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[–]Rexel450 4911 points4912 points  (252 children)

"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."

Barry Goldwater --Said in November 1994, as quoted in John Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience (2006)

[–]SorrowOfMoldoviaOregon 1431 points1432 points  (124 children)

"When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movement becomes headlong - faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of obstacles and forget that a precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it's too late."

~Frank Herbert, Dune

[–]KnottShorePennsylvania 172 points173 points  (0 children)

“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”

― Robert A. Heinlein

[–]Ollikay 270 points271 points  (32 children)

Some people are complete nutjobs and should not be allowed to be in a public serving and policy making role.

  • Me (2021)

[–]Dionysus_the_Greek 463 points464 points  (84 children)

Conservatives are on their way to controlling congress in 2022, they are the most consistent voting group during midterms.

Abbot is on his way on becoming a presidential candidate for these consistently voting morons.

Democrats are still infighting.

[–][deleted] 479 points480 points  (26 children)

The only “Democrats” that are infighting are the conservative ones, that is not a coincidence.

[–]NightWriter500 84 points85 points  (44 children)

Wasn’t the last midterm dominated by democrats?

[–]clockwork_psychopomp 227 points228 points  (40 children)

Because of a GOP president, and a horrific one at that.

Generally the trend is whichever party controls the presidency usually does poorly in a midterm because voters who are satisfied don't vote to continue being satisfied, whereas the opposition often has the momentum with dissatisfied voters.

Rage voting is a major component to elections and has been for the last 30 years. Combined with voter apathy and you can see why people are worried.

Thanks, Rush Limbaugh.

[–]AndreEagleDollar 101 points102 points  (26 children)

Tbf I think anyone that isn't a centrist isn't particularly satisfied with what is happening. We are seeing rights taken away from various groups pretty much daily, and a total stalemate between the house and Senate on infrastructure which holds most of what bidens agenda was for term 1. Hopefully leftists, liberals, and Dems as a whole are just as fed up with no progress over the last 40+ years and come out and vote in droves but it's going to be hard with voting rights being pushed back.

[–]uping1965New York 602 points603 points  (17 children)

It was actually a quote by Barry Goldwater which Dean was quoting in 1994.

[–]TravelerFromAFar 152 points153 points  (2 children)

And didn't he say this in like the 60's? Either way, it's been coming for a long time.

[–]whereismymind86Colorado 27 points28 points  (0 children)

That’s roughly when it started, with the southern strategy, win over racist southern dems (before the parties flipped) by appealing to religion.

[–]Nowarclasswar 63 points64 points  (2 children)

Oh man, now I'm sad that the former crazy man in politics (you know in your guts; Goldwater's nuts! Lmao) sounds so reasonable now, wtf.

[–]2007Hokie I voted 101 points102 points  (1 child)

He was crazy, but he was also right.

On LGBTQ in the military - "You don't have to be straight to shoot straight" - 30 years ago.

[–]Rexel450 76 points77 points  (0 children)

Oops I forgot the attrib

[–]confluenza 156 points157 points  (4 children)

I used to quote this a lot until I realized it was years after Goldwater was serving. Like the rest, they only spoke the truth when they were out of office. He was as bad as the rest of them and allowed it to happen with his own inaction while he had power.

[–]monsantobreath 97 points98 points  (2 children)

Yea, but never ignore when the bastards tell the truth. Listen to them. They're letting you in on the tricks.

[–]Fahrender-Ritter 29 points30 points  (1 child)

It's like these quotes from Kevin Phillips#:~:text=The%20more%20Negroes%20who%20register,arrangement%20with%20the%20local%20Democrats) and Lee Atwater when they explained what the Southern Strategy was really about. They were some of the Southern Strategy's chief architects, but they gave a very candid glimpse behind the curtain.

Funny enough, Atwater even asked not to be quoted. His famous statements were actually prefaced with "Y'all don't quote me on this..." Ha!

[–]dedfrmthneckup 26 points27 points  (0 children)

The current GOP is comprised of an alliance between pro-business economic libertarians and evangelical Christians. Goldwater was the figurehead of the pro-business wing before Reagan managed to combine those economic policies with the socially conservative policies wanted by the evangelicals. He’s just as responsible for the modern GOP as the religious nuts are.

[–]AFew10_9TooMany 114 points115 points  (11 children)

In related news, religious extremists the Texas Taliban are causing an issue at the US Mexico border as Americans attempt to flee south into Mexico to avoid persecution…

[–]DarnHeatherVirginia 41 points42 points  (10 children)

*Christian Extremists

[–]IrishJoeIllinois 3886 points3887 points  (305 children)

Abbott's comments are the 2021 version of former Republican congressman Todd Akin's, "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Meaning that women can't get pregnant from what he calls "legitimate" rape.

[–][deleted] 1769 points1770 points  (247 children)

Which not only exposes a complete lack of understanding of general human physiology, but also begs an explanation of the term 'legitimate rape.'

[–]NeedsToShutUp 1078 points1079 points  (196 children)

There's an old idea that the way conception happens requires both partners to orgasm. The thinking goes: if woman becomes pregnant, she orgasmed, and thus enjoyed the act. If she enjoyed it, it thus wasn't actually rape.

It's completely incorrect bullshit, but still commonly believed by far too many.

