Welcome to the Pro-Life Dystopia

A woman in Alabama was arrested for using drugs while pregnant. Only problem: She wasn't pregnant. Her case is a preview of what's in store for pregnant women in a "pro-life" nation.

Photo by Roman Koester on Unsplash

Here’s a bizarro story for you that hints at what’s head in America’s expanding “pro-life” dystopia: An Alabama woman was arrested for “chemical endangerment” of a child because, police said, she was using drugs while pregnant.

Except: She wasn’t pregnant. When police released her, though, they told her she would be rearrested if she did become pregnant in the next few months.

The woman is now (rightly) suing, and I hope she wins. But this case is a troubling preview of what can happen when the state decides it belongs in our collective uteruses, and when a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus is given more rights than the human being they reside in. And it could put at particular risk a wide range of women, including domestic violence victims, women with cancer, women with addiction disorders, and women who simply speak out about miscarrying.