Frontline: "The Last Abortion Clinic"

I have a long post percolating on the Supreme Court and womens' rights, but till it is ready, here's a link to Heather Havrilesky's column in Salon on the vanished options for poor rural American women.

PBS's "The Last Abortion Clinic" (9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8; check listings) shook me out of my stupor. As this "Frontline" special clearly and carefully explains, whether or not Roe v. Wade is repealed, the antiabortion agenda in many states has already made it nearly impossible for a poor woman to get an abortion.

[...]

Mississippi actually sells license plates that say "Choose Life" on them, with all proceeds going to Crisis Pregnancy Centers. What can women get at these centers, 2,000 of which exist nationwide? Free pregnancy tests, confidential counseling, free ultrasounds so the women can see their unborn children, and free baby clothes. What can't they get? Free birth control or birth control counseling, information on where to get an abortion, or free prenatal care.

I have plenty to say on the subject, but till I can get it to come out sounding rational rather than as a primal shriek, let me just add this thought. I am totally on board with the "safe, legal and rare" designation, and can understand why people have such heartfelt objections to abortion, even if I disagree. What I cannot support, cannot understand, and what fills me with blind fury is these same peoples' opposition to: birth control and health care for these same women. If you're going to force them to be babymaking machines, how do you justify opposing free prenatal care? Unconscionable and unfathomable.