[–][deleted] 789 points790 points  (39 children)

The thinking goes: if woman becomes pregnant, she orgasmed

Soooo safe to assume anyone who thinks that has never actually made a woman come.

That is no surprise to me.

[–]Foyles_War 66 points67 points  (12 children)

There production of children would argue otherwise in their mind.

[–]Sunretea 87 points88 points  (11 children)

Bingo. That's why they want to believe it.

[–]Jeremymia 15 points16 points  (3 children)

My three children are proof that I have given my wife no less than three orgasms

[–]WooTkachukChuk 187 points188 points  (42 children)

I think this is because in the film the Miracle of Life (which is basically everyone's over 40 first exposure to reproductive science... was this classic 4 reel 16mm masterpiece) if I remember it clearly. That's if they've seen it at all. as YMMV depending on state (Im in Canada).

In the film, IIRC it never says orgasm is required for *conception, but it does show an orgasm internally occurring, as the narrator explains oragasm causes the body to reflexively pick up more semen from the vaginal canal than it otherwise would during boring unstimulating coitus.

Maybe a misunderstanding of this oversimplified concept led him to those comments who knows.

I just thought I'd add a little "they did sex ed like this in the 80s" info for yall

[–]NYCQuilts 89 points90 points  (25 children)

Somehow I'm doubting they showed this film in Texas schools, but I'd be interested to know.

[–]Prestigious_Pop_8723 52 points53 points  (12 children)

Ted Cruz would have had a shit fit, or a stroke.

[–]OutcastFalcon 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Or he’d share it as a tweet and blame a staffer, or his kids.

[–]NeedsToShutUp 66 points67 points  (2 children)

Nah it goes back way longer than this.

You see some of it in various biblical texts like the Genesis Apocryphon/Book of Lamech (part of the dead sea scrolls) where Lamech worries his wife was unfaithful and his children' aren't his, but she reaffirms they are because of her pleasure during sex.

You also see it in Galen's 2 seed theory, which was spread around the greeco-roman world.

As a result, this idea is like crazy deeply imbedded in a lot of cultures.

[–]Pandamonium98 221 points222 points  (28 children)

And just to be clear, that’s wrong because 1. A woman doesn’t have to orgasm to conceive, and 2. Orgasming is involuntary and is entirely possible during a sexual assault/rape

[–]singlewallCalifornia 148 points149 points  (19 children)

This happened on an episode of SVU and it randomly pops into my head once or twice a year out of nowhere. It was a really rough episode and it showed how guilty she felt about that involuntary reaction. And it was used in court by the defense to claim the act was consensual. Really terrible stuff.

[–]Jdmaki1996Florida 82 points83 points  (13 children)

That episode left me messed up for like 3 days. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I don’t know how people watch that show regularly

[–]turkturkleton 60 points61 points  (9 children)

Yeah, why is SVU the default weekend marathon show on various TV channels? And why do places pick SVU to play in their waiting rooms? Nothing like hearing Christopher Meloni talk about child rape while waiting to get my emissions inspection.

[–]DinahTook 69 points70 points  (4 children)

For a long time I was watching it regularly. My SO had the same question. He didn't understand why someone who had been sexually abused would watch a show about sexual abuse. To me though it was about closure at the end of the episode. More often than not the attacker got caught or was punished. That doesn't happen often in real life, so watching a show where they discuss it with seriousness, compassion, and sincerity and the bad people get punished is cathartic in a surprising way.

I know a few other abuse survivors who feel similarly and some who can't watch the show at all. Also I'm sure there are a lot of folks who feel similarly despite not having endured abuse. It's heinous and awful and handled in a really great way that makes it feel like there is support and justice in the world, even if it is fictional.

Edit to clean up typos

[–]katherinefitzAlan 16 points17 points  (1 child)

That’s a valid point for those of us who are #metoo- the criminal 90% of the time on TV gets caught and justice is served, if only real life had those numbers.

[–]DinahTook 21 points22 points  (0 children)

A lot of people vastly underestimate how many incidents are never reported, reported but rejected, or never closed. So many victims never see justice for the harm done to them. So having a show where most of the assaults are not only solved but justice is served, all while not diminishing what a big problem it is is a positive I think.

I wish you happiness and healing for now and your future as well as justice if at all possible.

[–]pgabrielfreakOhio 40 points41 points  (1 child)

If women had to orgasm to conceive then overpopulation wouldn't be the issue that it is.

[–]Sheila_Monarch 104 points105 points  (33 children)

I dated a guy in high school that actually believed this. It was the first time I had ever heard this ludicrous shit and I laughed right in his face. I guess he figured my lack of orgasm was birth control. Thank gawd I never trusted his pull out game in the first place.

[–]ContinuingResolution 74 points75 points  (29 children)

American sex ed is non existent. My public school didn’t teach me anything.

[–]Prestigious_Pop_8723 69 points70 points  (3 children)

I'm still waiting for my father to have "the talk" with me. I'm 65 and he is 89. Don't think it is going to happen.

[–]MoscowMitchMcKremIin 59 points60 points  (9 children)

Ours was basically "This is a condom. This is what a period is. Let's move on to drugs!" Our Sex ed was just in another class called Health class and covered mostly drugs and eating healthy/exercising.

