Anti-abortion zealots have no answers for their violence
A conversation with Ohio's most powerful anti-abortion lobbyist about the future he wants.
Ohio’s so-called “Heartbeat Bill” went into effect when the unelected council of robed perverts that is the Supreme Court threw Roe vs. Wade in the trashcan back in June.
The law bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—a benchmark that happens before many people realize they’re pregnant.
Fetuses, for the record, don’t have heartbeats at six weeks. But it’s not like scientific facts mean anything to the anti-abortion crowd that routinely conflates babies with clusters of cells.
Thankfully, a judge’s injunction froze that law. Currently, you can get an abortion in Ohio up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.
But that ruling didn’t come in time for a pregnant 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio, who was forced to travel to Indiana for an abortion. The saga became international news when the Indiana doctor went public with the case.
Attorney General Dave Yost called it a “likely fabrication” while claiming there wasn’t a “scintilla of evidence” the rape happened. Republican Congressman Jim Jordan called it “another lie.” Current Ohio Republican Chairman Alex Triantafilou called it “a garbage lie” easily debunked “with a single Google search.”
It turns out that they were just assholes looking to smear a 10-year-old rape victim. The 27-year-old rapist is currently making his way through the criminal justice system.
The case was a grim look into the future of Ohio. Anti-abortion zealots are some of the most powerful lobbyists in the Ohio Statehouse. And there isn’t a more powerful lobbyist than Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life.
Gonidakis somehow serves on the Ohio State Medical Board despite having no medical credentials. He also lobbies for Petland, a national chain of pet stores selling puppies purchased from puppy mills.
From the Ohio Humane Society:
Petland in Ohio: Where Do They Get Their Puppies?
Petland claims that they only buy from breeders with “the highest standards,” but the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has found that they continue to buy from known puppy mills and out-of-state brokers that deal with puppy mills. The Ohio Petlands bought puppies from at least five major brokers which the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited for multiple violations.
It’s a lucrative living if you can sleep at night, which Gonidakis probably does well inside an opulent coffin somewhere in suburbia.
Gonidakis has made a career out of shoving his unpopular views down our throats. And now that Roe is overturned, he’s part of a national effort to keep abortion rights off the ballot in six states—including Ohio.
A Statehouse source recently described Gonidakis as “a mob boss,” and given the control he extols over the Ohio Republican Party, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.
He is currently in the process of forcing House Joint Resolution 1 through the Republican supermajority. HJR1 would enshrine minority rule when it comes to amending our state constitution, which is convenient for them, with an Abortion Rights Amendment proposal coming down the pike this fall.
I saw Gonidakis at the Statehouse last week, and I decided to ask him directly about the no-abortion Hell into which he seems intent on dragging Ohio:
Gonidakis admits that in his future society, the 10-year-old will be forced to bring her rapist’s baby to term. But don’t worry! They’re going to help her with “mental healthcare.”
Forcing a 10-year-old to have a baby is disgusting enough, but Gonidakis can do nothing than offer the fact that “We have great healthcare in this state.” Sure, if you can afford it! But if you can’t? Well, then, it’s suddenly not so great.
How, then, would a 10-year-old be expected to raise a child? I don’t think any competent parent would feel confident leaving their newborn with a 10-year-old babysitter. There’s also a question of how that 10-year-old mother would complete her education while raising a child.
Gonadakis felt uncomfortable discussing the case as he should have. I’m sure he would claim that’s a rare, horrible instance in Ohio. But it ignores other kinds of violence that will become routine when Ohio is dragged back to the stone age.
Here’s just one random story from Idaho, which enacted a total abortion ban in August, that I referenced in the video above.
From Mary Kekatos of abcnews.com:
An Idaho woman who documented her 19-day miscarriage on social media said it was days before she could receive care due to the state's strict abortion laws.
Carmen Broesder, 35, from Nampa -- 20 miles west of Boise -- a mother-of-one was just six weeks pregnant when she began miscarrying on Dec. 8. However, she said it took eight days before she was given any medicine to manage her pain and to expel embryonic tissue, and several more days for the miscarriage to end.
In a series of TikTok videos -- along with medical records, photos and videos shared with ABC News -- she said that despite bleeding heavily and suffering intense cramps, she was denied a dilation and curettage, or D&C, which removes tissue from inside the uterus, multiple times.
This is why abortion is a losing issue for 70 percent of the population. But, unfortunately, in America, especially in Ohio, you can win a lot of elections with a rabid 30 percent of the electorate.
The tragedy is that the so-called Right to Life movement has no answers for the problems their “Abortion is murder” dogma will cause society.
I don’t think even the most vocal anti-abortion zealot would force their 10-year-old daughter to carry their rapist’s baby to term, but they have zero problems forcing that dystopia onto other children that they’ll never know.
And they’ll cloak themselves in Jesus while they do it.
THOSE WMDs. Seven plants that keep mosquitos out of your home… The best writing about punctuation… Judge denies Beachwood Police Chief’s effort to identify anonymous commenter… Megan thee Stallion in her own words… I didn’t want to go on the Goop Cruise.
Thank you D.J. for calling these assholes out! Ohio needs more exposure. You're doing that everyday.
Mike Gonidogkiller