Anti-Abortion Politics Have Always Been The Right-Wing’s Trojan Horse For Racism

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1420521

The Right wants to get this abortion ban settled. Once that’s over the campaign to ban contraceptives starts in earnest.

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Patriarchy and racism are related, but they’re not the same thing. And this article links them in only the most superficial way.

Abortion became a right-wing cause in the 1970s because segregation was no longer a political winner and the wingnuts needed some new cause to rally their reactionaries. It’s not a play to reimpose segregation (which they largely accomplished anyway by mass internal migration), it’s just something to get their tribe riled up about.

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see also NRA

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White people get reassured by the system they have little to worry about so far a black encroachment on their privileges. Hard to be too fearful when every other black man is either killed, jailed or excluded from all but the most menial jobs, and blocked from advancement out of those no matter how hard they work or play by the rules…

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And in the usual rightwing illogical way of thinking, they ban abortion so that women of color have no option but to bring more babies of color into the world. I thought the terror of being outnumbered by people of color was the motivating factor in rightwing world. So WTAF!

well it will be a horse race - they also have another target - a way to focus their intense “Straight-Hate”

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Racism is an evil but alleging where it is not is a more dire evil. The terms “white supremacy” and “white privilege” are overused and that results in them losing credibility even when properly used. Frankly the GOP has NO convictions…other than a desire to hold power to nursemaid their donors. GOP’ers don’t give a shit about abortion, CRT, wokeness or The Gay Agenda. They don’t give a shit about God or Guns either. Those are constructs to keep the base well fed while doing NOTHING to advance the real needs of that base. There is NO serious motive for the anti-abortion stance other than show boating for and duping the rubes.

This article gets the big picture dangerously wrong. That there’s “reasons” for the GOP’s antisocial behavior other than duping voters. There aren’t any genuine reasons for their morbid shit other than a self serving lust for power.

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Isn’t that the sin of Onan?

Killing Roe v Wade is more than about racism. It’s also about enslaving anyone who’s body contains a uterus. The state will own every uterus in America and there by the bodies that are attached.

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yes … if there were 500 multi-billionaires who were active child rapists and were eager to throw their wealth around in the political arena - the GOP would suddenly be in favor of de-criminalizing child rape!

They wouldn’t do this if it didn’t work. It’s that natural progression of bad policy aimed at the base nature of their base. Look at guns. From “second amendment” arguments that accepted regulation of the 90’s to "no license concealed carry cop killing bullets of today. The red meat must get redder. From No abortion after 3 months of the 90’s to NO ABORTION, overturn Roe and jailing doctors and patients…the natural progression of hateful policy. The red meat must get redder. From shunning Gays in the 90’s to outright endangering them and legislating ways to punish and ostracize them today.

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No. They wouldn’t be in favor of that as they don’t give a shit about anything. They’d claim to be in favor of whatever to get billionaire money. The billionaires know that.

that was my point - they will do whatever - to keep the $$$ rolling in - and the American people , the constitution , and anything else make no difference - they GOP is now controlled by a bunch of opportunistic shits.

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Not really. That’s a Biblical reference which to me makes it meaningless. No one knows who wrote that or what the motives for writing it were. The remark has been edited by kings and emperors over last 2 thousand years to make the Holy Book conform to the needs of those kings. The entire thing is now meaningless. Like the Salvator Mundi, so little of the original Leonardo remains that the thing MBS has is meaningless.

Sorry this title is a bit click-baity and as I read it, it is clearly just playing fast and loose with the facts. I know Southern Baptists and many are racist, but many are not. Their feelings on abortion are not tied to race. To claim that abortion “wasn’t of interest to evangelical Americans” yet they had three resolutions on the topic in a few years time isn’t even logically consistent. Then to claim " in 1971, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution in support of abortion, and that resolution was subsequently upheld in 1974 and 1976." Is a terrible twisting of facts and misstating of positions.

Here is the resolution:

Resolution On Abortion, adopted at the SBC convention, June 1971:
WHEREAS, Christians in the American society today are faced with difficult decisions about abortion; and
WHEREAS, Some advocate that there be no abortion legislation, thus making the decision a purely private matter between a woman and her doctor; and
WHEREAS, Others advocate no legal abortion, or would permit abortion only if the life of the mother is threatened;
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, that this Convention express the belief that society has a responsibility to affirm through the laws of the state a high view of the sanctity of human life, including fetal life, in order to protect those who cannot protect themselves; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we call upon Southern Baptists to work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother

This position clearly supports the state making restrictions on abortion with carve outs for the usual serious conditions. It is not “in support of abortion”. There is a danger in ascribing racism to anyone holding a different opinion on an issue. This position by the Southern Baptists is actually fairly reasonable and has common ground to build on, but if we simply say everyone must be sorted into two buckets of “racist” and “Pro Abortion” then we lose any good faith we might have had to build on.

There are serious moral implications to ending the potential for life (or beginning it). Sex is a highly regulated activity, and always has been, because of its consequences. We keep it away from children, people who do not have complete mental faculties; we keep it private; we associate understood obligations for it’s consequences including financial and other responsibilities and rights over children. It is rational that people can have differing views around what laws are appropriate to regulate the birth of children. To say it is a trojan horse for racism is petty virtue signaling that does nothing but allow liberals to feel they have the high ground and there is no need to engage with the other side.

Most Americans support Roe v Wade. Most support abortion being legal at least in some circumstances. Most support abortion being restricted in at least some circumstances. This doesn’t have to be such a wedge issue unless we say that everyone who doesn’t agree with us is a racist.

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Being saddled with too many kids you may very well be unable to afford means you’re one less person able to compete for good jobs, good housing and good anything else whites want for themselves. Sure, it costs the government more to support them, but once the GOP controls all three branches of government that’ll get dealt with, too. And if those destitute, abused, ignored, poorly educated kids end up as problem criminals they can always be jailed or killed.

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This seems like a contradiction in the argument of the article, to me. I don’t get it.

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The GOP believes in equal rights for all straight, male, property owning, Christian men.

All others need not apply.

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White evangelical patriarchy has a long, repugnant history with racism and segregation:

“We deny that Christian belief, character, or conduct can be dictated by any other authority, and we deny that the postmodern ideologies derived from intersectionality, radical feminism, and critical race theory are consistent with biblical teaching. We further deny that competency to teach on any biblical issue comes from any qualification for spiritual people other than clear understanding and simple communication of what is revealed in scripture.”

It’s not a superficial link at all–the two things interwoven are the lifeblood of the movement, as they are with all white nationalist / authoritarian movements.

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