The College Fix

A college Republican writer recently trounced a college Democrat one in dueling online debates regarding the Texas abortion legislation that has riled up the Lone Star state and the nation.

David Jennings, who writes a conservative “Big Jolly” political observation column in the Houston Chronicle, summed it up recently. Here’s the college Republican’s take, a senior at Texas State University-San Marcos, as he refutes allegations about the law:

• It takes away a woman’s right to choose! The bill prevents abortions after five months (20 weeks). There is no doubt in my mind that a woman that electing to have an abortion is facing a tough decision, but five months is enough time to make a choice.
• What if the mother’s life is in danger? The five- month ban does not apply in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
• Well, it is going to shut down clinics!  The bill raises the standard of care for women by ensuring that abortion facilities have the same regulatory standards as ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs).
• What is an ASC? I’m glad you asked; no one else has. ACS’s, otherwise known as outpatient surgery centers, must meet certain regulatory standards to provide some very common procedures, including  colonoscopies, carpal tunnel surgeries, and ear tubes for children. To break it down, the bill ensures that medical staff use appropriate and sanitary procedures.
• What if current abortion providers do not meet the proposed new requirements? Like any other service provider that does not meet regulatory standards, they will have to upgrade their facilities
• What if current abortion providers do not upgrade their facilities? They can continue to remain open and provide women’s health services such as contraceptives, annual visits and preventative services but cease to perform abortions.
• The Gosnell case is rare, abortions are safe! Plane crashes are rare, as well. Planes are safe. However there is a chance that something can go wrong. What about this hospital, doctor, admitting privilege stuff?  Requiring doctors to have hospital admitting privileges is simply improving the standard of care. Hospitals provide admitting privileges based on their own assessment of quality of care. If a doctor does not have admitting privileges to a hospital, it is a troubling sign. Run.

Here is the college Democrat’s witty prose, an undergraduate at the University of Texas:

For those of us guys who like girls — you know, like them like them — and want to have relationships with them that may last anywhere from a few minutes to many years, we need to think about how this bill, by curtailing the bodily autonomy and sexual freedom of women, hurts us, too. We need to stand with women in their fight to control their own bodies.

How #HB2 Hurts Straight Texas Men

• Your girlfriend’s/wife’s life will be in danger. Making abortion inaccessible for millions of Texas women is going to put them in danger if they ever need to terminate a pregnancy. Black markets for unsafe abortions will emerge, and women will be pushed into potentially fatal back-alley abortions. That’s your girlfriend’s life we’re talking about.
• Your freedom to choose is at stake, too. While it is ultimately a woman’s choice whether to have an abortion, many women choose to make that decision with the man involved. Do you want that decision ready-made for you by politicians in state government? Not if you value freedom, you don’t.
• You want to decide when and if to have kids. This bill will force thousands of Texas men into unplanned fatherhood by making it impossible for women to access an abortion in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. Even if you want to have kids, you probably don’t want an accident to make you a father before you’re psychologically ready and able to care for a child. If you don’t want kids, you don’t want the narrow, personal views of politicians in the state government to force you to have them.
• Your sex life is at stake. Can you think of anything that kills the vibe faster than a woman fearing a back-alley abortion? Making abortion essentially inaccessible in Texas will add an anxiety to sex that will drastically undercut its joys. And don’t be surprised if casual sex outside of relationships becomes far more difficult to come by.

It’s clear: if the Legislature basically takes away a Texas woman’s right to choose, having sex becomes a much, much riskier proposition for women and men.

Jennings sums it up like this:

Now let me ask the obvious question: which one of these two young men care about women? The one who wants to protect them with reasonable, commonsense regulation of the abortion industry? Or the one that is upset that his “vibe” might be lost if he ever finds a woman that will get in the sack with him? …People fundamentally understand that the conservative agenda is the one that truly allows freedom and liberty for all, including women, and protects them from the misogynists on the progressive left.

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