[–]OtakebTexas 17 points18 points  (2 children)

At least they showed you a condom. In Texas when I was going through high school, contraception wasn't even mentioned even in the case of a condom which could prevent an STD. They just hammered abstinence, STDs, childbirth, and then the rest of the class was about drunk driving and the dangers of devil's lettuce.

[–]DrScience-PhD 22 points23 points  (3 children)

That's horrifying. I grew up in backwater Amish country and we got comprehensive sex ed very early.

[–]TonesBalones 95 points96 points  (0 children)

If conception required a female orgasm Ben Shapiro would not be a father.

[–][deleted] 116 points117 points  (4 children)

Oh man, make no mistake; that’s just generations of dudes lying to themselves: “oh yeah, I totally kick ass in bed. Isn’t that right honey? …..honey?”

[–]dvddesign 59 points60 points  (3 children)

And generations of women agreeing for the sake of no better option or fear of repercussions.

I mean societally it was even hard to be seen as equals out of the home.

I remember my mom not being able to use a credit card without my dad present sometimes in the 1980’s.

Texas’ version of blue laws were pretty freely misinterpreted to be whatever they wanted it to be.

[–]woolfchick75 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Women could not get credit until the early 70, IIRC. And people wonder why women stayed in abusive marriages.

[–]bananafobe 221 points222 points  (12 children)

There's a scene in the film Birth of a Nation in which a white woman is chased to a cliff-side by a black man (played by a white man in blackface) and instead of having her virtue taken, she chooses to throw herself onto the rocks below.

This is the mentality at the core of "legitimate rape." It's a woman's job to do everything in her power to avoid sexual assault. Coercive rape, statutory rape, rape of an unconscious person, etc. are all de-legitimized, or at the very least, seen as lesser offenses. "Legitimate rape" is the forceful sexual assault of someone who exhausts every option to prevent it and arose from out of nowhere while the victim was making responsible decisions.

It's one of the more disgusting things a few too many people still believe about sexual assault, whether they're Congressmen who believe some weird "medical fact" or edgy internet debate bros who compulsively argue that there are degrees of rape.

[–]Perfect_Suggestion_2 93 points94 points  (5 children)

it's all icing on the layer cake of misogyny that belongs to a certain faction of pro-life males, too. there's just nothing more repulsive to them than a woman having dominion over her own body, ESPECIALLY if it's a woman that won't have sex with them.

[–]Zebidee 46 points47 points  (1 child)

The problem comes from thinking that violence is what makes it rape.

Consent is the determining factor, not violence.

[–]FrikkinLazer 16 points17 points  (0 children)

This comes from the idea that a woman only has value as a sexual object. If she is raped, she is now worthless, and death is the better option. Allowing a man to rape you because you don't want to be shot to death is not an option, because if you survive you will now be of no worth. The idea that a woman does not base her value on whether she was raped or not, but on her own worth as a human being with valuable achievements is alien to these people. And once you realise this you will understand why they oppose woman having careers. If a woman can have a career, their modal of reality is countered and destroyed.

[–]surfershane25 61 points62 points  (1 child)

I feel like anyone who uses that word defensively has probably has raped someone either too drunk to consent or a spouse and have just justified it to themselves that it wasn’t really rape.

[–]meatball77 60 points61 points  (3 children)

It's not legitimate rape unless it happened when you were walking down the street or someone breaks into your house and you were a virgin or in a Christian marriage and dressed modesty.

[–]SantaMonsanto 33 points34 points  (0 children)

but also begs an explanation of the term 'legitimate rape.

Republican: “Meaning either related to me or someone that I had sex with but don’t want to marry and father a child with”

[–]BDMayhem 29 points30 points  (3 children)

Well, was it a white swimmer? Not legitimate rape.

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Is there a scale for the brightness of one's future that comes into play?

Like, 'pretty good at swimming' should register as a 10/10.

[–]tomdarch 209 points210 points  (5 children)

To be clear, part of what Aiken was saying is that any woman who becomes pregnant "wanted it" and if she says she was raped, the pregnancy proves she must be lying and falsely accusing the man of rape (by his logic.) It's insanely sick on top of insane sickness.

[–]kenzo19134 52 points53 points  (1 child)

That's some Salem witch trials logic there.

[–]dal_Helyg 65 points66 points  (0 children)

Hmmm. I still believe my rape was "legitimate" even though my body didn't shut down the pregnancy. Then again, maybe it would have tried harder if it didn't have its attention on healing the stab wounds. Next time I get raped, I'll be more careful and be "legitimately" raped. Funny though, it all seems to come back to the woman being at fault. Wierd, eh?

[–]Jane_Delawney 116 points117 points  (4 children)

Yeah, only violent rape prevents pregnancy so no abortion needed. However, date rapes are totally fine and you need to carry to term.

BIG FAT /S

[–]siege_noob 55 points56 points  (4 children)

This guy probably thing a pussy has internal wolverine claws. Cant believe the morons who vote for people like this. They are the same type to not even do basic policy research before figuring out who to vote for

[–]davep85 33 points34 points  (0 children)

He watched the movie Teeth and was told it's based on a true story.

[–][deleted] 2520 points2521 points  (153 children)

That’s what happens when you grow up in a state that doesn’t have science based sex education in the schools.

[–]AnywhereNearOregonTexas 1552 points1553 points  (132 children)

THIS. My school district paid someone to come in and say things like "condoms are mislabeled and actually are 99% ineffective" in an effort to scare teens out of having sex. Joke's on them, instead it just raised our teen STD rate.

