Project 2025: Barefoot, Pregnant, and in the Kitchen

By JohnBAlexander | 11 August 2024
Daily Kos

(Credit: William Murphy / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)

All women should understand the consequences of the Trump/GOP/Heritage Project 2025 that they plan to fully implement if Trump wins the 2024 election.  Their vision is to take the country back to the 1920s/1930s to the halcyon time that never was (especially for women). Unfortunately, too many people have no recollection of life before Roe, and assume their autonomy is assured.  It is not.  Even things such as freedom to travel from one state to another or birth control are not guaranteed.

Can’t happen?  That is what everyone thought about Roe v Wade, until the liars on SCOTUS took that right away. There is much more to the agenda and return to overt male dominance of American society is the objective. As the old adage and GOP vision goes, “keep them barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.”

Dobbs was only the beginning of the oppression/suppression that the anti-abortion activists have in mind.  Do not be deceived by the SCOTUS decision on mifepristone. Remember, the court only declined the case because they stated the plaintiff had no standing. There are other similar cases in the mill. If you think the previous abortion laws moves were draconian, you should assume that restrictions on birth control are targets as well. In June Senate Republicans blocked a bill to protect access to contraception.  Regarding women’s health, with Republicans everything is at risk.

Know that some abstinence-only zealots support aspirin as a birth control method.  You know, the woman is to place the pill between her knees to prevent pregnancy.  Most people today don’t remember it was only in 1965 when Griswold v State of Connecticut permitted married couples to use birth control without government restrictions.  To be clear, there are those in the anti-abortion movement who see all contraception measures as a form of abortion. BTW, the coat-hanger thing was real, not a myth.  Now many in the GOP are voting to impose criminal sanctions on women seeking abortions, doctors providing them and anyone who might assist.  Even people remotely connected to the process, such as information providers or Uber drivers are at risk of being sued. Like the East German Stasi, a Texas abortion law turns citizens into bounty hunters. It is time to beware of pharmacists who keep track of women’s health and are willing to report their status to government officials. That is not hypothetical and is already happening (without a warrant). Then consider what would happen if there were major changes putting Trump loyalists in charge.

As an aside, a lengthy discussion on this topic is available at this link to an America at a Crossroads podcast.  It is well worth an hour with legal experts, Mary Ziegler and Dahlia Lithwick, who have been involved in this fight for years.  

Worth noting is that in that program Dahlia Lithwick warns that much of the Project 2025 agenda has already been codified by recent SCOTUS decisions. Specifically, she cited the decision on presidential immunity giving almost unlimited power to POTUS and reversal of the Chevron Doctrine that allowed government professionals (people who know stuff) to enforce the laws.  Remember, Project 2025 calls for tens of thousands of government positions now held by technically competent professionals; to be replaced by Trump sycophants whose only job qualification is personal loyalty to him. (BTW they are already recruiting). Her point is that much of the agenda has already been accomplished and the election of Trump and the GOP dominated Congress a coup-de-grace.

Some Red States are already enacting laws that prohibit travel for the purpose of abortion.  Idaho has already enacted one.  Idaho has a total ban on abortion and this “law is the first that expressly criminalizes assisting with an out-of-state abortion.”  These laws are targeting anyone, and everyone involved in the process.  That includes a person providing advice, money, or any assistance to a pregnant girl/woman.

What Idaho has done is provide a template for similar laws.  Consider what Lubbock County, Texas proposed.  There a county board passed an ordinance to prevent anyone from travelling to get an abortion.  They are not alone.  At the federal level, in July Senate Republicans blocked a bill to protect women’s right to interstate travel. As usual, any Democratic proposal on any issue is termed as “radical.”  In this case, “Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., called the legislation ‘radical’ and warned against promoting “abortion tourism” by businesses.”  Abortion tourism? That should send hurricane warning flags to all women across America as the current GOP cult is clueless that most Americans support legalized abortions, and obviously don’t care.

There is almost no limit to which Red State anti-abortion legislatures might go to enact such laws.  Gabriel Chin of UC, Davis suggested they might use this argument, “an abortion has continuing effects in State A, namely, the death of a citizen or future citizen of the state.”  No bridge is too far for the anti-abortion activists.  Remember it was only a few months ago that Alabama Supreme Court found, that “frozen embryos are ‘children’ with a constitutional right to life.” By stating that all human embryos had standing as a person and made invitro fertilization (IVF) inviable as a technical option.  While quickly repealed, it is a clear demonstration of just how extreme these male-dominated legislatures are prepared to go. There are few, if any, limits on the restriction they are not prepared to impose. Mary Ziegler notes that the fundamental abortion argument is about “personhood.” Until recently, the notion of “personhood” of an embryo was not even a concept except in a few ultra-conservative religious orders.

