While I’m no member if his church it’s worth noting that Pope Francis is taking some heat for saying Saturday that the role of women in the church (he said the People of God) is as a daughter, a sister, a mother. Christian nationalism isn’t specifically catholic but they play a big role and this is more support to your statement that they are trying to reduce us to ancillary powerless roles. And excoriate us when we refuse to roll over into them. Being any of those things is a fine choice, so long as it is a choice. Personally, I’m a proud childless cat lady.
But he and others like him also believe the role of women IN SOCIETY is ancillary powerless roles dependent upon and defined by men. They believe society would function better if their rules applied everywhere. I'm also a proud childless woman who can't even nurture a cat. :)
Many of P2025's contributors are Catholic. Some have ties to Opus Dei, the extremist Catholic group. Especially writers like Roger Severino, who wrote the Health and Human Services section and repeatedly used the phrase "protect life from conception to natural death." All to say Christian Nationalists can be Catholic or Protestant.
As the child of conservative Catholics, I’m always baffled when people say that their Catholic upbringing made them feminist.
The same Catholic church that excommunicates you if you have an abortion? The same Catholic church that claims that contraceptives are a serious sin because they somehow lead to more abortions? The same Catholic church that excommunicates you if you so much as *witness* the ordination of a woman? That Catholic church?
Right. My husband calls himself a “recovering” Catholic. One of his aunts was a live-in “housekeeper” for a priest. Another was a nun who was excommunicated when she got cervical cancer…because the cervical cancer must have come from her “harlotry” earlier in life.
A Fulton County Georgia judge struck down Georgia’s 6 week abortion ban by basically saying the opposite
of what Christian National’s and Catholics are claiming. See below:
Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote. Forcing a woman to carry an unwanted, not-yet-viable fetus to term violates her constitutional rights to liberty and privacy, even taking into consideration whatever bundle of rights the not-yet-viable fetus may have.
He went on to say that as long as the fetus was not viable outside of the woman then the State had no more claim to tell the woman what to do with her body than to tell someone that they must donate tissue.
Once the fetus became viable and the State could care for the fetus - then it could enact rules - as the State could take responsibility for that viable fetus separate from the woman.
I'm very worried, but taking action helps reduce stress!
Let’s mail Get-out-the-vote postcards to urge everyone to vote Blue! Some people hand-write the message and addresses in colorful markers. That’s very time-consuming - and my hand writing is terrible. So I buy cards with pre-printed voter instructions, and addresses printed right on the cards (or on sheets of Avery labels they provide). You can often buy stamps there, too!
You want cards with the Voterizer QR code (or web address) printed on. The recipient aims their smart phone camera at the code, a web site appears, they enter their state - in a flash, they can check if they’re registered, register if they are not (in some states, they have until 14 days before the election!). They can also ask for a mail-in ballot. Right then and there!
Unless you want to do a lot of writing, check the card’s back view before ordering - some cards have state-specific imagery on the front, but blank backs. If you get pre-printed cards, you only need to write a couple sentences in a colorful fine-tip marker.
I’ve sent out 350 cards already to GA, AZ, PA, and MI. Who will join me?
I'm mailing mine to Georgia shortly. These outlets you recommend are both excellent and easy to get out quickly. Voting has already started in some states. (I've already voted from overseas.) So time is of the essence.
Wanted to share this from a grassroots org’s email today. The author was writing about his canvassing experience in Philadelphia.
“Puzzling and concerning to me were the evangelical Christians voting for Trump. Some told us they were afraid America’s adversaries would consider us weak for choosing a woman as president.”
Talking about legal documents and voting rights, women already have more challenges with current voter ID laws because of name changes with marriage/divorce. FYI: VoteRiders is a great org that offers help obtaining an ID. All services are free. https://www.voteriders.org/
Speaking of men casting votes for women, another great Seneca Project ad.Note:profane language from these “Christian” men)
There's an organization called Galvanize you can donate to. They are political messaging experts who craft messages to encourage women to vote in their own best interests, including voting differently from their trumpy husbands if need be
Their ads are time tested and I have watched their presentations and seen their ads several times and I think their approach is very convincing. That's why I donate to them
Women are not the same now as they were in the past.
That’s what Trump and MAGA don’t care about. They don’t care if we die. They don’t care if there is a civil war. Just as Trump didn’t care about Mike Pence’s safety.
