What do the new anti-choice laws and the old Fugitive Slave Laws have in common? They both strengthen the power of the state and white male rule over people deemed less-than. In the 1850s, northerners who thought slavery was not their problem suddenly found themselves at risk of jail if they helped any former slave. And under the new state anti-abortion laws, if one helps a southern woman terminating an unwanted pregnancy, there may also be legal risk. Author Ed Simon here talks about “What the Fugitive Slave Law Can Teach Us about Anti-Abortion Legislation.” Curiously while in both cases they claim to be for states rights, the laws (and their goal of overturning Roe v Wade) actually bolster the power of the federal government over us all. Hardly conservatism. In policing women’s bodies, rejecting zygotes from IVF labs are not a problem to this far right.  Only when they are in women’s bodies.