Our Heartbreaking Choices

This book sounds like such a great opportunity to bring the real stories of real women who have experienced late-term abortion.... God bless them! I've also just finished reading this post by Amanda Marcotte on the RH Reality Check webiste. When I read this excerpt I related so much...

When your opposition is relentless and has no moral qualms about harassment and deceit, it’s exhausting to keep pushing.

I mean, it just becomes tiresome dealing with all the fringe fanatics when trying to reach the majority of people who really aren't certain how they fell about abortion. In light of the events surrounding the murder of Dr. Tiller, I must admit to feeling a certain amount of guilt for not sustaining my passion and fervor in defending our basic reproductive rights. Amanda goes on to say that if we stop or draw back because of these extremists, they've basically won. She phrases this so perfectly, in a way that rational people will understand:

We were wrong to be afraid. We have the moral high ground on late term abortion, and that should be obvious now. No one wants to see their wives, daughters, friends, or colleagues suffer the trauma of fatal birth defects or health hazards that kill or maim them. Few of us are sadistic enough to be party to laws that would force 10-year-olds to give birth to the babies of rapists.

I'll do my best not to allow those who wish to distort facts, manipulate emotion and minimize the experiences of these brave women & their families... we can never allow them to take women out of this discussion, no matter how mightily they may try.

censor those you don't agree with... how very "christian" of ya.

This chick (catholichomeschool) will not allow me to post this (or any other) response to her video... as you can see, it isn't offensive (unless, of course, the truth is offensive) so I'll post it here. This is in response to this poster (ignatiusofantioch2) who has this annoying habit of SPAM'ing the same tired copy & paste crapola from every anti-abortion site in the internets...

ignatius: "Where you are has no bearing on who you are. Where you are has no bearing on who you are. Does your value change when you cross the street or roll over in bed? If not, how can a journey of eight inches down the birth-canal suddenly change the essential nature of the unborn from non-valuable tissue mass to valuable human being"

me: That is precious. So, are you saying that a person who "cross[es] the street" or "roll[s] over in bed" ceases to be a person whenever they engage in these behaviours? You are being deliberately untruthful or misleading (at best) if you are going to pretend that gestation, labor and the birthing experience are merely about "eight inches "... which would be par for the course among the anti-abortion extremists.

I'd like to add more, such as the fact that the value of a womans pregnancy is determined by the pregnant woman... how this dude (or I) *feel* about her pregnancy is irrelevant... it doesn't change science and it doesn't change the law.

Concern Trolls

If you've ever run across a Concern Troll you will be doing this @@ about now (oh, that's an eye-roll.) Because they can be almost as annoying and disgusting as the extremists out there (I did say "almost") sometimes... perhaps more often than not, they are the extremists out there... they're just dressed up in sheeps clothing. Here is how a typical exchange goes with a Concern Troll.

Concern Troll (going by the name of MrDarkbloom): ...telling them that although in a very narrow sense we could use the word 'child' to describe the result of the offspring of two parent

Me: Actually, "offspring" and child are synonymous... and do not occur until birth but really, the "extremists" are not that interested in factual information anyway, right?

Concern Troll: I explained quite carefully how to label women murderers for opting for abortion is to completely and utterly disrepect them as human beings.

Me: Oh, for the most part I disagree... I believe that to call a woman who has had a spontaneous, therapeutic or elective abortion a "murderer" reflects a serious lack of knowledge about the word: murder. It just simply fails to describe the termination of ones pregnancy on even the smallest measure. Although, there are some nut-cases who do have a general disdain for women and as such, use our biological ability to become unintentionally pregnant as an excuse to justify their own misogyny. Luckily, they are few and far between and are usually so blatantly idiotic that it becomes almost comical

MrDarkbloom: abortion is never a good thing in the way that unwanted pregnancies are never a good thing

Me: If you are a man, you may not understand this, but a person needn't gestate an unwanted pregnancy in order to benefit from the experience. What I mean is that abortion does not cause feelings of guilt or suffering of any kind to the majority of women who have opted to terminate their pregnancies. Sometimes, after an abortion, a woman will change her life (and as a result, the lives of her children/dependants/family) and be forever grateful that she was able to do so. Also, perhaps you are unaware, but abortion is safer than childbirth and in no way "bad" for women. Certainly there is a risk to any medical procedure, however, it is safer for a woman to terminate a pregnancy than it would be to gestate and give birth.... just some scientific facts I thought you could use. PS. it would serve you well to recognize that women do not become pregnant without sperm and therefor men should do what they can to ensure that the women they are sexually active with are protected (and it wouldn't hurt to discuss pregnancy options prior to engaging in vaginal intercourse, eh?)

