6/08/2009
Our Heartbreaking Choices
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.
6/07/2009
Holy Moly...
fem·i·nism
Pronunciation:
\ˈfe-mə-ˌni-zəm\
Function:
noun
Date:1895
1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 : organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests
— fem·i·nist \-nist\ noun or adjective
— fem·i·nis·tic \ˌfe-mə-ˈnis-tik\ adjective
So, this
Armerdylo: I also find it funny that you have a family when feminism (that you support) brought in the wave of lesbianism and pornography as "empowering" to woman. That's another one that is ridiculous to my logical mind.
He seriously wrote that... I'm a lesbian because I support the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Oh-kay man. Oh, & that last sentence is freaking precious. Hello red flag... when your "logic" doesn't coincide with the facts, you may be an idiot.
~Keep clickin'!
6/06/2009
censor those you don't agree with... how very "christian" of ya.
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.
4/13/2009
40 weeks of gestation = labor and childbirth
4/10/2009
Bring on the crazies...
"she claims to be a busy mom of 3 happy wife,femenist,ect ect,not busy anough it may seem!husband out working all hours to pay the bills for his strong, independent,active femenist..??????she needs to go comment on the good house keeping guide,she may give better advice to people who will listen,,,,,,,there is always one,that has to butt in and think they know everything !!!!!!dont burst her bubble,she will have nothing else to do,,,lol"
So, in addition to having issues with grammar, punctuation (what is up with the comma's?) & sentence structure, she also appears unable to comprehend what the words: strong, independent, active and feminist (er... "femenist") mean. The upside is that her spelling makes me giggle. The inability to control her underlying anger issues is a bit disturbing but come on... I've just met the lass, there is simply no way that I am responsible for those issues. Now, her posts are entertaining and are filed under the "things that make you go HMMM" heading. Unfortunately there exists serious amounts of misogyny within the extreme anti-abortion group (which, fortunately is a very small group) - the upside to this is that rational, thinking and relatively sane people could never agree with these extremists opinions... point in case, this li'l nugget from a dude called "BulldogsRule12"... he was responding to a comment I made asking why the personal beliefs and full legal rights of the pregnant woman wouldn't take precedent over his (or my) opinions regarding pregnancy, life and/or abortion. His response:
"The pregnant woman took herself out of the conversation by getting pregnant in the first place"Yes, ladies and gentlemen... this fella actually believes that once a woman becomes pregnant, she is no longer relevant (aside from her uterus, which houses his bizarre obsession... "fetus fetish," if you will) Oh lordy... I dig it when they reveal their true agenda: regulating women to the status of "walking uterus." I kind of thought it was something they'd rather keep under wraps but I suppose when a woman has the gall to challenge their thinking, it just kinda slips out, eh? Good to know that sweet, li'l ole me can fluster these folks so bloody much. Oh, there is this other person who sometimes uses the name sintetsu. He doesn't hide his misogyny (which makes me sad for any women in his life) he writes things like:
* fucking ignorant selfish immature vile whore
* hypocritical irresponsible IMMATURE feminists go back to your cave, primate
* stupid ignorant hypocritical immature selfish primal whores.
* maybe you should keep those legs closed? (me: because apparently you can't get pregnant that way)
* selfish irresponsible promiscuous animals
* thats why war exists. (me: yes, the reason war exists is because of abortion. seriously... not religion or oil or greed... just abortion. Ahhhh.)
All of which are super retarded totally valid arguments for those opposed to abortion to make, no? If nothing else, they've proven my point. Gotta love 'em!!
1/22/2009
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!
12/28/2008
One in 3
11/12/2008
Extremist Catholic Bishops... way YIK!
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?
10/05/2008
Understanding the extremists
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!
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.As good as sex feels, it's main purpose is 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.)
9/26/2008
What do they mean by "life"?
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
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
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?
9/15/2008
Her Good Abortion
9/01/2008
PRO-VOICE
8/29/2008
Dr. Mildred Hanson
8/28/2008
The death of a stigma
- I'm not Sorry
- Project Voice
- Voices of Choice: Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
- Our Truths-Nuestras Verdades
- My Good Abortion
- The Abortion Conversation Project
- The Abortion Access Project
- Many Voices, Many Choices
- Your Abortion Stories - Abortion Clinic Days
- Sunshine for Women - Abortion with an Attitude
- The Wisdom of Abortion
- Abortion on Demand and Without Apology
- The Abortion Diaries
- Women Claiming the Power of Pregnancy - women who have chosen abortion and pregnancy at different points in their lives.
- Conversations with God
- Prenatal Testing: Two Stories
- My Late Term Abortion
- Unexpected Pregnancies: Personal Stories
- Our Abortion Stories
Since we're sharing, Mr. Jasper...
* 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?
