not much balm in gilead these days

an interview with jack hitt, who has an article in the NY Times Magazine this sunday about the state of womens' health in el salvador, where abortion under any circumstance, including to save the life of the woman, has been criminalised since 1998. this is the abortion == murder argument played out to its logical consequences. the way it has played out, from my viewpoint, is anything but 'pro-life'. even in circumstances where the fetus cannot possibly live and where, without surgical intervention, the woman could die (like ectopic pregnancies, which are not terribly rare, which cannot result in a viable fetus and which can kill the woman or render her sterile without surgical intervention), no medical intervention may be made.

other countries do have similar laws. el salvador, though, has the strictest enforcement. el salvador has 'forensic vagina specialists' who are charged with determining whether a lost pregnancy was a natural miscarriage or an abortion. in el salvador, a woman's uterus can be considered material evidence. a judge can issue a search warrant for a woman's vagina.

make no mistake: there are those in this country who would dearly love to see this happen in the united states. el salvador is held up by some as an example. an 'inspiration'. listen to the interview and tell me if you feel 'inspired'.