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I know that there are some women who revel in being second class citizens, who like govt prying into their business and deciding their health issues for them, or who, religious-style, want the men in their lives to decide for them. There are many more of us who see what SCOTUS did the other day with Roe v Wade as being a direct hit on women's autonomy and right, up until this was overturned, to decide in conjunction with their health-care provider what needed to be done about situations unwanted pregnancies, miscarriage, or, more generally, just privacy when it comes to health. This is the first time I can recall in my lifetime that a right has been taken away, and of course, Alito and the rest of the kooks who sided with him on SCOTUS are not only cruel but ill-reasoned. The cruelty part includes consigning women with birth issues to illness and possible death, for example, what happens if a woman has an ectopic pregnancy? What if she miscarries and, in order to avoid an infection, is required to have a D&C (essentially a surgical abortion). Will doctors no longer help in these situations? Women should just go home, get sick and die? This also says nothing about if a girl or women is raped and cannot get an abortion. Govt that does not make any exceptions for rape or incest are essentially not profile but pro forced birth. Elected officials that endorse this are morally unfit and should not only be avoided, but voted out of office. On a related note, by making this a states rights issue, women are kicked out from being full citizens, who did have rights but no longer. *United* States of America no longer means anything if a women is only in control of her private health in a state she may have to travel to because she is not considered an adult in her own. From Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post I spoke with my sister about this. She is religious and is appalled by what has happened. For a large percentage of our lifetimes, we have taken for granted that, even though women were not full citizens at the time of this country's founding and, as we all know, we only gained the right to vote in 1920, Roe v Wade allowed us to be autonomous. And now, gone. I feel powerless to stop this, except possibly in not financially supporting, vacationing in, or working in states that are all in on treating women this way. I also am resolved not only to speak up much more often about these things, lest anyone believe that every single person in Somervell County agrees with Scotus. Certainly forced birthers have spent a lot of time protesting at abortion clinics before and harassing women who were legally exercising their rights. I liked when Ted Cruz was called out for being a baby killer after the Uvalde murders. Even though this is a different topic, public elected officials who so egregiously and blithely take away womene's rights need to also, on every opportunity, in every venue, be called out. Now, it hurts to feel powerless in a country that I thought was United. I already know Ted Cruz and John Cornyn do not give a hoot what I think. Nor are there, in this district, alternatives besides Shelby Slawson, Brian Birdwell and Roger Williams. I do not want to be *otherized* just because some nosey parkers who want control over other's private business made it their point to fight against women in general. For me, I intend to vote, of course, against these monsters, which may or may not work, and if it doesn't, I will fight to protect women's rights, even if they can[t be treated equitably in Texas, to do so in the remaining states, with the hope that Republican Monsters do not try to make this whole country into a dictatorship. This is not the only time I am going to write about this.

I saw after SCOTUS decision re: Roe V Wade, the Greg Abbott crowed about Texas being a pro-life state. Not only does he not speak for EVERY citizen of Texas, he isn't actually pro-life nor is the person who has the real power in this state, Dan Patrick. Remember that Patrick was quite willing to tell people to sacrifice themselves for the economy. And Greg Abbott has shown he does not care about people's lives, including all the ones that died in the Texas freeze last year. Further, I've had quite enough of ANYONE calling themselves pro-life while allowing children to be treated like potential targets in schools. I have guns, but dang, I see nothing wrong with having restrictions on carrying them in public, having to have lessons in safety, making sure people can't just up and buy them without restriction at a gunshow, Schools have become militarized and, rather than putting restrictions on people carrying guns, some Republicans want to *harden* the schools which to me equates to making them more like prisons. I also personally don't like the idea of people carrying guns in holsters and hanging out at, say, public parades. And what about the military or capital punishment or even something as mundane as a hospital deciding who to allow to die by cutting off treatment? Heck, even god was not against abortion and certainly in the Bible killed his share of pregnant women.. Southern Baptists used to be, and some Jews are as well, believing that life begins with the breath of life. So why should women be seen as some type of incubator, forced to carry, say, a rapist's baby for 9 months, all for some hypocrites who want to push control of other people's lives. (Christian Nationalists such as the ones in cult churches such as Stonewater are the worst because they want to control everything and thus do not even believe in our system of govt)