Trump doesn’t care how much blood is spilled because he isn’t working for the people of the United States. Trump has always worked for himself. Romney knew it. Other powerful men have known it for decades. They avoided Trump because he was a “scumbag/lowlife” who didn’t pay his workers or contractors.
Women are citizens. They pay taxes! They serve their country!
They are not SERVANTS or SLAVES to another body who cannot live outside of their body.
The Judge in Georgia got it right. American women and the men who love them would not long tolerate legislators and judges telling their wives and loved ones what to do with their bodies.
How long will it be before there are VERY angry men wrecking havoc on hospitals, lawyers, legislators etc because a beloved woman died?????
I loved the Georgia judge's ruling. His language was spot-on and appropriate and perfect. We need some of those men to get angry enough NOW and vote blue up-and-down-the-ballot. More men need to stand up like the Georgia judge did and say, "This is not the country we're going to force anyone to live in."
To the right, women and children are seen as the property of men, not as beings with rights. The use of "parents rights" by the right reinforces this idea.
Many on the right will change that tune once they are actually forced to live that way. Unfortunately, that's what it may take for some Americans to wake up, but I don't want to find out.
This is so important and we have to keep finding new ways to talk about it bc the old ones have lost meaning, as the White Christian Nationalists intend. Talking to Andra tomorrow about this and other stuff.
Hi Andra, thank you for this thorough article. I can't believe Texas made changes to its property databases. Speaking about "... while taking billions from far-right anti-abortion groups that classify hormonal birth control as an abortifacient," I wonder how these groups are getting billions of dollars, excluding crisis pregnancy centers, via taxpayer dollars in red states. Furthermore, how do you think SCOTUS will respond to the EMTALA and Mifepristone case if Kamala Harris wins and or the Comstock Act's abortion provisions get repealed (which is a long shot)? Speaking about my earlier messages, what caused the Republican Party to turn toward fascism? Is it the makeup of SCOTUS and lower federal courts, particularly the U.S. 5th Circuit of Appeals (which covers Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi)?
I'm no expert on law or what SCOTUS might do, but I suspect if Harris wins, we'll see much more red state law fare, with SCOTUS using Comstock to outlaw abortion and many forms of contraception nationwide, as well as weaken EMTALA provisions and the rest of the federal government generally. If Democrats win the House and Senate (and the latter is willing to trash the filibuster), we could actually get Comstock repealed.
The Republican Party's turn toward fascism is a longer answer, but I'm bookmarking this question for a newsletter next week.
Makes sense. How do you think red states would act if Comstock's abortion provisions got repealed? I found your comment about the potential of red states seceding fascinating last week, and I would love to hear more about your thoughts if you don't mind, including which states would be the most likely to leave, in your view (see the comments section in "What Could Project 2025 Contain?.")
I think they would continue to assert states' rights and ban abortion, and they would ignore federal mandates that allow abortion nationwide. I think TX is the state most set up to secede, simply because there is such a culture there of "TX has always been its own thing and we can do what we want and leave anytime." They have their own power grid and a lot of oil and gas. I don't know that they have enough resources to entice other states to join them, but there is an engrained culture of "TX is not the US." I encountered it everywhere I went in TX, almost always older white men lecturing me about it. As to other US red states, they take so much federal money...I don't know how any of them could afford to secede, and I don't see TX propping them up. This is more an urban-versus-rural fight today, so whole states seceding isn't terribly likely. TX is the only state that *could* do it, in my view, because of their culture.
Makes sense. I think Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana would make a perfect country, given they are all connected to each other, are overwhelmingly conservative, and could encourage conservatives from all over the U.S. hypothetically to join that country, given the political tensions in this country and it would make the U.S. as it is now bluer, in my view, and progress would be much more achievable for progressives. Just a thought. Out of the twenty-two states that ban abortion, I think Texas, Idaho, and Alabama are the most aggressive, given their attitudes and attempts to prohibit blue states from helping their citizens.
Andra, given that anti-abortion groups such as Live Action want to require deceptive, false, and emotionally manipulative videos about their anti-abortion views regarding human development in the womb to schoolchildren (which is medically inaccurate), with their intent being future generations support abortion bans and preferably back a U.S. constitutional amendment banning abortion from conception, do you think their efforts will work? The alarming quote is (from the link below): "National anti-abortion groups who are pushing the legislation in other states say this education is the only way to stop younger generations from opposing abortion bans." I am terrified.