Silly anti-abortionists, truth is our friend!
"A considerable number of anti-abortion visuals feature an almost fully developed fetus. Abortions preformed at this stage via hysterotomy or D&Xabortions are rare [approximately 0.08% are performed after 24weeks, when the fetus may be viable - no fetal demise] A July 1992 LIFE magazine article, The Great Divide, reported that Reverend Robert Schenk, member of anti-choice coalition Operation rescue, attended a demonstration outside an abortion clinic in Buffalo, NY, with "Baby Tia", a7-inch, gray-tinted and formaldehyde-soaked dead fetus. In the escalating madness of the crowd, the fetus was dropped onto the sneaker-trodden street. Authorities arrested Schenk and confiscated the fetus, which was taken to a coroner, only to be identified as an approximately 20-week-old stillborn. The article reads, "Many pro-choice supporters in Buffalo are angry about the distance between their reality-what they see in the clinics-and the images the anti-abortionists present as fact. 'What they are showing to the public is a lie,' says Joni Ladowski, a nurse at a nearby clinic, as she unfolds a length of gauze. In the center lies what appears to be a clot the size of a peanut. It is a fetus, nine weeks old.'This is an abortion,' she says."
You know, without misinformation, pseudoscience and/or outright lies, the anti-abortion extremists would have nothing (except their religion/personal belief system) Those of us who live within the realm of reality will always be here to provide accurate information in order to educate the average person about the truth surrounding abortion... the information is there.
More on the misrepresentations and misinformation used by the anti-abortion forces:
"Through the construction of public fetal images as 'baby pictures,' the fetus is visibly separated from its mother and can consequently enter the social imagination alone. It is relatively easy to untangle the symbolic reasons that would encourage fetal autonomy: Embryo photography has personified the fetus by replacing the mother with empty space. As Daniels (1993) has said, 'In much of the promotional literature of the anti-abortion movement, the fetus is visually severed from the mother, presented as an autonomous free-floating being, attached tenuously to the 'mother ship' by the umbilical cord.' or, as Franklin (1991) says, 'The conditions for spectator recognition of and identification with the fetus are achieved on the basis of its separation and individuation from the mother.'"
~Taylor, Janelle. 1998. Image of Contradiction: Obstetrical Ultrasound in American Culture. In Franklin, S. and Ragone, H. (eds.) Reproducing Reproduction: Kinship, Power and Technological Innovation. University of Philadelphia Press, Philadelphia.
~Daniels, Cynthia R. 1993. At Women's Expense: State Power and the Politics of Fetal Rights. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
8/27/2008
Factual information is your friend

- 74% Concern for/Responsibility to other Individuals
- 73% Cannot afford a baby now
- 69% A baby would interfere with school/employment/ability to care for dependents
- 48% Would be a single parent/having relationship problems
- 38% Have completed childbearing
Do you see spots?
Mellankelly: Oooh... "dehumanize [my] unborn child"... sounds deliciously evil, doesn't it? Way to appear rational, Mr. Jasper. By the way...
"I no longer refer to it as "alien". He or she is my bean. I don't know why I referred to baby as alien in the first place, it seems so mean. Maybe I was scared to bond with it because of the chances of miscarriage"
~from Baby says "Baff" blog
"The more people I tell about our baby bean birkel (which is how we refer to our baby at present, it being the size of a bean)"
~from Baby Birkel blog
"Well, when Dam and I saw our first ultrasound the words that popped out of my mouth was, 'It looks like a little kidney bean.' From there Dam referred to it as Bean."
~from try, try, try again blog
"I've known pregnant women who refer to their fetus as "the bean." I was briefly pregnant once, and I referred to the lil' thing as "Spud." Some women grow beans, apparently I was growing a potato. The fact that it didn't take is evidence that humans were not meant to birth potatoes. "
~from the MetaFilter community weblog entitled "your fetus as produce."
I found a lot more but I think anyone reading will get the point (not too sure if Mr. Jasper can grasp the concept) that many women refer to their fetus or their "belly" as many different things during pregnancy, including "the bean" or "bean" or sometimes "baby bean" - they certainly aren't dehumanizing anything... that is utter rubbish.
Mr. Jasper: Let’s see, you slaughtered and killed one of your babies and I’m the person lacking in judgment or prudence? Maybe you should let your other children know that you killed their sibling.
Mellankelly: When you use words like "slaughtered" and "babies" to describe abortion, yes, I find words like "lacking in judgment or prudence" befitting their subject.
Oh, gosh... when my son was old enough to talk about an act as evil as rape (and including circumstances which concerned him), I most certainly explained the situation to him. I think it extremely important that women share their personal experience with unwanted pregnancy in order to put things into perspective; considering the anti-abortion extremists wish to demonize women or take women out of the picture all together. It is imperative that rational people are exposed to the truth when it comes to the real reasons why women terminate their pregnancies... I think reading about or speaking with women who have made that decision open the eyes of those people who have been led to believe that women who terminate their pregnancies are harlots who get pregnant and abort on a whim.
