Real Laws Straight Out of The Handmaid's Tale

[pokerfan]

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed their version of the American Health Care Act, a bill to replace Obamacare with something that, among many other things, cracks down on women’s health and safety. There was one phrase that resonated a lot that day: “This sounds just like The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Should AHCA become law, it will defund Planned Parenthood for one year unless it stops offering abortions, as well as make sexual assault, domestic violence, and pregnancy pre-existing conditions for states that set up high-risk insurance pools. This is quite literally the government financially punishing sexual assault and DV victims, which are disproportionately women, and forcing women who become pregnant (possibly without access to abortion services) to face hiked premiums for the rest of their lives.

This is just one of the many ways women today feel like we’re already living in a version of The Handmaid’s Tale. Sixty-one-year-old Desiree Fairooz faces a year in prison after being convicted of a crime for laughing at Attorney General Jeff Sessions during his confirmation hearing, yet convicted sexual assaulter Brock Turner got six months... and only served half of them. Taking photos up women’s skirts is perfectly legal in some states. Public schools in some states only teach abstinence until marriage, going so far as to encourage teens to sign virginity pledges. This doesn’t even begin to go into the laws and rules that punish the LGBTQ community.*

Read the rest: http://io9.gizmodo.com/10-real-laws-straight-out-of-the-handmaids-tale-1794887451

[Starry Messenger]

1. K&R

[BigmanPigman]

2. How are we 51% of the population yet still a "minority"? Please explain.

[treestar]

3. too many women who are misogynists

believe in and/or enforce sexist norms. They are afraid to have independence and afraid that men will think they do not have to take care of them. Or they are comfortable with the approval they get for limiting themselves to the traditional roles.

[Lars39]

5. Approval and limited power in some cases.

[kristopher]

4. AHCA AntiHealth Care Act nt