How can Democrats stop these bills/laws? It'll be tough for them to sue in court since proving how they will or have become injured is unclear to articulate.
Furthermore, is the reason Republicans ban lessons and books about race, slavery, and LGBTQ+ and people of color (including authors and themes) due to them not likely having power in a generation with the GOP's Evangelical base comprising mostly seniors with the vicious desire to maintain political power? They want anti-abortion propaganda in schools but not factual teaching about our country's harsh past and experiences. Seems hypocritical to me. Democrats must wake up and pursue political power instead of focusing on a set or morals, winning the cultural argument, and tactics to win solely in swing states and the federal level. I think there will be a national abortion ban or amendment in my lifetime if these efforts succeed. I think the Democrats do not fight as hard to pursue political power and win strategically compared to Republicans. What will it take for it to change? I'm sick of Republicans winning by playing dirty and Democrats not countering effective responses besides lawsuits.
Andra, did you watch the MSNBC YouTube video I attached to last Friday's article about what Project 2029 would look like? You'll find the details alarming but unsurprising.
While I’m no member if his church it’s worth noting that Pope Francis is taking some heat for saying Saturday that the role of women in the church (he said the People of God) is as a daughter, a sister, a mother. Christian nationalism isn’t specifically catholic but they play a big role and this is more support to your statement that they are trying to reduce us to ancillary powerless roles. And excoriate us when we refuse to roll over into them. Being any of those things is a fine choice, so long as it is a choice. Personally, I’m a proud childless cat lady.
But he and others like him also believe the role of women IN SOCIETY is ancillary powerless roles dependent upon and defined by men. They believe society would function better if their rules applied everywhere. I'm also a proud childless woman who can't even nurture a cat. :)
Many of P2025's contributors are Catholic. Some have ties to Opus Dei, the extremist Catholic group. Especially writers like Roger Severino, who wrote the Health and Human Services section and repeatedly used the phrase "protect life from conception to natural death." All to say Christian Nationalists can be Catholic or Protestant.
As the child of conservative Catholics, I’m always baffled when people say that their Catholic upbringing made them feminist.
The same Catholic church that excommunicates you if you have an abortion? The same Catholic church that claims that contraceptives are a serious sin because they somehow lead to more abortions? The same Catholic church that excommunicates you if you so much as *witness* the ordination of a woman? That Catholic church?
Right. My husband calls himself a “recovering” Catholic. One of his aunts was a live-in “housekeeper” for a priest. Another was a nun who was excommunicated when she got cervical cancer…because the cervical cancer must have come from her “harlotry” earlier in life.
Good God. What has happened to the historical Catholic social conscience?
Extremism. Radicalization. Which has waxed and waned throughout Catholic history.
The Church is still bitter about its loss of power in the world from the time of the Enlightenment until now.
It is.
too true. But sad all the same.
Hypocrisy abounds.
A Fulton County Georgia judge struck down Georgia’s 6 week abortion ban by basically saying the opposite
of what Christian National’s and Catholics are claiming. See below:
Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote. Forcing a woman to carry an unwanted, not-yet-viable fetus to term violates her constitutional rights to liberty and privacy, even taking into consideration whatever bundle of rights the not-yet-viable fetus may have.
He went on to say that as long as the fetus was not viable outside of the woman then the State had no more claim to tell the woman what to do with her body than to tell someone that they must donate tissue.
Once the fetus became viable and the State could care for the fetus - then it could enact rules - as the State could take responsibility for that viable fetus separate from the woman.
The ruling was in Abortion Everyday
I read it. I’m also confident the GA Supreme Court will overturn it.
But I really loved how this judge framed the argument. He made it about the zealotry behind these laws and opened the door for more of that framing.
I'm very worried, but taking action helps reduce stress!
Let’s mail Get-out-the-vote postcards to urge everyone to vote Blue! Some people hand-write the message and addresses in colorful markers. That’s very time-consuming - and my hand writing is terrible. So I buy cards with pre-printed voter instructions, and addresses printed right on the cards (or on sheets of Avery labels they provide). You can often buy stamps there, too!