Now, even my 16 year old son can recognize that an embryo is not a sibling... your judgement is clouded by your unhealthy fixation with the reproductive choices of complete strangers, you really ought to see someone about that.
Further, I've never killed a baby... I've given birth to three and there are still three hangin' around my house... again, it may help to take deep breaths prior to typing.
Mr. Jasper: I guess you’re right, I should except much thought from a selfish heathen.
Mellankelly: I'm not sure what you meant to write there, it appears as if you get flustered easily and lose track of your thoughts. I believe you meant "accept such thoughts?" Please correct me if I'm wrong. Although I'm not sure if "heathen" is the correct term as I do not doubt that we are all praying to the same God. However, I don't believe that the Bible is inerrant as it was written by men. Now the selfish part is debatable... I suppose there are aspects of our lives where we can tend to be selfish but on the whole I would have to disagree that selfish would be a proper adjective in which to describe me, as a person (particularly since you're just some random guy on the Internet.)
PS. Mr. Jasper... please seek help.
Does Elvis speak to you?
Mellankelly: I did not refer to my fetus as my "unborn child" and yes, when quickening began, we called it "The Bean" - like a Mexican jumping bean... you find that weird yet you continue to refer to abortion as infanticide and genocide (that's not weird at all). I also made reference that I terminated my second pregnancy prior to quickening and that I think whatever colloquial terms one chooses to use does not have any consequence whatsoever on either of our arguments... you obviously disagree. Probably because you believe that if you said it, it must be true. Here we disagree once again.
Mr. Jasper: A cop out I would say. You refered to your unborn child as the "baby' didn't you? I have you all twisted up now, your back against the wall... you're not even willing to admit or give the basic respect and dignity to your own children, your own flesh and blood when they were inside you. How shameful. You have such a hard heart, examine your conscience.
Mellankelly: By that reasoning, my dog (Molly Beatrice Sorci) is not only a part of my family, she is a person. It's true, right? Because that is how we refer to her... I'm her mommy, my husband is her daddy and my children are her siblings. Sometimes we refer to her as a baby... we say things like "Who's my baby?" and "There's my baby!" Yes, your argument that whatever one chooses to call something actually alters what that thing is sounds completely grounded in logic and not at all driven by your abhorrence of abortion. And as far as having me "all twisted up" or "against the wall", well, this is merely one more reason why I bestow upon you the title of Jackass (fool; a person lacking in judgment or prudence.) I make that statement because I believe, as evidenced by your very words, that you lack the ability to discipline yourself by the use of reason. You appear to become so haughtily contemptuous that your argument is secondary to your emotive babbling. Try stepping back and taking a deep breath... next, use logic and reason as a basis for your argument - I think things would be a lot clearer for anyone reading your words (or, perhaps you'd realize how ridiculous your words are). Well, just a suggestion... clearly, you are free to argue in any manner you see fit.
Mr. Jasper: Cardinal Eagan put it well addressing Bella Pelosi
Mellankelly: Now Jasper, why on earth would what Cardinal Eagan has to say matter in the least to me? Just out of curiosity, would that be Cardinal Edward Egan? The same Cardinal Eagan that incited a group of priests to issue a letter urging the archdiocesan clergy to cast a vote of ”no confidence” against him? That aside, a man who could be so cruel and uncaring towards the many real hardships facing women (hardships, might I add, that he will never have the displeasure of experiencing) with these words: "...'chooses' to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason" Yes, his Jesus would be so proud. What a horrible little man hiding behind his religious notions. Just YIK! Who's glad she's not a Catholic? You betchya, I am!
Are you mad, gov'nah?
Mellankelly: Oh really... following are the links to both of my responses (thus far). I answered your question and shortly thereafter (perhaps due to your reading comprehension issues?) you asked the exact same question again... not only did I refer you to the link for my original answer but I also reiterated my answer for you. Now, since this is the third time you've asked the question (which makes me question whether or not you are, in fact, a classmate of my seven year old) I'm beginning to believe that you just do not like my answer. Simply because I didn't answer your question the way in which you wish that I had does not mean that I haven't answered your question. And seriously, if I were your "Mom" I would weep at my apparent inability to have taught you the very basics of human kindness/compassion.
In case you've a poor memory... here are the links to my previous responses to your inane question.
Reading comprehension is a must - first response
round and round and round he goes - second response
Mr. Jasper: You're partly right, I meant selective infanticide for abortion survivors.
Mellankelly: Has never happened, my dear... this is a non-issue. No politician supports infanticide of any kind... please, with the Drama Queen.