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Appetite for Destruction

Recently, a state legislature passed a law that directly interferes with women’s reproductive health choices, and this law was signed by the state’s male governor. This basically touched on everything the pro-abortion lobby makes an issue. Lawmakers, not physicians, intruded into the doctor-patient relationship to pass legislation controlling a woman’s right to choose. Additionally, this law was signed and enacted by a male, who, by their logic, has no uterus and no opinion. In summary, this scenario was everything that the pro-choice lobby has been warning the general public about. You would have expected that, in protest to this egregious violation of women’s rights to privacy and reproductive health care, the pro-abortion cheerleaders would be conducting their usual high-pitched screaming in the streets, throwing buckets of fake blood on the steps of the state legislature and trotting various pink-haired androgynous spokespeople on MSNBC, bemoaning the rise of fascism in the United States and parading about in Handmaid’s Tale costumes. Jimmy Kimmel should be taking a momentary break from his hobby of Trump-bashing to make unfunny and outraged remarks on his dwindling TV program about this government overreach. Other Hollywood elites should immediately call for a boycott of travel and commerce to this state, while Gavin Newsom takes a photo-op on the steps of this state’s capitol, calling for its citizens to come to California, where they can freely exercise their rights to “essential women’s health care.”

And yet, none of this happened. Indeed, the left-wing, drive-by media actually congratulated this governor for his brave actions and hoped other states would follow suit.

Confused?

The state in question is Colorado, where Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law that bans physicians and other health care practitioners from administering medication to reverse the effects of mifepristone, that is the “abortion pill”, in the event that women change their minds after taking the pill and want to continue their pregnancy. Colorado Senate Bill 190 makes abortion pill reversal prohibited as “unprofessional conduct” and punishable as a criminal offense. So, all those pithy pro-abortion slogans about doctor-patient relationship, “no uterus, no opinion” and “my body, my choice” only apply when the choice is murder of the unborn child. If the choice is an attempt to stop the abortion and preserve the life of the child, then all bets are off. No amount of government overreach is unacceptable and it is even encouraged. Why? Not to protect women’s health and, of course, not to protect health care choices. The only downside to abortion pill reversal is that the reversal will not work and the child will die, as originally intended. There is no untoward risk to either the mother or the unborn child if the reversal attempt succeeds. This is legislation simply to assure death at any and all costs, even if the woman changes her mind. Too bad, so sad, no tag backs.

Shortly after the bill was signed into law, US District Court Judge Daniel Domenico issued a prohibition against the law taking effect specifically for Bella Health and Wellness, a pro-life clinic that had sued to keep the bill from becoming law, as an infringement on their First Amendment protection of religious freedom. Domenico’s prohibition on enforcement of the law is temporary and applies only to Bella Health and Wellness. To continue the theater of the absurd, the Colorado Attorney General’s office has said that Domenico’s prohibition is unnecessary and that Bella Health has no standing to sue, as his office does not intend to enforce the legislation, which calls marketing abortion pill reversal a “deceptive trade practice” (1). Is this because the AG is convinced that abortion pill reversal is acceptable? No, it is because the Colorado State Boards of Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy have not opined as to whether abortion pill reversal is a reasonable medical practice. That’s right, the pro-death, abortion cheerleaders in the Colorado legislature, led by their anti-family, anti-life governor made and passed a law, directly intruding into medical care and the doctor-patient relationship, without even considering any science behind their assertions. It seems that “follow the science” only applies when the science leads you where you already want to go.

We have previously discussed mifepristone and chemical abortion on these pages (2). Mifepristone is the first drug created and approved specifically to end a human life. Developed in France in the 1980s, mifepristone is a competitive progesterone antagonist that, administered early in pregnancy, causes the uterine lining to thin and blood and nutrient flow to decrease, resulting in the death of an unborn child. Effective at any gestational age, it is generally used early in pregnancy and is followed by the administration of misoprostol, which causes the uterus to contract and expel the dead child. Mifepristone is approved in the US for termination of pregnancy up to 10 weeks of gestation, although some practitioners advocate for its use up to 13 weeks, and even beyond (3). The issue later in gestation is that a larger child, placenta, and other products of conception, all dead inside a uterus, are much more difficult to completely expel and can result in bleeding, infection, and death at significantly higher rates than earlier in pregnancy. The pro-abortion cheerleaders will point out that mifepristone has other effects that make it useful in the treatment of Cushing’s Syndrome and endometriosis. That is true and was discovered after the fact. It is also not a common use of mifepristone. Zyklon-B also had other uses, but that is not what made it infamous.

