How do the topics of my title fit together? They do, and they don’t. Anthony Kennedy announced yesterday that he would be retiring from the Supreme Court. There has subsequently been much discussion about whether or not this will result in complete control of the Court by extremists on the right wing. Kennedy has a reputation as the ‘swing vote’ on the Court. More importantly, he has been supportive of a woman’s right to choose the health of her own body; legal abortion; and LGBTQ rights.

The Washington lobby which calls itself the ‘Christian religious right’ is one of the owners of the Republican Party and will certainly be pleased to see his departure. Trump has already announced that he will appoint a justice who is “pro-life.”

The Christian religious right is an unconstitutional organization in direct violation of the first amendment rights of tens-of-millions of Americans. It is their domination of this Republican Party in name only which has placed these two issues at the center of our nation’s politics. The truth is that neither of these issues should be discussed by politicians.

Abortion is and must remain a choice for every woman in America. This subject involves her body and her health alone. Old, white men in Washington must remove themselves from this discussion; they cannot and will not ever be in a position to understand what is the most difficult decision a human being can make. Women’s rights must trump the “beliefs” of those who choose to serve a religion which is based on fairytales and fantasy, and is controlled by white men.

When the American people go to the polls on November 6^th, we have very important decisions to make. Will you vote for a Democrat or a Republican; a progressive or a regressive candidate? Will you choose to support yourself and your family, or will you bow to the party of fascism? Are you willing to support a party which ignores you, the working man and woman, or a party which is evolving and will represent the great majority of our nation’s people? Will you support diversity as American, or are you a believer in white supremacy?

Please tell others about my blog; everyone deserves to know the truth. Thank you.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey

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