The Pill Kills Day

So, tomorrow is “The Pill Kills Day” among anti-abortion activists.  Some of them will even be protesting at the Planned Parenthood here in Nashville.

On the one hand, of course this makes complete sense.  Anti-abortion activists do not believe that a woman should have control of what happens to her body.  And The Pill gives women a great deal of control over what happens to our bodies.

But on the other hand, it really makes no sense.  You could probably get most of America on-board with the idea that a lot of abortions are “wrong,” even if most of America still wants to be able to get an abortion when it needs it.  But the Pill?

I can only assume that these anti-abortion activists have never had the kinds of cramps that make you seriously contemplate stabbing yourself through the back with a fork and plucking out your ovaries.  Because, if they had, they would know that, when a woman, like any other animal, is scared and in pain, the truth comes down to “What will get me through the next minute?”

And if someone can promise you that, if you take this pill, you won’t feel pain like that again, you don’t really give a shit if someone, somewhere is concerned that, maybe, if you happen to ovulate while on it, even though there’s a 99.9999% chance that you won’t, and get pregnant, there’s a .00000000001% chance the pregnancy might not take.

Are anti-abortion activists really expecting women to be all like “Sure, take away the thing that keeps me from doubling over in pain.  Take away the thing that lets me take this other medicine I need to live, because the pharmacist can’t give it to me otherwise.  Etc.”

I mean, do anti-abortion activists even know all the reasons why women take The Pill?  Are most women even aware that anti-abortion activists are taking on the Pill next?

Anyway, there’s a vigil planned for Dr. Tiller at the Planned Parenthood tomorrow, which you should check out.  It goes from 9-11.

Here’s some stuff you can read:

Pete

Rachel

Kleinheider

and here’s Rachel Maddow talking about Dr. Tiller as well.

What’s Going on with the Republicans?!

Tiny Pasture asked me on Wednesday if I thought they’d get rid of Hobbs and I was all “No.  He might choose to leave, but they’ll never get rid of him.”

Consider the crow eaten.

Corker’s people come on board and Hobbs is out.

Jackson Baker’s got some good analysis, but here’s my question.

Smith and Hobbs helped Republicans win Tennessee.  It was ugly and, well, boy, it was ugly, but they did it.

But now, anyone who’s been down to the statehouse can see that it’s a giant clusterfuck.  Bills that shouldn’t see the light of day are being debated by people who don’t even know how the system they’re in works.

At Blogger Appeasement Day on the Hill, I asked over lunch of the National Democrats would come in and take over and steer the Democratic ship back into deep waters and the general consensus was “no,” that, if they were going to do anything, it would be to build a new ship.

But now I wonder if that’s not the wrong question.  Is the Republican party in such a state now that certain Republicans can feel like Tennessee Republicans are having the wrong kind of success?  Are smart, urbane Republicans willing to stop exploiting the yahoo vote in order to reassure the nation that Tennessee is not full of Republican Yahoos?

I don’t know how to read the tea leaves here, but I feel like we’re seeing some enforced sanity.

Might we call it the rise of the Roger Abramson Republican?