You want cards with the Voterizer QR code (or web address) printed on. The recipient aims their smart phone camera at the code, a web site appears, they enter their state - in a flash, they can check if they’re registered, register if they are not (in some states, they have until 14 days before the election!). They can also ask for a mail-in ballot. Right then and there!
Check out Field Team 6 - https://www.fieldteam6.org/postcarding1 - and Blue Wave - https://shop.bluewavepostcards.org/ - for great pre-printed cards.
Unless you want to do a lot of writing, check the card’s back view before ordering - some cards have state-specific imagery on the front, but blank backs. If you get pre-printed cards, you only need to write a couple sentences in a colorful fine-tip marker.
I’ve sent out 350 cards already to GA, AZ, PA, and MI. Who will join me?
I'm mailing mine to Georgia shortly. These outlets you recommend are both excellent and easy to get out quickly. Voting has already started in some states. (I've already voted from overseas.) So time is of the essence.
Wanted to share this from a grassroots org’s email today. The author was writing about his canvassing experience in Philadelphia.
“Puzzling and concerning to me were the evangelical Christians voting for Trump. Some told us they were afraid America’s adversaries would consider us weak for choosing a woman as president.”
Talking about legal documents and voting rights, women already have more challenges with current voter ID laws because of name changes with marriage/divorce. FYI: VoteRiders is a great org that offers help obtaining an ID. All services are free. https://www.voteriders.org/
Speaking of men casting votes for women, another great Seneca Project ad.Note:profane language from these “Christian” men)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbB-OXTpxu75x6SdBLen8Fg
That’s certainly a line they’re hearing in their churches. They don’t think for themselves. Thanks for sharing another good voting resource and ad.
There's an organization called Galvanize you can donate to. They are political messaging experts who craft messages to encourage women to vote in their own best interests, including voting differently from their trumpy husbands if need be
Here's a link to them. We really need this one right now. https://www.galvanizeusa.org
Andra, thanks so much for sharing this
Their ads are time tested and I have watched their presentations and seen their ads several times and I think their approach is very convincing. That's why I donate to them
Women are not the same now as they were in the past.
That’s what Trump and MAGA don’t care about. They don’t care if we die. They don’t care if there is a civil war. Just as Trump didn’t care about Mike Pence’s safety.
Trump doesn’t care how much blood is spilled because he isn’t working for the people of the United States. Trump has always worked for himself. Romney knew it. Other powerful men have known it for decades. They avoided Trump because he was a “scumbag/lowlife” who didn’t pay his workers or contractors.
Women are citizens. They pay taxes! They serve their country!
They are not SERVANTS or SLAVES to another body who cannot live outside of their body.
The Judge in Georgia got it right. American women and the men who love them would not long tolerate legislators and judges telling their wives and loved ones what to do with their bodies.
How long will it be before there are VERY angry men wrecking havoc on hospitals, lawyers, legislators etc because a beloved woman died?????
The MAGA’s and SCOTUS brought in the guns.
I live around people who get mad.
I loved the Georgia judge's ruling. His language was spot-on and appropriate and perfect. We need some of those men to get angry enough NOW and vote blue up-and-down-the-ballot. More men need to stand up like the Georgia judge did and say, "This is not the country we're going to force anyone to live in."
To the right, women and children are seen as the property of men, not as beings with rights. The use of "parents rights" by the right reinforces this idea.
Yes, "parental rights" is a total guise to create deliberate barriers. It's gaslighting.
And the parents rights argument won’t work the other way.
Many on the right will change that tune once they are actually forced to live that way. Unfortunately, that's what it may take for some Americans to wake up, but I don't want to find out.
This is so important and we have to keep finding new ways to talk about it bc the old ones have lost meaning, as the White Christian Nationalists intend. Talking to Andra tomorrow about this and other stuff.
See you then!
Hi Andra, thank you for this thorough article. I can't believe Texas made changes to its property databases. Speaking about "... while taking billions from far-right anti-abortion groups that classify hormonal birth control as an abortifacient," I wonder how these groups are getting billions of dollars, excluding crisis pregnancy centers, via taxpayer dollars in red states. Furthermore, how do you think SCOTUS will respond to the EMTALA and Mifepristone case if Kamala Harris wins and or the Comstock Act's abortion provisions get repealed (which is a long shot)? Speaking about my earlier messages, what caused the Republican Party to turn toward fascism? Is it the makeup of SCOTUS and lower federal courts, particularly the U.S. 5th Circuit of Appeals (which covers Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi)?
