. Now Silva’s first-of-its-kind lawsuit, it comes the same week that five women in Texas sued the state because of its vague abortion ban that put them in danger because their doctors were too scared to render necessary care.
At bottom, Silva’s lawsuit appears to be aimed at achieving the very same thing that Texas’ vague abortion ban does. That is, the suit seeks to scare people into not helping women end their pregnancies. Since the U.S. Supreme Court went ahead and rolled back Roe v. Wade back in June of last year, we’ve seen the patriarchy emerge from every crevice and corner of our country looking to craft laws that punish women into forced childbirth, even knowing the dangers.
According to a report conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, among 11 developed countries the United States spends the highest percentage of its GDP on health care, yet has the highest maternal mortality rate, a relative undersupply of maternity care providers, and it remains the only country not to guarantee access to provider home visits or paid parental leave post-baby. In fact, since 2000, the U.S. has seen an increase in maternal deaths, despite two-thirds of those deaths being deemed completely and totally preventable. Our nation unnecessarily kills pregnant women at rates that are far higher than any of the other 10 high-income countries that we consider to be peers. Given that knowledge, combined with the fact that … costs are constantly rising but wages are not, it only makes sense for women to not wish to procreate. If it’s not a potential death sentence, it’s damn sure recipe for poverty.
And our leadership is doing nothing to help ameliorate some of those very real and very life-threatening concerns people have about childbirth. Rather, the patriarchy in power in these red states like Texas are instead looking to push pregnancy onto people and to create avenues by which we are punished for opting out of the maternal mortality roulette. This novel wrongful death Texas lawsuit is just a byproduct of that. It’s all rooted in the belief that men have a right to dictate what a woman does with her body. Because what, up until the 70s, that was always the running narrative here in the United States. And it’s really how our nation did business.
We denied women bodily autonomy, which is basically a concept that lies at the core part of humanity. So controlling a woman in that regard, is just simply another way to … deny her her full humanity as a human being. And if these politicians actually cared about human beings, well then they would ensure that we had universal health care, they’d mandate parental leave that was paid. They’d also actually pass laws that look out for we the people. Instead, they look for ways to bolster the patriarchy to the detriment of the people, including to the detriment of our economy, growth and stability.
The attorney that crafted Silva’s wrongful death argument, well, he also happens to be the architect of the Texas Heartbeat Act. That’s that law that empowers private citizens to go ahead and sue those who facilitate abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. This is not about human life; never has been. This is about control over women. And fortunately, Silva doesn’t get to sue his ex-wife for allegedly ending her pregnancy. But by suing these three women he claims helped her, both he and his attorney get to get their control on, injecting fear into those who have the audacity to help women exercise bodily autonomy because that’s what this is really about, right? Silva’s suit is as audacious as they come and whether he wins or loses, there will be more lawsuits like it to come. So long as the Texas Legislature puts the patriarchy before it puts the people, there will always be men looking to deny women their full humanity.
-
Students learning brutal lesson on how police respond to protests
Student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza have escalated in the United States and around the world as civilian death counts in both Gaza and the West Bank continue to climb. Estimates show Israeli forces killed at least 42,500 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, and another two million survivors have been displaced from their homes.…
-
Supreme Court must end criminalization of homelessness
On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the nation’s homelessness crisis, considering whether an Oregon city had the right to ban homeless people from camping in public spaces. A majority of justices appeared inclined to support the city’s efforts to regulate homeless encampments on public grounds. This decision carries significant implications for the growing…
-
Why are non-consensual pelvic exams still happening?
More states are beginning to crack down on the surprisingly common practice of medical students and professional staff performing non-consensual pelvic exams on unconscious men and women in hospitals, universities and other medical facilities. Just one year ago today, those practices remained legal in a majority of U.S. states. Now, however, a new directive from…
-
Congress should repeal the Foreign Dredge Act
The collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge presents challenges for cleanup and construction crews who rely on dredging vessels to complete their work. That’s partly because of the Foreign Dredge Act, a 1906 law that prohibits foreign-made dredging vessels. Congress is now introducing a measure to revise parts of that law, although previous attempts to do…
-
Gen Z women must fight for their rights
Gen Z, the first “digital native” U.S. generation, is entering the workforce, studying at university and serving in the military. From school shootings and cyber-bullying to COVID-19 and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, this generation has been shaped by unique trends and events, and how they will behave as citizens and voters is an…
Latest Opinions
-
Biden's 'xenophobic' comments about Japan spark backlash
-
$10B clean energy deal aims to help Microsoft power AI at data centers
-
Senate Democrats want to deschedule marijuana as Biden moves to reschedule
-
Water cannons, the Philippines, and the South China Sea
-
Police warn of 'chaos professionals' co-opting college protests
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.