Now, the Concern Troll will oftentimes turn on you during your exchange (or in this case simply run away.) But what they will never, ever do... is stick to the premise that they support womens reproductive choices. They disdain that they have for women who opt to terminate their pregnancies (for whatever reason) is always evident. Always. Well... as always, God bless!!

36 Years of Roe

This year's Blog for Choice topic: What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

The passage of FOCA (Freedom Of Choice Act) would be one of my hopes, to be sure. In addition, I would really like for the focus of the abortion debate to be put back where it belongs, on the women facing an unintended, unwanted or doomed pregnancy. Listening to the voices of these women (pro-voice) is one way to accomplish this task. Further, I believe putting our energy toward better ways to help women avoid unintended pregnancy would be simply fabulous (including making sure that any and all contraceptive options are covered by insurance and/or medicaid.) And another thing that I think would be worthwhile is listening to the women who may be faced with an unintended, but wanted pregnancy and helping them to find a way to gestate their pregnancies if that is their wish (prenatal care and/or economic help.) My hope would be that every woman is able to decide for herself the best course for her pregnancy and also be sure that women (in consultation with their doctors) have the ability to make any medical decisions involving her pregnancy. Full bodily autonomy/bodily integrity is my hope!

Exhale

Aspen Baker's Experience with Abortion. Exhale has such a fabulous mission... let's all pull together to end the silence and stigma that currently surrounds abortion. Shall we...

One in 3

This makes me wish that I lived in the Dallas area... I would love to see this play! Hell, I'd love to have played any part in it's production. Just seeing this and knowing that others are willing to end the stigma surrounding abortion makes me soooo happy!

REFUSE TO CHOOSE

That is the message Feminsts for Life is pushing. Wow. Just... wow. Women shouldn't worry their pretty little heads about whether or not they want or are capable of bringing a child into this world. We're simply baby-makers and we should fufill our babymaking destiny, right? Come on now (you oxymorons), there are many instances of girls and women who "refuse to choose" (refuse to think) about the fact that they're pregnant at all... then, they give birth quietly in some basement/bathroom/hotel and dump their newborns into dumpsters. Good advice, oh lovers-of-women. On another note, I came across this website and would like to encourage everyone to take notice:

Extremist Catholic Bishops... way YIK!

This article, in USA Today is just completely irritating... particularly this:

The bishops suggested that the final document include the message that "aggressively pro-abortion policies" would be viewed "as an attack on the church."

Are they going to pretend that respecting the personal belief systems of people of every faith could be considered "aggressive polic[y]?" They don't find it even slightly hypocritical to claim that the only belief systems worth protecting are their own? Are they going to pretend that the personal belief systems of the many clergy who support reproductive freedom (including Catholics) are somehow less deserving of respect than theirs? Really?

Understanding the extremists

These are merely a few of the crazy statements made by the (mostly anonymous) anti-abortion extremists (oftentimes religious fruit-balloons):

But, suffering is very much a part of life, and everyone must come to terms that we all must suffer at one point or another.

You've gotta love the sado-masochists. Hey dude... suffer all you want, hold it real tight because it's yours and I'll have no part of it. I do what I can to ease the suffering of others (call me crazy)

Outside of the argument of rape, what gives a person power to choose whether or not she will have the baby?

What makes the fertilized egg that was the result of rape any different from the fertilized egg that was the result of consensual sex? That's what I thought... look out, it's the morality police and they're coming for YOU! Bwahahahaha!

As good as sex feels, it's main purpose is procreation.

Not for the many people who are actively sexing it up but have finished with the procreation (or have chosen to forgo that whole scene.) I'm done having children... I will not gestate or give birth ever again. That certainly doesn't mean I'm done having sex. My husband had a vasectomy and now we will happily have sex that feels really good without even being open to the possibility of procreation.

When is a seed considered a child? Conception

That sentence is just yucky... ew, I can't get it off of me. A seed? A seed is never, ever considered a child. YIK!

This deduction clearly states that abortion is murder. Regardless if you think it isn't, it very much is.

