After reading that Arizona’s Supreme Court has ruled that a near total abortion ban from 1864 is enforceable, the word “retrograde” came to mind, and I looked it up on Google to see if I was right. I was: Among many definitions Google led me to, I liked best
“tending towards an earlier worse condition; declining or deteriorating.”
NBC News reports that The ruling is on hold for 14 days, and voters will likely have a chance to weigh in on a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution this fall.
____________________________________
WHY do I keep comparing the anti-abortion folks with our history of imprisoning suffragettes?
More than 300 suffragettes were incarcerated at Holloway prison during the early 20th century in one of the darker aspects of the campaign for the vote for women, and one that has historical and contemporary resonance for the women’s liberation movement. Built in 1852, Holloway prison became a female-only site in 1903.
The women of the National Woman’s Party sentenced to prison in November 1917 for picketing the White House had no idea what awaited them when they arrived at the Occoquan Workhouse. They endured brutality and abuse from the prison guards, but remained committed to their cause.
On Nov. 15, 1917, about 20 women were subjected to beatings and torture at Occoquan Workhouse, a prison in Virginia, in what became known as the “Night of Terror.” On the evening of Nov. 14, the superintendent ordered his guards to brutally assault imprisoned suffragists.
We’ll see if women nowadays are more “pushovers” than the suffragettes were, come November. Overcoming the throw of the dice that made us female presents a long row to hoe.
Image: Library of Congress
Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News 