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?

National Womens Law Center Webinar

Not a lot of notice, but if you get the chance...




They are hosting a webinar on making contraception more accessible and affordable. I don't know about you, but I believe that we should do whatever we can to help women avoid unintended pregnancies.

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!!

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!!

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!

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?

There are several buttons and images that you can re-post on the NARAL Prochoice America website... please display these as a show of support for our pro-choice representatives!!!

Go here to download this and various other buttons/images!!

Peace & Love to you all,
~Kelly

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.)

More distorted political commercials...

Is anyone else just sick to death of this? I cannot wait for November and an end to this nonsense!

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.

She said fungible.

I love Cox!

Affirmation Girl

Okay, so I may have stolen this from the Bloggess (but I am pretty sure that I'm in love with her so it should be totally cool.)

My favorite line: "I'll shit on you... how do you like that... how does that make you feel in your mind?"

Embryology? We don't need no steenkin' embryology!

Those opposed to abortion usually use the same old arguments including, but not limited to: misinformation, half-truth, pseudoscience, circle-talk, religiosity & the "personhood of the fetus" so this was a new one for me. Denying embryology.

Following is a li'l tidbit from a severly uneducated person who thinks abortion is icky... now, to be fair and all, I personally know people who are morally opposed to abortion and they are intelligent people who are capable of acknowledging both science and the law. For the most part, their distaste for abortion comes from the belief that a fetus is a "person" with a "soul" although some (not all) have no response to (or find it very difficult to articulate) why abortion would be acceptable in the case of rape or incest since there would be no apparent difference between the fertilized egg that was the result of rape and the fertilized egg that was the result of consensual sex (aside from the obvious differences regarding the intercourse.) Which leads one to believe that their stance on abortion has far less to do with the moral or physical status of the zygote/embryo/fetus and more to do with the intercourse itself (enjoying it without being open to the possibility of gestating a pregnancy.) But I digress... this person who (perhaps in a deliberate attempt at irony) calls him/herself "truth" makes the following statement regarding embryology (which is a branch of biology dealing with embryos and their development also the features and phenomena exhibited in the formation and development of an embryo.)

Truthiness: Seems like Embryology is a farse...

my thoughts: Yes, I just made it up, right now.
*

Truthiness: It just seems that Embryology takes the focus off the child developing in the womb and makes it seem like it's just another animal.

my thoughts: So what you're saying is that embryology takes the focus off of the embryo? Hmm, okay. Would you be okay with it if you could change this branch of biology to "thechilddevelopinginthewombology"? I mean, come on... put forth a tiny, little effort.
*

Truthiness: Do you think that Humans are just animals with higher functioning brain capacity?

I swear to God, I could not make this shit up if I tried.

ps. farce is spelled with a "c"... it doesn't really matter, I knew what he/she meant... I'm just saying.

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.