Recent events in Texas made my blood boil. Not sure I can be less dramatic about it. I’ve accepted that the modern Republican party made a slight turn from white nationalism and into Fascism, but the anti-abortion law enforcement provisions (Sec. 171.208) of the Texas SB8 bill easily go from “we’re moving towards fascism” to “you are here.”
The bill says this:
Any person, other than an officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity in this state, may bring a civil action against any person who:
(1) performs or induces an abortion in violation of this subchapter;
(2) knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise, if the abortion is performed or induced in violation of this subchapter, regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation of this subchapter; or
(3) intends to engage in the conduct described by Subdivision (1) or (2)
I bolded a portion of the paragraph above to indicate that the law explicitly promotes vigilante terrorism, pitting neighbor against neighbor, family member against family member, friend against friend.
Note that it’s not the state that’s enforcing the law, it’s the guy who brings your mail back to you when the post office accidentally puts it in his mailbox; better hope that letter isn’t from Planned Parenthood, you know what I mean?
This is a deliberate, fascist tactic that is designed to undermine cohesion of a community achieved through social and family ties, and replace those ties with tribal identification through ideology, dogma, and religion.
I grew up in the Soviet Union. When I went to elementary school, we were taught about Pavlik Morozov, a hero of the Soviet Union. He was a young boy who sold out his father for “anti-Soviet” activity. His father was arrested and killed; his family didn’t take kindly to that, so in turn they murdered the boy, after which they themselves were murdered by the regime.
It’s a fucking tragedy, it’s not an example to be used as a model for law enforcement that purposefully circumvents federal law.
It’s the perfect showcase of what happens when ideological bonds replace family bonds, and it’s a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks that anything good can come of this newest attempt at destroying democracy in the United States.
When ideology replaces personal bonds, trust disappears. You never really know what someone’s convictions are, so you never really know whether you can trust to tell them anything.
…and it’s actually worse than all that.
What’s worse is that the State of Texas added a $10,000 bounty on every successful civil suit, so if the defendant cannot prove that they shouldn’t be prosecuted, the fundamentalist vigilante terrorist gets the $10K and any other costs associated with the civil suit.
So now not only do we have an incentive for ideologically-motivated hunt for women who may or may not be contemplating their reproductive future, but we also have a fiscal motive.
If you’ve ever wondered what could be worse than fascism, Texas just showed you that when you put enough smart people in a room, you can improve anything. This is the New American Fascism, just like old fascism, but more evil.
Oh that guy - good analogy.
UPDATE Sept 8 - I removed sentence defining the defender in the civil suit. It was confusing and unnecessary. The defender is anyone aiding women seeking abortion.