Progesterone is a hormone that is required to support a healthy pregnancy. It acts to thicken the uterine lining and increase blood flow, such that implantation and growth of a newly-fertilized embryo is supported. Indeed, some practitioners use progesterone supplements in an attempt to support difficult pregnancies and prevent miscarriages, especially in patients with a history of previous miscarriage (4). Mifepristone is an analogue and competitive antagonist to progesterone. This means that mifepristone looks like progesterone to the body and binds to progesterone receptors in a competitive fashion. That is, it “competes” for receptors with progesterone, so, if administered in high enough doses, the mifepristone basically pushes progesterone molecules away from their intended receptors, and binds to and blocks those receptors. Mifepristone does not have a strong progesterone action, even though the molecule looks like progesterone, so, by blocking the receptors, it prevents the uterine lining from changing to support the embryo, causing its death.

The theory behind reversal of mifepristone is to administer progesterone in high enough doses to “compete” with mifepristone, push it off the progesterone receptor, and allow the progesterone to do its work in supporting the uterus for fetal growth and nutrition, as God intended. This is the case with many drugs that act in a competitive fashion, such as reversal drugs used in anesthesia. Drug A is administered in a dose high enough to overcome the actions of Drug B, both of which compete for the same biochemical receptor in the body. It is nothing controversial or new and the use of a high dose of progesterone to compete with and overpower mifepristone is actually a very rational approach to reversing its action. Obviously, the progesterone must be given in a timely enough fashion so that the newly fertilized embryo does not die and can continue to grow. None of this is magic or voodoo. It is simple biochemistry. And what of the science? Studies are limited, but there is scientific literature to demonstrate that the effects of mifepristone can be reversed and abortion prevented 64% of the time (5). There is no evidence to suggest any ill effects to the mother or fetus if the mifepristone is reversed and there is no harm to the mother if the mifepristone is not reversed, aside from the inherent risks of using mifepristone in the first place, such as bleeding and needing to complete the abortion by surgical method (5).

The mental gymnastics and doublespeak by the pro-death crowd are so absurd as to make one dizzy. Commenting on Colorado Senate Bill 190, the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights and New Era Colorado, which advocated for the passage of the bill, provided a written statement to The Colorado Sun, saying:

“Senate Bill 190 is a bill that ensures bodily autonomy and protections for pregnant people who deserve access to medically sound, ethical and transparent care. We trust that the AG’s office and our colleagues across the healthcare sector will take every matter into consideration as they move forward and are grateful to the medical and nursing boards for beginning the rulemaking process.”(1)

That is a pretty Orwellian “black is white and up is down” statement. Bodily autonomy? Also note the key phrase, “pregnant people.” Anytime you see that phrase instead of “women” you pretty much know that everything in the statement is going to be some sort of self-serving, woke nonsense.

Since the train is never late, the reprehensible governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, quickly signed the death warrant, I mean, legislation into law, because, as a woke politician, he is definitely riding that train. Jared Polis is actually Jared Schutz, sometimes called Jared Schutz Polis. Polis is actually his mother’s maiden name. He legally adopted this as his surname in 2000, early in his political career, to “raise awareness for a fundraiser”, and he “liked the sound better” (6). Convenient, no?

Polis served several terms as a US Representative from Boulder, Colorado, having made his fortune from the Blue Mountain Arts greeting card company and Pro-Flowers (in case you need help with your purchasing decisions). He was one of the richest members of Congress, with an estimated net worth of over $300 million, and has now parlayed that into the Colorado governor’s seat (7). Polis is the first openly gay man elected to a US governor’s seat and the first gay man to be re-elected to a US governor’s seat. He is in a same-sex marriage and the couple has two children. Since politics always comes before God, family, and everything else, Polis has not commented as to whether his children are through adoption or a surrogate (8), but judging from pictures of him holding a newborn daughter, if a surrogate was not used, the adoption was immediately at birth. Hard to know, and the drive-by media will never tell, as the answer must not be politically advantageous.