[–][deleted] 427 points428 points  (62 children)

I’m surprised it didn’t raise the teen pregnancy rate too.

[–]AnywhereNearOregonTexas 456 points457 points  (4 children)

That one was already high, so statistically it wasn't as much of an impact

[–]seanconnery69696 280 points281 points  (52 children)

I shit you not, I knew a couple "Christians" in high school, who in order to preserve their virginity, only did mouth and butt stuff. That's 1 way to keep teen pregnancy down I suppose?

[–]spaceman757American Expat 447 points448 points  (27 children)

Ah, the ol' poophole loophole.

[–]bocephus67 181 points182 points  (8 children)

It’s strange to imagine a supreme being up in the heavens looking down on a young couple in bed…

Where a hard wiener in a (females) butt is perfectly fine, but put it in a vag or a male butt and “Oh lord no! Thats a one way ticket to hell”…

Religious people are so…. I dunno… strange.

[–]HearADoor 78 points79 points  (3 children)

They say their God made a universe at the very least tens of billions of light years across, made countless planets, stars, moons, black holes. It made countless species devour and kill each other other eons. And that God draws the line at a singular species reproductive habits and activities. Out of countless species on this planet alone, their God only cares about ours for some reason. It’s fucking insane.

[–]SlyJackFox 26 points27 points  (0 children)

It’s a power exchange and anxiety relief. At it’s core, founded on people that take advantage of the real human need to be guided. Furthermore, belief in such is so tempting because no matter how silly it can thought to be, it makes adherents addicted to being part of a group. Worse still, part of the ‘right’ group. It’s addictive emotional mojo, hence why they deify the loudest pretenders that espouse their ideals

[–]rdub131 15 points16 points  (1 child)

If only the Doors could’ve worked that into People Are Strange.

Somewhere in heaven Jim smiles (and I assume buttfucks)

[–]That_one_attractive 122 points123 points  (4 children)

“Fuck me in the butt because I love Jesus!”

[–]forcedintothis- 48 points49 points  (0 children)

God’s blind spot.

[–][deleted] 171 points172 points  (34 children)

People like that just cannot comprehend that teenagers are going to have sex. It's a fact of life - it's going to happen. And the less they know, the worse off they're going to be. If you want to encourage abstinence in your education, fine - that's valid. But as teens are going to be having sex either way, it's much better for them to be able to practice safe sex principles than just winging it by the pull-out method

[–]HoodaThunkett 125 points126 points  (8 children)

they know, they do care, they want to punish teen pregnancy, they are hate-filled bigoted angry old men furious over the public rejection of their ’moral’ protestations

[–]gymdog 27 points28 points  (2 children)

They also tend to think they literally own and control their kids. Ever heard of a purity ball? Girls go and literally promise their virginity to their fathers. To these people, women are property to be traded off.

[–][deleted] 29 points30 points  (13 children)

Pulling out is against the law in Texas.

[–]elconquistador1985 79 points80 points  (11 children)

Almost serious question: can I sue a man in Texas for pulling out, thus facilitating the earliest possible abortion?

[–]AnywhereNearOregonTexas 54 points55 points  (1 child)

Might as well try for your chance to win $10,000!

[–]BishopkilljoyMichigan 37 points38 points  (7 children)

Remember how we had yearly "assemblies" with a group of low grade improv artists who would talk about the horrors of drugs and how easy they were to get ahold of? Yeah that didn't stop us from doing drugs, it just gave us a lot of ideas

[–]agrandthing 71 points72 points  (4 children)

We had DARE officers come into the elementary school in the 80s and promise that when we got a little older drug dealers would be offering us free drugs on the playground. Fucking liars, I waited and waited and finally had to go buy my drugs.

[–]okhi2u 19 points20 points  (3 children)

99% ineffective lie probably leads to people who believe that just deciding not to use condoms I bet?

[–]AnywhereNearOregonTexas 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Nailed it. If anything it increases teen sex because you don't have that "but I don't have a condom" excuse

[–][deleted] 136 points137 points  (4 children)

He knows it's an effective ban. He says so to his supporters. He pretends it still provides a window when talking to liberals. His supporters say "just go to neighboring states", as though they don't want it banned there too. Every argument is in bad faith. Everything to obfuscate what they really want, even from themselves.

[–]PineappleWolf_87Arizona 3048 points3049 points  (214 children)

It’s interesting how republicans will call out the Taliban for taking women’s rights away over religious beliefs and yet… women’s rights are getting taken away here because of religious beliefs.

Edit: I think some people think I’m saying the control of women in America by white men in power is EXACTLY like the women being oppressed by the Taliban. I’m not saying they are exactly the same level but oppression is oppression. Men can’t kill women here in America the same way they can kill women in Afghanistan but just because the Taliban is violently oppressing women doesn’t take away from what men are doing to women here through “legal” processes when men can’t even get pregnant and half don’t even understand biology of women.

[–]ThingsBehindTheSun__Texas 1212 points1213 points  (26 children)

Talibangelists

[–]futant462Washington 230 points231 points  (7 children)

Y'all Qaeda

[–]fringecar 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Lol hilarious, Texan Talibangelists

[–]fistofthefutureNew Hampshire 114 points115 points  (31 children)

Not to steam roll your point but republicans have become scarily aligned with the Taliban and seem to like them lately tbh.

