This Movie Gives Me Nightmares

In Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel, Brave New World, people have no parents. They are gestated inside test tubes in factory-like settings where their development is monitored and controlled by a state agency. If Huxley had been writing horror instead of sci-fi, he might have dismissed the test tubes and instead described a society in which corpses are repurposed as incubators.

Such a ghastly scenario is too gruesome for most horror writers. Even Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein, only envisioned dead bodies being rebuilt with spare parts so that they could be brought back to life.

In recent times, there have been occasional suggestions from researchers or politicians that brain-dead women or women in persistent vegetative states could be used as surrogates, or "fetal containers" for couples using IVF, or for fetuses transferred from women seeking abortions.

Now think about zombies.

Horror movies and TV shows portray zombies as angry dead people who have come to life, or people infected by a bizarre epidemic, who relentlessly attack the living, often with an appetite for brains. But the original zombies were less spectacular. They were dead people reanimated through voodoo, who were used as slaves.

It's happening now. Without consent, and against the family's wishes, a brain-dead woman is being used to incubate a fetus. If this horrifying procedure results in a live birth, there is a good chance the baby will face serious medical problems and disabilities. But that won't stop the mad scientists from trying it again.

What we are seeing is the zombification of women's bodies.



 

Whose Body Is It, Anyway?

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

Imagine this. A young man falls ill, experiencing some kind of seizure, or perhaps a stroke, that releases blood clots into his brain, ultimately causing his death. His brain is not functioning, and the attending physician has declared him dead. However, because he was connected to life support equipment in the hospital, some parts of his body are still functioning in a machine-like way.

An examination reveals that his testicles are still producing viable sperm cells. A state agency notifies the hospital that the man must not be disconnected from life support, even though the local medical board officially confirms that he is dead. According to a recently-passed state law, destroying or discarding potentially viable gametes is "equivalent to terminating human life" and carries heavy penalties. The hospital is required to maintain the man's body and to retrieve the sperm.

The man was single, and there is no one in his family who wants to use or preserve his sperm. In fact, his family members have refused to give permission for any further medical treatment, and have requested that the life support equipment be removed. State officials suggest that the sperm can be frozen and stored at a sperm bank, although it is unclear who would be responsible for the costs involved. Further, without the man's consent (impossible to get at this point), the sperm cannot be used in a fertilization procedure. State legislators introduce a bill that would make "orphaned or unclaimed gametes" wards of the state, to be donated as directed by state health officials.

In the meantime, the man's dead body continues to be operated by machines, using resources that otherwise would go to living people in critical condition whose lives might be saved.

Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But is it any crazier than artificially maintaining a dead woman's body so she can be used as an incubator?



 

Vanishing Health Care


Around 20% of Americans rely on Medicaid for their health care coverage. Depending on the location, it may be somewhat more or less than that. Medicaid covers 41% of births and about 60% of nursing home patients.

Even if you don't use Medicaid, because you have good insurance or you are able to pay out of pocket, Medicaid affects you. How? The clinic or hospital where you get your treatment depends on those Medicaid payments. If those patients disappear, the facility can't afford to stay in business and continue to provide your care.

This is an even bigger problem if you live in a rural area or an underserved town. There already aren't enough doctors, and if the hospitals and medical practices are forced to close because they lose Medicaid, there will be none. You won't enjoy driving 300 miles to get routine care in a far-off city. and if you have a heart attack, 911 can't send an ambulance that doesn't exist to take you to an emergency room that closed two years ago.

 

Random Thoughts

Savonarola's execution in the Piazza della Signoria, painting by Filippo Dolciati (1498)




Spiro Agnew was born too soon. He had to take bribes quietly, and eventually it cost him his job. If only he could be a part of today's Republican administration, he'd probably be put in charge of the Treasury.



If I wanted to make a big impression on an 8-year-old, I'd have a huge parade with fancy cars, guys with swords, prancing horses, and marching camels, lots of camels.



Sometimes, all I want from the people around me is to just stop talking.



According to the ACLU, "U.S. citizens do not have to carry proof of citizenship on their person if they are in the United States." Further, federal agents do not have a legal basis to suspect someone of an immigration violation just because of their race or ethnicity (or having an accent, or speaking a language). Even so, in light of current events, it may be a good idea for people of certain demographic groups to have proof of citizenship with them.



There were countries I didn't visit, because they were dangerous for tourists. Now I live in one.



If you just want to use the restroom, and a fascist demands you "prove" your gender, what should you do?

a. tell him "you first"
b. invite him to join you in a stall
c. call 911 and report him for invading the ladies room
d. sing "I Enjoy Being a Girl"



What kind of country has a special police force, with no restrictions on its power, that can arrest and detain anyone, anytime, without explanation?