I think this qualifies as the very definition of a solution in search of a solution.
A Republican state senator from Oklahoma City introduced a bill Tuesday that would ban the use of aborted human fetuses in food, despite conceding that he’s unaware of any company using such a practice.
Freshman Sen. Ralph Shortey said his own Internet research led him to believe such a ban is necessary and prompted him to offer the bill aimed at raising “public awareness” and giving an “ultimatum to companies” that might consider such a policy.
Well, if THE INTERNET told you! Actually, it seems that Shortey is probably talking about a recent anti-choice boycott of Pepsi (which somehow, sadly, flew under our radar) because they’ve worked with a company that developed a taste test technology using stem cells. For a fanatic, I guess it’s just a small jump to baby bits in your burger.
Although this story takes the absurdity (and “ew” factor) to another level, it’s not all that different from many of the anti-choice laws passed last year. Shortey concedes he’s “unaware” of any company actually serving up fetal parts, but that won’t stop him from proposing the law. Make up a problem and try to “fix” it is the anti-choice way, after all.
Similarly, while abortion is a very safe procedure (far safer than childbirth), that doesn’t stop anti-choicers from claiming they’re just worried about women’s safety when they push for TRAP laws that would force clinics to close. Same with mandatory ultrasounds and waiting periods: There’s absolutely no evidence that women get abortions on a whim without taking time to consider the consequence–namely, not being pregnant anymore, which is, ya know, usually the point–but anti-choicers still pretend it’s done for their own good.
If Shortey wants to prove his anti-choice credentials by taking a strong stand against a problem that doesn’t exist, I guess I’m glad he chose one that won’t pass–and wouldn’t actually affect real women’s lives if it did. So you give that ultimatum, Ralph!
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This reminds me of a time when my a cousin (who had worked for 40 Days for Life) told some of us that in China, they cook aborted fetuses. Thank God for a phase that had me read Snopes, I told her that those photos were photo shopped and that there are some racist implications there. She still didn’t believe me.
*vomit*