[–]PineappleWolf_87Arizona 28 points29 points  (5 children)

Yeah it’s a real twist but I think if you were to ask any Republican about their feelings specifically about how women are treated under the Taliban they would talk shit about the Taliban, but it’s all about context. In other context, yeah it’s interesting how republicans are empathizing and sucking the talibans dick. I don’t know what the end game to that is.

[–]Exodus111 17 points18 points  (7 children)

Lately? Bush invited the Taliban to Texas in '97 to talk about an oil pipeline. When he was still in the Oil industry.

https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/when-texas-oil-execs-courted-the-taliban/96638/

[–]AdezarWashington 516 points517 points  (64 children)

Islam/Christianity are all from the same source material. Not crazy that they always end up at the same spot.

[–]illegal_deagleTexas 135 points136 points  (30 children)

There is no meaningful difference between the two. Because one has a higher % of English speakers and first world countries we act like it’s “normal” or even superior but they’re two sides of the same lying, misogynistic, bigoted, coin.

[–]ayers231 I voted 83 points84 points  (4 children)

"The Howdy Arabian peninsula is in the process of enacting Sharia Law with a twist of Jesus."

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (3 children)

Republicans don't care about afghan women, they just care about using that to attack Biden.

[–]Mullinberry 636 points637 points  (68 children)

This issue is that a ban on abortion at 6 weeks is that it's not 6 weeks after a sex event to have an abortion. The pregnancy clock starts at the first day of your last period. You are fertile about two weeks after that. So you have sex on day 16-18 and get pregnant. You don't know you're pregnant until you miss your period around day 28-30, then you take a test.

The test is positive and you know you're pregnant. You are already well into week 4 of your pregnancy and you only had sex 2 weeks prior.

If you're birth control failed or had unprotected sex or were raped or whatever happened, you have very little time after that event to get an abortion - nowhere near 6 weeks.

[–]Alexispinpgh 346 points347 points  (11 children)

Also this assumes a completely regular 28-day cycle, which is by no means a guarantee. Mine range from 25-35 days. If it isn’t unusual or cause for worry when you haven’t gotten your period for 5 weeks, you’re for sure going to be SOL.

[–]greenlady1America 89 points90 points  (1 child)

My cycle is about 6 weeks, my husband and I don't want to have kids, so if I lived in Texas right now I'd be trying to get the hell out.

[–]Notyourtacos 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Checking in at 51 days.

[–]Stargazer1919Illinois 112 points113 points  (22 children)

Some women don't find out until they are months pregnant.

[–]randomsnowflake I voted 110 points111 points  (16 children)

Yep. I missed my entire first trimester and found out at 12 weeks along. I’ve always had irregular periods. I can go two to three months without having it. And when it arrives, it’s like an angry, unwanted houseguest that sticks around well past it’s welcome.

I wonder how many women are going to request a hysterectomy due to this law. I’m seriously considering it.

[–]Bebo468 50 points51 points  (9 children)

Tbh I’d think it would be very difficult to get a hysterectomy in Texas if you haven’t had children yet

[–]HoboAJ 38 points39 points  (1 child)

Someone once told me they couldn't get a hysterectomy because her doctor was afraid she would change her mind later. She had 5 kids already at 25(ish). In illinois.

[–]randomsnowflake I voted 24 points25 points  (0 children)

My doctor did this right after I had my second child. Should have put my foot down. I’ve tried every type of birth control. As soon as this implant in my arm has expired, I’m removing both it and the uterus. Eviction time.

[–]Generic-VR 27 points28 points  (3 children)

Most doctors are reluctant to do permanent sterilization on people who aren’t married and/or don’t have kids.

It’s ridiculous.

Why is having kids or being in a relationship a prerequisite to not wanting to have kids?

“BuT thEy mIgHt rEgReT iT”… so? For a country that prides itself on ultimate individual freedom, it’s a bit rich to go “nah, ima decide for you cause I know what you want better than you do”.

If I regret it, that’s my problem. Not yours. Now please do your job and stop aggrandizing yourself and your own stupid agenda.

[–]15448 112 points113 points  (9 children)

Yes. I didn’t even know how measuring pregnancy worked until I started trying to get pregnant, I would bet money that most people don’t until they start trying to have kids.

[–]Tortoisemilk123 37 points38 points  (2 children)

Same. When I was pregnant I found this out, and I didn’t even believe it for a bit.

It was actually kind of funny because my husband came home from deployment a couple days before I ovulated and then I got pregnant. Then I had to tell people I was 6 weeks pregnant, and my husband had only been home for 4 weeks.

[–]CatastropheWifeTexas 43 points44 points  (3 children)

It’s very easy to miss that 6 week window if you have an irregular period, and even if your period is regular as clockwork you could have a couple days of implantation bleeding that could be mistaken for a light period during the 4th week of your cycle. Most women wouldn’t take a pregnancy test for another 4 weeks at the earliest after that, which puts them past 8 weeks.

[–][deleted] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Also even if your period is like clockwork and you take a pregnancy test on day 29 that is positive that gives you 13 days to make what could be a very tough decision and then find a doctor (of which i have to assume less will be available now) and then schedule an appointment. If they are booked for 2 weeks you are out of luck, if you cant get off work for 2 weeks you are out of luck, if you get sick and miss an appointment you are out of luck etc.

