A fanatic is writing the abortion legislation in the states
I posted this quote from the lawyer for national Right to Life, Jim Bopp, yesterday, about the 10 year old rape victim who traveled to Indiana to have an abortion:
“She would have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child,”
That is about as extreme as it gets, I would think. He’s one step away from saying that women should die rather than have abortions. and I’m, sure that’s next.
Well, as it happens he’s the guy writing the “model legislation” for red states across the country:
State legislatures around the country are turning to the words of a prominent Indiana lawyer as they draft legislation that would restrict abortion, but lawmakers here have signaled they will develop other language in crafting new abortion policy.
[…]
Last month Bopp wrote an extensive, detailed document for the national organization to share with state legislatures in the hopes that it could serve as a blueprint for new law.
“We tried to do as comprehensive a model law as we could think would be necessary,” Bopp said. “But you know legislators are perfectly free to pick and choose.”
Indiana Republicans often use such templates from national organizations as they craft legislation here. In fact, a USA TODAY investigation found both parties frequently use such “form bills” to pass legislation across the country.
Bopp’s model law would ban abortions in almost all circumstances except in cases where the procedure is necessary to prevent the imminent death of the pregnant mother.
While the legislation would make it a felony with jail time to perform or aid and abet in an abortion, the woman who undergoes the procedure would not be subject to criminal penalties.
Although the main body of the text does not allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest, a footnote acknowledges that some states may want to enact such measures and contains language to that effect for these states to use.
Such a stance is not “an ideal position” but may be necessary in some states, Bopp told IndyStar.
The model legislation would also prohibit the manufacturing, sale and distribution of medical abortion pills or abortifacients to someone who could use them to have an abortion, making it a Level 3 felony.
Some states have already expressed interest in the document. Earlier this week one of Bopp’s colleagues testified in front of the South Carolina legislature, he said.
[…]
The model law also addresses local prosecutors who might choose not to enforce abortion laws in this jurisdiction. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced the day that the Supreme Court issued its ruling on abortion that his office would not prosecute abortion-related cases, as have a number of his counterparts in other counties.
Bopp does not agree with such stances.
“They’re seizing the power of the legislature to decide what the law is,” Bopp said of such prosecutors. “This is not their function but a reckless abuse of power so we have to deal with it.”
Under his proposed legislation, the state attorney general would be given authority to enforce criminal laws associated with abortion.
Note that his model says “imminent” death of the mother. As I said, he’s one step away from saying women should die.
But why should we care what this fringer says anyway, right? Well, he isn’t fringe at all. This guy isn’t some evangelical gadfly with a fetus fetish. He’s one of the most influential conservative lawyers in the country:
Bopp is known for his staunch social conservatism, and his past and present clients are “a who’s who of social conservatism,” including the Traditional Values Coalition, the Home School Legal Defense Association, Concerned Women for America, and the Federation for American Immigration Reform. He has been the general counsel for National Right to Life since 1978, the James Madison Center for Free Speech since 1997, and as the special counsel for Focus on the Family since 2004] Bopp was the editor of Restoring the Right to Life: The Human Life Amendment, a book promoting the Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn Roe v. Wade and ban abortion.
A study conducted in 2014 showed that Bopp was one of a comparatively small number of lawyers most likely to have their cases heard by the Supreme Court.He has repeatedly been named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States by the National Law Journal,
He is in the mainstream of the Republican party and he isn’t just concerned with abortion cases. He’s in all of it.