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.

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!!!!!!

religious nonsense and public policy

Mr. Jasper: What the heck are you taking about? do you think the child is an alien from space who invaded your womb? It's human life that growing inside of you.

Mellankelly: Well, if you don't understand what bodily integrity is and you you cannot comprehend human reproduction, then there is nothing more that I can do. The bottom line is that you simply cannot subordinate a pregnant woman's rights to a fertilized egg/embryo/fetus.

Mr. Jasper: Do mean the so-called "right to privacy" that scummy lawyers and judges invented to fit there agenda and allow baby killing?

Mellankelly: When I speak of defending women's ("so-called"?) civil liberties I assure you that I am speaking of legal arguments which were not invented by "scummy lawyers and judges." I am speaking of things such as: a lack of compelling state interest, procedural due process, equal protection, and also the right to privacy (combination of the first, third, fourth, fifth, ninth amendments and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment - further, both federal and state courts have recognized a constitutional right of privacy in medical records and patient/physician relationships.) - privacy also covers bodily integrity and self sovereignty... not to mention discrimination (there is no comparative circumstance where a males bodily integrity is forcibly violated to provide for another "person.")

Mr. Jasper: My story is completely relevent, you must not having paying attention.

Mellankelly: Okay... you like to use fairy tales and tell stories to support your personal belief system, I prefer to use legal precedent, factual information and good ole' common sense to argue for the rights of every person in our country (including pregnant women).

Mr. Jasper: Yes, you take that risk when you sleep with a man.

Mellankelly: Malarkey! I have sex with my husband without even being open to the possibility of becoming pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. Luckily for me, my husband had a vasectomy in 2001 so my chances of becoming pregnant are slim to none (she says while knocking on wood). And a woman who is raped certainly wouldn't be "taking that risk", right? Your personal opinions about intercourse and pregnancy have absolutely no relevance in any life other than yours. Your personal belief system is not a compelling reason to take rights away from pregnant women.

Mr. Jasper: Not good enough precautions..try abstinance and stop sleeping around. Most women who have abortions are not married. Fornication is a sin.

Mellankelly: Says you. Consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other is most certainly not a sin. Your religious notions have absolutely no relevance in the lives of others who do not share your faith (myself included). A higher rate of unplanned pregnancy is linked much more closely to economic status (women below the federal poverty level have abortion rates almost four times those of higher income women.) If your comments are any indication, you appear to be driven by your religious beliefs and not the moral status of a fertilized egg. Your religiousness and your biblegod have absolutely no relevance in the lives of others (aside from those who share your rather limited views). Why on earth should I be forced to adhere to your personal belief system?

Mr. Jasper: It's a metaphor. and yes it does have relevance

Mellankelly: Please enlighten me... how would your "opening the gate" possibly be compared to consensual sex in which the partners used precautions to ensure that they would not become pregnant. You can't.... your comment has absolutely no relevance to that scenario. You just don't like pre-marital sex quite possibly as much as you don't like abortion. Hey, those are your opinions and you're certainly entitled to them... however, your opinion does not a fact make and certainly you have no right to force your personal religious beliefs upon me or anyone else.

Third times a charm, Mr. Anonymous

Mr. Anonymous: this isn't about a womans right. It is about a babys right. To live.

Mellankelly: No, it's not... a baby rights are not questionable... any person born or naturalized in the US is entitled to her full rights under the Constitution. Why, may I ask, should a woman suddenly be forced to give up her rights when she becomes pregnant (regardless of whether or not the pregnancy is wanted?) The person most qualified to make decisions regarding her pregnancy is the pregnant woman... but I'm sure that you'd be okay with legislatures making your medical decisions for you, right?

Mr. Anonymous: Look at it this way... [insert fairy tale here]

Mellankelly: Listen, there is nothing that can be compared to the pregnant woman/embryo*fetus relationship... and you belittle the emotional and physical (sometimes life-threatening) endeavor that is pregnancy and the labor/birth process when you compare it to an old lady entering your yard. Have you never been pregnant? Do you dare trivialize the impact that pregnancy, childbirth (not to mention child rearing) has on a woman's physical and emotional well-being? I get that you're pro-(fetal)life and that the women whose lives are affected by an unwanted or doomed pregnancy are secondary (at best.) That's just something that I'll never understand. It's unconscionable.

Mr. Anonymous: By saying that you have the right to kill your child, they ARE interfering, not with your rights, but with the childs.

Mellankelly: I've never claimed a right to kill my children... when people kill their children they go to jail or spend a serious amount of time in a psychiatric facility. Children are protected by the constitution... interestingly enough though, they do not have the right to force another person (including their parents) to undergo any form of bodily invasion for any reason.

Vote No on 48

I know my sisters in Colorado have been paying close attention to this ideological guffaw and I'm hoping they can help end the lunacy by helping here.