I love this... this is the crux of their argument. "It doesn't matter what your personal belief system is because what I say is the absolute truth. My thoughts, beliefs and opinions trump yours because... well, because I say so!" And then there is much foot stomping and hmph-ing.

By the way, the scientific community acknowledges the fact that birth begins
at conception.

No, seriously... he/she ("anonymous" surprise!) wrote that. That's right ladies and gentlemen... scientists are now saying that Conception is the new Birth! I couldn't make this shit up.

If you support Obama you clearly have no knowledge of basic economy or the basics of capitalism for that matter. Let me point out that that statement is not meant to be insulting; I'm just stating the truth.

I just threw this nugget in because of it's absolute absurdity. And to prove that these people exist (if only on the anonymous Internet.)

What do they mean by "life"?

Main Entry: 1life
Pronunciation: \ˈlīf\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural lives \ˈlīvz\
Etymology: Middle English lif, from Old English līf; akin to Old English libban to live — more at live
Date: before 12th century

1 a: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body b: a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings c: an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction
2 a: the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual b: one or more aspects of the process of living
3: biography 1
4: spiritual existence transcending physical death
5 a: the period from birth to death b: a specific phase of earthly existence c: the period from an event until death d: a sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of a convict's life
6: a way or manner of living
7: livelihood
8: a vital or living being ; specifically : person
9: an animating and shaping force or principle
10: spirit , animation
11: the form or pattern of something existing in reality
12: the period of duration, usefulness, or popularity of something
13: the period of existence (as of a subatomic particle) — compare half-life
14: a property (as resilience or elasticity) of an inanimate substance or object resembling the animate quality of a living being
15: living beings (as of a particular kind or environment)
16 a: human activities b: animate activity and movement c: the activities of a given sphere, area, or time
17: one providing interest and vigor
18: an opportunity for continued viability
19: capitalized Christian Science : god 1b
20: something resembling animate life

It always seems as if people discussing "life" are referring to different meanings of the word. How can people argue about two different interpretations of the same word? It gets very confusing. It's like debating personhood. The "life begins at conception" crowd is always aghast that any person could deny this absolute truth. But, what do they mean? Do they mean the the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body? Well, what is meant by a "vital and functioning being?" Do they mean an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction? The fertilized egg does have the capacity for those things but studies done have proven that 1/3 of all embryo's fail. They certainly can't mean the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual - these things would occur after birth, right? I know that they don't mean the spiritual existence transcending physical death. Obviously they do not mean the period from birth to death. Do they mean a vital or living being (if so, we're back to the whole question of what constitutes "living"?)

I believe it is really difficult to argue an interpretation or perception. I think it is equally difficult to argue a personal belief system. I believe that each individual is capable of deciding for her or his self what these things mean to them. It would be wrong to force ones interpretation, perception or personal belief system upon the general population. Therefor I believe that is it every persons right to decide for themselves what life and/or personhood means when referencing abortion and to decide for themselves what the best moral decision would be. Now, why is that concept such a difficult one to comprehend?

Another try in South Dakota

Just a few of the reasons to vote NO on Measure 11: No exceptions if baby wont survive outside the womb; Women can be forced to carry their pregnancies to term; Exceptions for "health" are dangerously vague.

If you'd like more information, please visit the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families site.

If you're wondering how this ban will affect women, here is just one excerpt from a Doctor in SD (one of very few) who perform abortions for seriously ill women...

Dr. Buehner is an obstetrician and gynecologist from Rapid City, SD who opposes the abortion ban. Buehner has previously stated that he would no longer perform abortions for seriously ill patients if the abortion ban passes, at the risk of spending 10 years in prison. He said that the phrase “accepted standards of medical practice is so vague and nebulous that no physicians I know, myself included, would take that chance.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/12/08] Such a situation would have chilling effect on a doctor’s ability to properly care for his or her patients.
In the video, Dr. Buehner says, “It’s a very difficult decision for any woman to make, but especially for women with health complications in pregnancy. […] [Under Measure 11] the decision would probably be made by attorneys, rather than the physicians or the patients themselves.”

I don't know how these anti-abortion fruitballoons would feel about having non-medical personnel make their private medical decisions (perhaps they'd be just A-okay with it) but I would prefer that every single one of my medical decisions were made by myself after proper counsel with those whose lives have been dedicated to medicine. I'll keep the legal decisions for those who have dedicated themselves to the law.