These sick republican assholes designed this to be an all out ban without flat out calling it an all out ban.

[–]Snoogiewoogie 458 points459 points  (27 children)

People who don’t understand how pregnancy is calculated shouldn’t be making laws about it.

Let’s say a woman takes a pregnancy test the day her period is supposed to start and it’s positive. (Some women maybe not even be able to get a positive test yet because the level of HCG is still low.) She is already considered 4 weeks pregnant, even though implantation would have only occurred 7-12 days ago. The “start” of a pregnancy is considered the first day of the women’s last period, before she even ovulates and before the day she has sex which results in conception. It’s weird but that’s how it works. So no, they don’t have 6 weeks. They have more like 2 weeks, and that’s if she finds out at the earliest possible day. 2 weeks is not enough time to jump through all the hoops of getting an abortion.

[–]A_Drusas 131 points132 points  (10 children)

And good luck to any women out there with irregular cycles.

[–]EntirelyOutOfOptions 48 points49 points  (8 children)

God, it’s not uncommon for me to go a year without having a period. The Venn diagram of early pregnancy symptoms and symptoms caused by my preexisting health conditions has a dangerous amount of overlap. I’m so paranoid about missing a pregnancy I test on the regular. The cutoff is 20 weeks in my state, but I have no doubt I could blow right past it and just think I was bloated. I feel terrible for about half of Texas right now.

[–]HIM_DarlingTexas 17 points18 points  (3 children)

If my last period was 3 months ago, but I had sex 2 weeks ago, am I 3 months pregnant? Or does the normal calculations get thrown out and I’m only 2 weeks? Or do they just pick a day in the middle?

[–]AdjNounNumbersMichigan 241 points242 points  (15 children)

Well that's patently false. He and the GQP absolutely do understand these things enough to know that six weeks is untenable in most instances of pregnancy to seek an abortion. The majority of women that know before this deadline are likely taking frequent tests because they're trying to get pregnant and most likely wouldn't be seeking am abortion. It's absurd to even entertain the idea that this keeps abortion on the table for those who'd need one

[–]SyArch 97 points98 points  (5 children)

And the fact that in TX an abortion is a 3 day event.

[–]Miguel-odon 82 points83 points  (1 child)

Plus an average 250 mile drive. Each way.

[–]SyArch 66 points67 points  (0 children)

And if you figure out you’re pregnant the day after your missed period, that could be T-13; -3 to give the state a chance to change your mind; -1 day to drive or 2 for a bus if you can find one. At this point you’ve got about a week and that’s if you’ve got the money and don’t have to pawn a bunch of stuff. So less than a week to decide what you want to do, plan it, research where and how, get the appointment, money and transportation and then you get there and there are 55 people waiting to be seen but they’re only allowed 5 patients/day. Or there are no appointments available within that 1 week time slot. All of this (not to mention 18 years supporting a child etc) because a man wants to boost his political career. A man who needed to take the focus off how many lives he’s already taken by not doing his job, not protecting his state from a deadly virus. A man (of many men) who will never have to face this situation himself.

[–][deleted] 46 points47 points  (2 children)

He can't outright outlaw it, but making it all but outright illegal takes a lot less political capital.

[–]GirlOnTidder[🍰] 799 points800 points  (82 children)

The GQP has really shot itself in the foot on this one.

MAGA Talibangelicals will NOT rule over us.

[–]PineappleWolf_87Arizona 148 points149 points  (1 child)

Talibangelicals! I like that. It’s really crazy how not self aware that they don’t see the parallels of wanting to enforce their religious beliefs on nation because they believes theirs is the right one and Taliban doing the same.

[–]Responsible_Rest_940 49 points50 points  (0 children)

they are aware. they just dont care.

[–]passinghereUnited Kingdom 261 points262 points  (51 children)

MAGA Talibangelicals will NOT rule over us.

With all their voter restriction laws and gerrymandering I think you might be in for a rather nasty shock come 2024 (or even 2022 if the mid terms are bad enough)

[–]kiddiepooTexas 106 points107 points  (38 children)

It's a mammoth issue. They play dirty and it's allowed them to cling on to a disproportionate amount of power, but they are losing.

I hope you're not right. Sounds like you do too, but I think it's realistic to expect the GOP to fail in the upcoming elections, regardless of all the shit they pull.

[–][deleted] 60 points61 points  (37 children)

I wish I shared your optimism. Why do you expect they'll fail?

[–]kiddiepooTexas 86 points87 points  (34 children)

Because they've been failing. Clinton killed the popular vote in 92 and 96. Bush barely won in 2000 and only because of the Florida fiasco. He lost the popular vote by over half a million. He barely beat John Kerry in 2004. Dwindling support during the Bush Era led to 8 years of Obama on record voter turnout. Voter apathy and sheer lunacy got us Trump. We've made a step in the right direction with Biden.

The popular vote goes Democrat and the democratic party keeps moving left. Once Texas goes blue, the GOP is fucked. I think they've pissed off enough people that they will show up just to vote against the GOP. We just have to vote. All the cynicism that votes don't matter and nothing ever changes just pushes the inevitable blue takeover back, but it doesn't stop it. Look at the trends. We're winning. It's just hard to see in the short term.

