Don't let the evangelical "Christians" deflect from this with a string of "Yeah, but---"s:

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

That's Genesis, 2: 7. You know, in the book that is the final authority on everything.

Electricity in fetal heart tissue, volume of fetal brain tissue, etc.----all the meaningless stuff that will follow "Yeah, but---" is unmentioned in "the Book". There is no "life"---no "living soul"---until there is breath. Fetal "personhood" is a Christian creation, not a scientific fact.

Don't let them get past Genesis.

If you have not yet discovered Teddy Swims, sit down and listen while he opens your heart,

as he covers "I Can't Make You Love Me".

"We shoulda/coulda/woulda---" does little to tell us how we permitted a 6-3 RWNJ majority

be seated on the SCOTUS.

We "shoulda" done something.

We "coulda" done something.

If only we "woulda" done something.

Sadly, most of us SAID something but DID NOTHING.

Yeah, I know: "Surely now, SOMEONE will do SOMETHING!"

Admiral Hyman Rickover gave a wooden plaque to President Kennedy that he kept on

his desk in the Oval Office. It bore a paraphrase from a prayer which JFK quoted in a speech: "O, God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small!"

I have thought of this often recently because it succinctly sums up my despair.

I find myself "at sea" with no recognizable landmarks. I was taught that honesty, decency, tolerance and generosity were the "stars" by which most honorable people plotted their course through life.

I now find people who openly ridicule such qualities as "weak" increasingly in charge of my nation and how we live within it.

I am still afloat but, like many, am hoping that the skies will clear in November and a "North Star" will again be visible.

My boat is VERY small.

"Born: brought into life by birth." Merriam-Webster

Who knew Merriam-Webster was pro-choice?

"Kiss my ass!" or "Go fuck yourself!"

These are the two alternative responses I recommend be used by any woman questioned about whether or not she is pregnant or the circumstances of her miscarriage.

"Fill your hand, you sonofabitch!" is what I recommend be said by family members if the woman is threatened with arrest or "legal consequences".

A new bumpersticker: "Impeach the Coat Hangar Five!" nt

Hopefully, the Women's March and/or other groups will organize protest gatherings in DC

and elsewhere to give voice go the majority who support a woman's right to choose. And, hopefully, DU will make sure we are informed of when and where we can participate.

Guns for everyone; abortion for none.

Is this America? Are "papers" and numbers tattooed on arms next?

ON EDIT: After reconsidering in view of several reasoned responses from people I respect, I have deleted "PEACEFUL" from the OP title.

Thousands of American military personnel died in the last years of the Vietnam War

primarily because the PTB could not admit their mistake. "Leaving now would mean that all those thousands of our KIAs were unnecessary!"

We drive for miles after taking the wrong fork in the road rather than reverse course because we don't want to own our error.

People stay married for years after all love has died because they can't live with the truth that they messed up one of life's most important decisions.

And, because of much the same kind of misguided concern about what others may think of us if we admit we are less than perfect, those who voted for Trump and wore his silly caps now continue to support him---even sing his praises---rather than admit that they were deceived and robbed by the most transparently evil racist sociopath in America's history.

"How can I admit to being THAT stupid?"

"Uh,---MAGA, Y'ALL!"

If they ever prosecute you for the crime of "Being A Democrat",

will there be enough evidence to convict you?