On a personal note, in 1961 I went through the Dade County Sheriff’s Office police academy and became a deputy sheriff.  At that time, to prove a homicide it was necessary to ascertain that the child had taken at least one breath independently.  Also, abortion was still illegal and doctors personally at risk. As a first responder I did witness desperate young women bleeding profusely from self-induced or botched “back alley” abortions.  Many faced a terrible choice. Facing death, if they called for help, they were subject to be arrested.  Yet that is the world Trump wrought, and now the GOP want to return to.  The “states right” issue is bogus as anti-abortion-oriented legislatures craft increasingly restrictive laws, then shop for highly conservative judges who may impose national sanctions.

Abortion is not the only right these “faux conservatives” are targeting.  Certainly same-sex marriage is very much at risk.  It was just June 26, 2015, when an ideologically different SCOTUS announced Obergefell v Hodges as a 5-4 decision.  Greeted in most of America as a recognition long overdue, there were many in the conservative right who still find moral objection.  Even the 2024 Republican platform states, “Republicans will promote a Culture that values the Sanctity of Marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents.”  It should be noted that “sanctity of marriage” are buzzwords for anti-same-sex marriage.  There are certainly no guarantees that the GOP won’t move to find a means to overturn that case.  As always, Republicans are very concerned about how others live their lives, all while being led by a most egregious, amoral misogynist.

Another history lesson for young readers was generated by a well-known studio executive and major motion picture producer who responded to my request for review and comments from accomplished women prior to publication.  She noted that it was not until 1974 that women were given the right to get her own credit cards.  That right was accomplished with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (EOAC) passed in October of that year.  Before the 1974 EOAC became law, it was not uncommon for women to be required to have a male co-signer on financial transactions. Many of these “rights” are more recent than you imagine, and there are plenty of “conservatives” waiting to take them back.

Also for younger readers, I recommend you look up the history of sodomy in the U.S.  If you think that your sexual behavioral rights are assured, you need a recent history lesson.  Watch for the words “deviant sexual behavior” and know there are current legislators who are prepared to revert back to the 19th Century standards. And do know the cases before SCOTUS, such as Obergefell, were not decided as “rights to privacy.”  In fact, the Constitution does not include the right to privacy or due process as most people assume. If you are not afraid yet, consider this statement by Justice Clarance Thomas, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous,’ we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”  Welcome to the alternate reality world of Project 2025.

A main thesis of Project 2025 is to reestablish white male dominance of American society and based on the basic tenets of Christian nationalism. Comments to the contrary aside, there is no separating Trump and the GOP from this document.  Many of the authors were part of his previous administration and he is personal friends with Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation.  Transactional, they publicly dismissed Paul Dans, the nominal head of the project when he became a political liability.  There is no running from this catastrophic policy failure, which is exactly what the GOP plans for the country.  That even includes preparing to recruit and train Trump sycophants to replace thousands of skilled professionals who now work for the government.

Worth examining is what Project 2025 is all about.  Here I am borrowing heavily from Mike Palmer who wrote, “immigrants who settled in the American South brought with them a patriarchal social structure that placed men in positions of authority both within the family and the broader community. This patriarchal ethos was closely tied to the honor culture that emphasized male dominance, control, and the protection of family honor. Women were seen as the bearers of this honor, but also as potential sources of dishonor if they strayed from prescribed gender roles. In this cultural framework, women’s primary roles were those of wives and mothers, who were expected to be subservient to male authority. Their value was closely tied to their sexual purity and their ability to bear children, reinforcing a view of women as property under male control.”

Much as Biblical quotes were used to justify slavery to the slaves, similar text is used for subjugation of women.  There is Ephesians 5:22-23, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” And then in his first letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul also said, “Women should remain silent in the churches, they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.”

Hypocrisy runneth over at all levels of the Republican cult.  While many Red States lead the nation in porn consumption, they protest against the sexual proclivities of others.  The psychiatrists can sort that one out, but the danger is real.

Remember, Project 2025 is a danger to American society as we have known it. With the current SCOTUS, none of your rights that you thought were certain are guaranteed. But the bottom line is the Project 2025 goal of reinstallation of white male dominance. The emotionally insecure troglodytes of Heritage feel threatened by women, especially strong, educated and accomplished women. The time to act is at hand as everything is at risk.

‘Terrible policy and politics’: Rattner breaks down Project 2025

What is Project 2025?

EXPLAINED: What Is Project 2025 & Why Does It Matter?

Investigating Trump, Project 2025 and the future of the United States | Four Corners

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