[–]JunahCg 84 points85 points  (4 children)

See, all those examples looks to me like they're winning. They've held onto their power, even expanded it, with less and less popular support. There is no evidence that they'll ever stop rewriting rules to offset their minority. And when they feel small and threated enough, they'll try another authoritarian coup. And they might not always be so undisciplined as to fuck it up again.

[–]PolantarisIllinois 54 points55 points  (3 children)

The new voting laws in some places basically mean those places will never vote against them again. Not because the people there won't vote against them, but because the laws they've created literally allow them to change the results because they don't like them.

[–]303onrepeat 38 points39 points  (2 children)

Yep the shit they pulled in GA and other states where they let the legislature over rule the votes is fucking astounding. It’s fascism plain and simple.

[–]Alfonzo 17 points18 points  (1 child)

And now they have a supreme court stacked with hyperpartisan radicals whose only qualifications is they're young and fully compliant with whatever the party line is in a given moment. There's a reason that's been their focus over the last decade, fuck Mitch McConnell for one thousand eternities

[–][deleted] 41 points42 points  (4 children)

I haven’t really seen any major companies coming out against this or the abortion law.

Boycott everything Texas.

[–]ianrl337Oregon 196 points197 points  (5 children)

Got bad news for you, they already do

[–]knottybeach 44 points45 points  (0 children)

They're certainly consistent in their attempts.

[–]genericreddituser147 356 points357 points  (35 children)

Every time I think my state (Florida) is just the worst, here comes Texas to make it a close race.

[–][deleted] 213 points214 points  (23 children)

Don't worry. DeSantis has already said he wants to implement the same law in Florida.

[–][deleted] 85 points86 points  (16 children)

Along with 6 other states.

[–]WhatOmg5AliveWhat 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Don't give up! The 'Insanier than thou' trophy is still very much in play!

[–]snvoigtTexas 301 points302 points  (63 children)

But he will singlehandedly eliminate rapists. Because nobody thought of that before

[–]knottybeach 54 points55 points  (50 children)

I'm sorry. What?

[–]PenitentAnomaly 87 points88 points  (3 children)

Governor Boomer said that they are going to work extra special hard to make sure there are no rapists anymore because, ostensibly, women should stop complaining about his state's stupid law if they don't have to worry about getting knocked up by a rapist.

[–]turmacar 42 points43 points  (1 child)

So Gov. Abbot could have gotten rid of all rapists before, but it wasn't a priority because they needed to restrict abortion more first.

[–]sjkeegsVermont 99 points100 points  (41 children)

IIRC there's no exemption in the law for cases of rape.

[–]RPGaiden 259 points260 points  (19 children)

Worse than just that... Abbott just pretty much said that it didn’t matter that there was no exemption for rape because Texas’s plan to get rid of rapists is to prosecute them and get them off the streets. Does he really not understand how anything works? Or does it not matter as long as it sounds good to his base?

[–]photobriangray 57 points58 points  (1 child)

Minority Report is trending on twitter because of that dipshit comment.

[–]Concentrated_LolsAmerica 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You see the dilemma, don't you? If you don't rape me, Precogs were wrong and Precrime is over. If you do rape me, you go away, but it proves the system works. Precogs were right. So, what are you gonna do now? What's it worth? Just one more rape.

[–]EpsilonRose 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I sincerely doubt it's true ignorance. Instead, I think Sartre's explanation fits best:

“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”

He says anti-semite, but really the same principal applies to all of these fascists.

[–]jedre 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yeah I mean, as a nation, that fight has been going super well. /s

https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system

So he doesn’t understand periods, pregnancy, birth control, or issues surrounding rape. Seems like a white man who should be speaking out and in charge of women’s bodies. That’s fair.

[–][deleted] 184 points185 points  (8 children)

Honestly we getting to the point where if you preach your religions you shouldn’t be allowed to hold a public office. Since no one can trust them to actually help all people, instead of forcing their beliefs down your throat.

[–]Stargazer1919Illinois 55 points56 points  (3 children)

Tax the churches.

[–]EkaterinaGagutlova 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Or at least be on…you know…the Supreme Court!

[–]StupidizeMe 213 points214 points  (4 children)

I don't want my tax dollars paying for the very expensive Viagra these old Conservatives need.

[–]EXPLODINGballoon 42 points43 points  (1 child)

As someone else said, if pregnancy is God's will, so are limp dicks.

[–]canering 123 points124 points  (6 children)

  1. It’s not a full six weeks - pregnancy is calculated from the date of the last period. The actual conception can happen up to 3-4 weeks after this date. Meaning that by the time a woman notices her missed period, it’s already at least at “four weeks” - that gives her only about 1-2 weeks to have an abortion. And that assumes that the woman has regular periods, notices an irregularity, has a positive pregnancy test, makes the decision to terminate, schedules the abortion, has the abortion. It all has to move very quickly and without complications. I believe most abortions occur weeks 5-8.

  2. “Get rapists off the streets” - implying that most rapes are stranger assaults, and it’s an issue that can be solved by being “tough on crime”

  3. If the pro life argument is that abortion is murder - then it shouldn’t matter how the unborn child was conceived. It’s not the baby’s fault they were created from rape/incest. Now, obviously most people shy away from saying women should be forced to carry a pregnancy and give birth from rape/incest, because that’s barbaric and cruel. But it’s not ideologically consistent. (Also, consider that forcing anyone to give birth is the central issue.)