News from Illinois

According to the ACLU of Illinois, an appellate court has blocked an effort to grant rights to fertilized eggs that have not implanted. The statement reads, in part:

The Appellate Court properly noted that the Illinois law cited by the Cook County Judge was never intended to grant rights to an unimplanted, fertilized egg. In an amicus curiae brief filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, we also noted that the decision relied on antiquated, scientifically-invalid Illinois abortion laws that long ago were blocked from enforcement by federal courts. The Appellate Court today acted swiftly and directly to reverse this lower court's error.

One of the comments from the coverage at RH Reality Check says (and I'm not embellishing):

This Godless judge needs a Biology 101 class!! (truthiness, is that you?)

"An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun. It is dangerous to your life and health. It may make you sterile, so that when you want a child you cannot have it." — Planned Parenthood

That PP "quote" is another anti-abortion myth that the extremist claim came from a 1963 pamphlet from PP. Now, I don't doubt that illegal abortion most certainly caused sterility and even death - but this is a very good argument for keeping abortion safe and legal - legal abortion is safer than childbirth, for crying out loud. The baby stuff is pure nonsense... no pregnancy, no birth, no baby.

Get out and vote!

I am voting to protect my daughters basic human rights and to ensure that we, as Americans, do not end up living in a Theocracy!

Why are you voting?

Her Good Abortion

Erika Lutz is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction and wrote about her abortion experience; called "My Good Abortion"... there is also audio found here if you'd rather listen. I so love women who share their experiences with abortion - good, bad or indifferent we must end the stigma surrounding this medical procedure.

a letter worth reading

please take the time to read this...just click on the title. very well stated.

If I were the king of the world, I tell ya what I'd do...

Mr. Jasper: Pro-lifers are not against measures taken to save (or that risk) the life of the mother. Induce labor or have a C-section.

Mellankelly: How lovely that you would risk a woman's life and her reproductive future by "allowing" her to have a Cesarean Section. Only (and correct me if I'm wrong here) there is not an instance where some third party with no stake whatsoever in the outcome is allowed to make private medical decisions for another person... that's too bad, since it sounded like such a win-win scenario and all. Perhaps you should be fighting laws which restrict you (and any other like-minded person) from being able to decide which medical procedures are in a woman's best interest... Lord knows that Doctors just don't know what the heck they're doing, right?

Mr. Jasper: If I had a born child with either of those 2 conditions, could I terminate his life?

Mellankelly: If it was your child, you would be the one to decide which procedures, if any, your child would have. I suppose, for many parents, the treatment (if any) would depend upon the severity of the brain damage and paralysis, how developed the problem was prior to and at birth would also factor into the treatment options. The bottom line is... each parent would decide for themselves whether or not to start any treatment at all, and if so, which treatments they would be willing to inflict upon their child. See, their child = their decision. Your child = your decision. Are you getting it yet?

Mr. Jasper: Btw: that mother referred to unborn baby as her 'child'.

Mellankelly: Of course she did... this was a very wanted pregnancy that went terribly wrong. I forgot to add this bit to my original posting:

"I wrote my doctor a long thank-you note on my good, wedding stationery. I thanked him for his compassion and his kindness. I wrote that it must be hard, what he does, but that I hoped he found consolation in the fact that he was helping vulnerable women in their most vulnerable of times. He keeps my note, along with all the others he's received, in a large bundle. And he keeps that
bundle right next to his stack of hate mail. They are about the same size"

And this really got to me because the people who invented the "PB" phrase (no such medical procedure... SURPRISE!) and the President who helped outlaw certain procedures have caused many good Doctors who have helped countless women to deny future women these options.
This is so very sad...

"The doctor who performed my termination talks about the women he has helped through the years -- the pregnant woman who was diagnosed with metastic melanoma and needed immediate chemotherapy, the woman who was carrying conjoined twins that had only one set of lungs and one heart, the woman whose baby had a three-chambered heart and would never live. Now, he is turning these women away. 'Now, today, I can say no, but what is she going to do?' he says sadly. 'What is she going to do?'"

And a chilling quote from that Doctor:

"Now, it's like the Stone Age, it's like a Muslim country here," says the doctor who performed my procedure. "This is the most backward law, it is not for a civilized country. If this was Iran, Iraq, I wouldn't be surprised. But to pass this law in the United States, what is this government doing?"

