the claim that Roe v. Wade was decided without the benefit of medical research & scientific knowledge concerning fetal development is simply not true

Roe v. Wade, “New” Science & the Old Geography of Pregnancy from NAPW on Vimeo.

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.

40 weeks of gestation = labor and childbirth

I find it incredulous that the women who responded on the RH reality check website post by Marcy Bloom (love her) entitled "We Already Have an Abortion Pride Movement" were not aware of the fact that if one gestates a pregnancy, one will (provided a healthy pregnancy & labor/childbirth) give birth to a baby. Why, on earth, would these women have opted to terminate their pregnancies if not to prevent the birth of a baby? I know I've touched on this subject briefly with this post, but I'm ever amazed that these women were not aware of human reproduction. And it worries me. I worry because I wonder if there are other women who are not aware that if they opt to terminate their pregnancies, they will not continue to be pregnant. Shall we start a movement to make women aware that an abortion is the termination of a pregnancy (& that the word "terminate" means "end"?) Further, if these women wanted to have a baby... why would they have opted to terminate their pregnancies (isn't gestation how one goes about having a baby?) and if these women didn't realize that by terminating their pregnancies they would not have babies, then why would they have terminated their pregnancies? What did they think would happen if they had not terminated their pregnancies... that they would have had puppies? I suppose I shouldn't be so harsh, after all, studies have consistently shown that women who suffer from depression or other psychological issue's prior to experiencing an unintended pregnancy will likely suffer from those issues afterward, regardless of whether they gestated or terminated thier pregnancies... but... why such shock & awe afterward?

Bring on the crazies...

So, there is this wackadoo on youtube who sometimes calls herself kirstiedale3 - she claims to be an adult... I'll let you be the judge. So, she doesn't care so much for an opposing view & clearly is unable to come up with a valid retort (one which would include any valid, factual information which has anything at all to do with the topic of abortion rights) and in lieu of this, she prefers to use profanity (I, for one, am shocked and chagrined!) and ad hominem as her "argument." It apparently bothers her that I include valid and truthful scientific data, statistics, legal precedent, etc in my posts. I totally get that it can be aggravating when science, the law and common sense do not support your view but seriously, it only makes it worse to respond to a post concerning abortion statistics with the following diatribe:

"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!!

Typical Crazy Anti-Abortion Extremists!!

This is a rather disturbing (albeit amusing) exchange between a dude called "PheonixBornAgain" (PBA) and yours truly. I couldn't make this shit up if I tried really, really hard:

PBA: "the females. they make up over half the population in the world, so majority rule if applied would acutely give them the power to steamroll anything they want."

Me: "The females" sound super scary! And how crazy they appear... thinking that their opinions and/or personal beliefs should matter. I mean, who do they think they are... Men? Fu**ing chicks, man!

PBA: then if these same people were abducted and examined and found to be pregnant they were placed in very comfortable surroundings and made safe so they don't hurt themselves or their fetus. then after the unborn were allowed to be birthed the woman were simply let go.

Yes, he seriously wrote that... seriously. We should abduct pregnant women force them to risk their physical, mental and spiritual lives gestating a pregnancy and then take their babies from them. So the infertile can have them. Oh, but then we would totally let them go. My response? As follows:

Me: Wow. That is seriously deranged. You play pretty fast & loose with that whole morality thing, eh? It's good that you make yourself clear that you do not value the lives of women (particularly pregnant women, particularly if their pregnancies are unwanted and/or doomed.) It's easier to disregard your comments when you've made your disdain for women so crystal clear.

And this guy is simply a telephone number (and a tool):

7035601553: "The unborn gets killed and the mother gets wounded."

Me: Or... if you're not crazy (present company excluded, of course) the pregnancy is terminated and the woman feels a mixture of things, predominantly relief (I know, it's hard to admit that women are complex beings capable of a myriad of feelings)

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!

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.

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.

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!!!!!!

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?