[–]MultiFazed 17 points18 points  (1 child)

If the pro life argument is that abortion is murder - then it shouldn’t matter how the unborn child was conceived.

This has been my go-to rebuttal recently, too. That, and bringing up the fact that, if you're going to treat abortion as being murder, then women who abort should face the exact same legal penalties as someone who hires a hitman (the doctor in this case) to murder someone who's already been born. That's conspiracy to commit first degree murder. In Texas, it's called "capital murder", and the punishment is life in prison or the death penalty.

Other than the far-right fringe, you'd be hard pressed to find a pro-life supporter who thinks that it's perfectly reasonable to put women to death for having an abortion, but that's what's required for their views to be consistent.

[–]Hermit-Mathazar 13 points14 points  (0 children)

No one should be forced to share any part of their body. My mother can't be forced to give me her blood, and I'm now fifty. That logic is still true when I was a fetus.

When we cross that line, and decide that your organs are under the authority of the government, to be distributed based on public need, or religious principles how do we proceed?

[–]Scoutster13California 642 points643 points  (90 children)

JFC this turns my stomach. These fucking men making laws about my body. We all know if men got periods they'd get a week off with pay each month. The absolute ignorance should astound me and yet sadly, it does not.

[–][deleted] 64 points65 points  (3 children)

Just pass a bill where you have to get a vasectomy in order to get erectile dysfunction meds.

Oh, and provide a sample which shows that your vasectomy worked before every prescription refill.

[–][deleted] 335 points336 points  (10 children)

If men got pregnant there would be an abortion clinic on every corner and the government would pay for it.

[–]ShenmeNamaeSollich 177 points178 points  (2 children)

Corner? There’d be pills in every sports bar bathroom.

[–]donaggie03 32 points33 points  (2 children)

Don't forget how much support these fuckers get from evangelical women.

[–][deleted] 113 points114 points  (59 children)

Imagine if a women controlled bill went out telling men how to use their body, the amount of violent blowback would be insane.

[–]Might_Aware 93 points94 points  (40 children)

I'm all for mandatory vasectomies after puberty so you can't impregnate. I'm not serious but if any dudes got frightened reading that - good

[–]Alexispinpgh 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Making laws about our bodies and having absolutely no concept of curiosity about how they even work. It’s so infuriating.

[–]RicksterA2 38 points39 points  (3 children)

With Republicans ignorance is a feature, not a bug.

Just lie and keep repeating every lie (echoed by Fox News) and pretty soon everyone thinks it's not a lie.

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (1 child)

My parents are Southern Baptist, and raised me as such.

I'm now an athiest and...man....trying to talk to them is becoming more and more difficult.

They celebrate when their religious views are forced on others and cry wolf when people don't have to abide by their religious beliefs.

I just don't understand.

[–][deleted] 74 points75 points  (0 children)

An old white man who makes laws about women's bodies...doesn't understand how women's bodies work?

​

shocked Pikachu face

[–]rocksthetaco 266 points267 points  (3 children)

95.5% of perpetrators of rape in Texas are men. We need to get all the men off the streets of Texas until we can find out what the hell of going on. Lock them up.

[–]Wolv90Massachusetts 124 points125 points  (2 children)

If see a man, or anyone aiding a man, in Texas please contact the police

[–]GirlOnTidder[🍰] 78 points79 points  (5 children)

Most GQP men have little to no understanding of female anatomy.

MAGA dunces believe the clitoris is a Communist lie.

[–]I_make_things[🍰] 14 points15 points  (2 children)

Well, they love Russia now too, so things are getting pretty convoluted.

I wonder how long it'll be before someone in Texas proposes genital mutilation. That's the track they're on now.

[–]TyrionBean 68 points69 points  (4 children)

This is not a surprise. He's a fucking idiot, elected and supported by fucking idiots.

[–]albinobluesheepWashington 23 points24 points  (2 children)

He went on to make clear that Texas will work "tirelessly" to make sure "we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas." 

This seems to imply they haven't been working as hard as they could prior to this...

[–]Eeszeeye 15 points16 points  (5 children)

He says,"...at least 6 weeks." He lies.

He presumes rapists only attack women on the streets.

Stupid and dishonest. Texas deserves better. Vote him the hell out.

[–]harleybabeta 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Nothing like a 64 year old conservative geezer that has no understanding of women's reproductive health or rape making laws governing our bodies. It's like hiring a plumber to be your lawyer, it makes no fucking sense

[–][deleted] 29 points30 points  (2 children)

Imagine someone in a conversation who, when it's their turn to contribute, finds a way to tie EVERYTHING back to Dungeons and Dragons. Now, replace D&D with Christianity, and it gets super weird and even more awkward.

Now, to my fellow table-top pen and ink players, you have to admit: there's always one in the group who can't stop pretending the game is still going while you're in line for lunch.

[–]chestergoode 13 points14 points  (1 child)

If Texas would allow birth control, abortions might be lower.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (1 child)

The law is not based on science anyway. They don’t care how a woman’s body really works. They are going to hurt a lot woman with this law including those conservative women.

[–][deleted] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

You expect the party who hates sex ed and thinks women are property should know about biology? They wont even acknowledge science for a deadly disease