Suddenly the right to an abortion doesn’t look so established. As Trump and Senate Republicans race against an Election Day deadline to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18, the idea that the high court could overturn Roe v. Wade seems more than theoretically possible.
Trump’s nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is an acolyte of Antonin Scalia, the opportunistic originalist who argued there was no Constitutional right to an abortion. If the Republicans manage to ram through Barrett’s confirmation before the Nov. 3 election, conservatives on the court would have a 6-3 majority for the foreseeable future, putting in danger abortion rights, health care and the environment, as well as hard-fought gains under the law for LGBTQ people and BIPOC. Corporations and Second Amendment absolutists ought to do OK, though.
Lost in all the clamor over abortion is that, for most people who seek one, it’s not a decision they take lightly so much as the least worst option. Amanda Shires makes that clear on “The Problem,” a wrenching new piano ballad she released today in conjunction with International Safe Abortion Day. Featuring Jason Isbell (with Sheryl Crow on bass), proceeds from the song benefit the Yellowhammer Fund in Alabama. With Isbell in the role of supportive partner or friend, Shires voices some of the anguished thoughts that must flash through the mind of someone weighing whether to end a pregnancy. “Do you think God still sees me? / Coming out of this twilight sleep,” Shires sings. “I’m not sure who I am / Staring into my empty hands.”
Shires wrote on Instagram that she’s proud of the song, though it wasn’t an easy one to write. “This song is about unconditionally supporting someone you love. This is a love song,” she wrote.
“The Problem” is Shires’ second single this year, following “Deciphering Dreams” in February. She’s also a founding member of the country supergroup the Highwomen, who released a self-titled LP last year, and part of Isbell’s band the 400 Unit, whose latest album, “Reunions,” came out this year.
Though abortion statistics in the United States aren’t uniform because of varying reporting requirements, the procedure is rarer than the combustible public debate would have you believe. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the rate for 2016 (the most recent year for which figures are available) was 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women between 15 and 44, and the abortion ratio was 186 abortions per 1,000 live births. Those figures suggest that abortion is rare. The fact that it’s currently legal helps to make it safe. The election Nov. 3 may well determine whether that remains true.
There’s a wealth of information here about how and where to vote this year.