Polis is pretty astute at reading the political wind, given his embrace of all things popular. He supported restrictions on oil and gas exploration and fracking until that became politically unpopular in a state that derives a lot of its revenue from oil and gas, and calls himself (and has been acknowledged as) “America’s most libertarian democrat governor (9). Not sure about that, as his libertarian ideals seem to take a backseat to the leftist agenda, given his cheerleading for Colorado Senate Bill 190 and other things like gun control. I guess libertarianism is convenient when it gets you votes outside of the Denver metroplex. Sort of like his traditional Judaism.

In 2021, Polis and his partner were married in what was termed a “traditional Jewish ceremony” at a synagogue in Boulder, with their 7 and 9-year-old children in attendance (10). There is a nice picture of the happy couple both stepping on glasses under a canopy in the news article. Not sure if my traditional and orthodox Jewish friends would agree with this characterization of Polis and his “traditional” wedding, but that is a topic for someone better qualified. Suffice it to say that Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof might say “Tradition?” with a question mark instead of an exclamation point. Money, political savvy, more money, popularity, more money, and a willingness to be a political chameleon? If the Democrats run him for President in 2024, you owe me a Coke (although he might change his name again to something with more pizazz).

Gentle readers, what confuses and saddens us is this appetite for destruction. Even in a secular and Godless world, why the cheerleading for death? In a purely secular context, why won’t the “pro-choice” side support reasonable limits to elective abortion with well-defined exceptions for maternal health, rape and fetal anomaly? As Justice Roberts said in a discussion during the Dobbs case, “Why is 15 weeks not enough time to decide (11)?” Why doesn’t the pro-choice side actually support choice? They are highly offended when being called pro-death or pro-abortion, but there is no evidence that they support any choice except for death.

Abortion is a devastating decision, certainly for the unborn child, but also for the expectant mother. There is nothing more unnatural than inserting violence between a mother and her child and the psychological consequences are devastating. The increased incidence of mental illness, depression, anxiety and suicide in women who have undergone abortion is well-documented in the medical literature, not to mention the increased incidence of medical issues, such as breast cancer (12). Has our society fallen so far that the ultimate symbol of women’s empowerment has moved from the unique and God-like ability to bring new life into the world, to the ability to end such life at will?

President Clinton famously said that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare (13).” The democrat party has now moved from that to “abortion, all day, every day and twice on Sunday.” The reversal of mifepristone through competitive inhibition with progesterone should be pretty straightforward and non-controversial. The patient changed her mind and an attempt can be reasonably made to reverse the abortion process. Those supporting women’s health should support this medical therapy, in the same way that people support the use of naloxone to reverse a potentially fatal fentanyl or heroin overdose. Why the thirst for death of the most innocent and vulnerable?

Art Spiegelman wrote Maus in 1991. It is a graphic novel in black-and-white, comic-book style depicting the Holocaust with the Jews portrayed as mice and the Germans and Poles as cats and pigs. It is graphic and blunt, with an emotional impact that surprises the reader. It seems that we are desensitized to the suffering of innocent people and the unborn, but respond more to the suffering of animals. As a thought experiment, consider removing an unwanted kitten from an opaque jar, where it has crawled in and become trapped. You reach in with metal salad tongs and crush the kitten’s head, pull it off its body, and remove the head from the jar. You then reach in with the tongs and systematically tear the kitten apart, placing its legs, tail, and torso on a tray next to the head, so you can be sure you have removed the entire kitten from the jar. I think that should horrify everyone. If you are more of a dog person, substitute puppy for kitten. Why doesn’t our society have the same consideration for children that we have for kittens and puppies? In the case of mifepristone, consider instead pouring acid into the jar to kill and dissolve the kitten and then flushing it down the toilet. If someone is ready but decides not to pour the acid into the jar, why stop them?

The often paraphrased and adapted Baudelaire statement is sadly true, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” There is real and tangible evil in this world, and every day it makes more progress. Over the last two decades, it is quickening. School shootings, road rage, genocides, depravity, mental illness, fundamental inhumanity, and selfishness are running rampant. The population is declining, the family has lost its meaning and identity, and the Church and its adherents are vilified as “hating,” and “oppressing,” and the anti-Catholic bigotry of “pedophile” is never late. Our society is run amok in self-interest, without any moral or religious code and the people of faith are some sort of a sideshow to the secular progressives. A terrible reckoning is coming and we shudder to consider inevitable judgment, while Satan laughs.

Jeremiah has foretold this; can we turn the course of prophecy?

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed;
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time I punish them,
They shall be cast down”, says the Lord”

-Jeremiah 6:15

This concludes the audio portion of this article. Thank you for listening.