You said it, Doctor! And how!

Fetal Brainwaves

A favorite anti-abortion myth is the "fetal pain" myth... as taken from the ironically named "abortion facts" web page:

"the cortex isn’t needed to feel pain. The thalamus is needed and is functioning at 8 weeks. Even complete removal of the cortex does not eliminate the sensation of pain. Indeed there seems to be little evidence that pain information reaches the sensory cortex."

Now, if we go to the Mayo Clinic we would find the following regarding the thalamus:

"What the thalamus does is act as a sorting and switching station located deep inside the brain. The thalamus quickly forwards the pain message simultaneously to three specialized regions of the brain: the physical sensation region (somatosensory cortex), the emotional feeling region (limbic system) and the thinking region (frontal cortex). Your brain responds to pain by sending messages that moderate the pain in the spinal cord. "

Ummm... you might be asking yourself just how the heck any stimulus could be "felt" if one "completely removes the cortex" considering the thalamus forwards the stimulus message directly to the somatosensory, limbic system and the frontal cortex. You're right... it can't be "felt" without the cortex.

But hey... scientific facts? Who needs 'em... they just think abortion is icky.

It seems that the anti-abortion extremists enjoy using misinformation (considering that they tend to employ this tactic quite regularly.) I'm not sure if they think this will make women decide not to have abortions (although, as far as I know, no woman has ever listed a reason for terminating a pregnancy as "my fetus cannot feel pain.") But never mind those sneaky devils, there will always be people around to ensure that these woman receive accurate medical information (thanks Mayo Clinic!)

On another note... I recently had a fellah (yes, a person who will never know the emotional or physical -not to mention the financial- responsibilities of giving birth to a child) chastise me for using a photograph of a 6 week abortion. He would prefer that I use the photographs that the anti-abortion extremists use (usually very much wanted pregnancies which ended in still birth or therapeutic abortion). Apparently, he is of the mind that a 6 week abortion looks just like a 40 week full term baby (killed moments prior to birth, no less.) OH, the emotional horror!!!

Listen dude... I'm sorry... but this is what a 6 week abortion looks like...

And may I add (for the record and all) that if I feel compelled to use terms such as "dude", I can use my God-given right (free will... thanks God!) to use this term (and any other I so deem necessary) whenever and where ever I like. It is not enough that this guy wants to control my reproduction and my choice of medically accurate information... he would also like to control my use of verbiage.

Hey Jasper... go fuck yourself.

PRO-VOICE

This is what I've been saying for the past ten years... the difference in this "debate" will be the voices of women who share their very personal and private experiences with the world!!!

GO, PRO-VOICE!!!!!!

Dr. Mildred Hanson

On pre-roe abortions:

On her "what if":

God Bless You!

Since we're sharing, Mr. Jasper...

* God is not affected in any way by abortion.
* God loves women.
* God loves women who have terminated their pregnancies.
* God loves all of Her creatures.
* God loves pro-choice and anti-abortion people.
* Abortion has existed as long as women have been biologically able to become pregnant.
* Abortion is a good, moral choice for a woman facing an unwanted pregnancy.
* Abortion is not a sin.
* God does not create zombies via raising dead people from their graves - that's freaky-deaky!
* "Abortion" has no "desire" (abortion is a medical procedure not capable of desiring anything.)
* A woman has an abortion when her desire is to not have a baby (kudos on keeping with the anti-abortion attempt to take women out of the equation.)
* For some women facing an unwanted pregnancy, abortion is the only choice filled with hope.
* Satan is imaginary. (due to man-kinds inability to accept responsibility for it's own misfortune.)
* Abortion is not evil.
* Evil is the logical opposite to the concept of good (which all of Gods creation possess.) without evil mankind could not perfect it's soul.
* The pregnant woman/embryo*fetus relationship is unitary... the only reason this relationship could ever be considered adversarial is when anti-abortion extremists believe that they (and not the pregnant woman) know what is best for the woman and her embryo/fetus (whereby taking rights away from pregnant women and giving them to her embryo/fetus.)
* Abortion plays no role in the relationship between men and women, mothers and children, or people and God.

PS "hisman" sounds like a real wanker. - why would some whack-job claim to speak for God or Satan? And why should I care what his personal opinions are?