I'm no expert on law or what SCOTUS might do, but I suspect if Harris wins, we'll see much more red state law fare, with SCOTUS using Comstock to outlaw abortion and many forms of contraception nationwide, as well as weaken EMTALA provisions and the rest of the federal government generally. If Democrats win the House and Senate (and the latter is willing to trash the filibuster), we could actually get Comstock repealed.
The Republican Party's turn toward fascism is a longer answer, but I'm bookmarking this question for a newsletter next week.
Makes sense. How do you think red states would act if Comstock's abortion provisions got repealed? I found your comment about the potential of red states seceding fascinating last week, and I would love to hear more about your thoughts if you don't mind, including which states would be the most likely to leave, in your view (see the comments section in "What Could Project 2025 Contain?.")
I think they would continue to assert states' rights and ban abortion, and they would ignore federal mandates that allow abortion nationwide. I think TX is the state most set up to secede, simply because there is such a culture there of "TX has always been its own thing and we can do what we want and leave anytime." They have their own power grid and a lot of oil and gas. I don't know that they have enough resources to entice other states to join them, but there is an engrained culture of "TX is not the US." I encountered it everywhere I went in TX, almost always older white men lecturing me about it. As to other US red states, they take so much federal money...I don't know how any of them could afford to secede, and I don't see TX propping them up. This is more an urban-versus-rural fight today, so whole states seceding isn't terribly likely. TX is the only state that *could* do it, in my view, because of their culture.
Makes sense. I think Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana would make a perfect country, given they are all connected to each other, are overwhelmingly conservative, and could encourage conservatives from all over the U.S. hypothetically to join that country, given the political tensions in this country and it would make the U.S. as it is now bluer, in my view, and progress would be much more achievable for progressives. Just a thought. Out of the twenty-two states that ban abortion, I think Texas, Idaho, and Alabama are the most aggressive, given their attitudes and attempts to prohibit blue states from helping their citizens.
Excellent article. Highlights the horrors we've already experienced from the Christian Taliban.
By the time Republican women wake up, it will be too late.
There are a number of toxic christain men (pastors and podcasters) that have openly called for *repealing 19th Amendment *
I know. Taking our right to vote is high on their list.
Funny how they deliberately ignore that both men and women each have exactly 12 ribs. It's not like men have 11 and women have 12.
I remember asking about this when I was little and being told only Adam would’ve missed a rib. Sigh.
Andra, given that anti-abortion groups such as Live Action want to require deceptive, false, and emotionally manipulative videos about their anti-abortion views regarding human development in the womb to schoolchildren (which is medically inaccurate), with their intent being future generations support abortion bans and preferably back a U.S. constitutional amendment banning abortion from conception, do you think their efforts will work? The alarming quote is (from the link below): "National anti-abortion groups who are pushing the legislation in other states say this education is the only way to stop younger generations from opposing abortion bans." I am terrified.
How can Democrats stop these bills/laws? It'll be tough for them to sue in court since proving how they will or have become injured is unclear to articulate.
Furthermore, is the reason Republicans ban lessons and books about race, slavery, and LGBTQ+ and people of color (including authors and themes) due to them not likely having power in a generation with the GOP's Evangelical base comprising mostly seniors with the vicious desire to maintain political power? They want anti-abortion propaganda in schools but not factual teaching about our country's harsh past and experiences. Seems hypocritical to me. Democrats must wake up and pursue political power instead of focusing on a set or morals, winning the cultural argument, and tactics to win solely in swing states and the federal level. I think there will be a national abortion ban or amendment in my lifetime if these efforts succeed. I think the Democrats do not fight as hard to pursue political power and win strategically compared to Republicans. What will it take for it to change? I'm sick of Republicans winning by playing dirty and Democrats not countering effective responses besides lawsuits.
Here is the link: https://iowastartingline.com/2024/01/30/gop-bill-that-promotes-anti-abortion-propaganda-in-iowa-schools-advances/.
Andra, did you watch the MSNBC YouTube video I attached to last Friday's article about what Project 2029 would look like? You'll find the details alarming but unsurprising.