gl.

site feed by atom

Friday, August 03, 2007

 
9:37 PM: abort the mission [#] [6]

bad abortion news week, of which ohio's proposed paternal notification & consent law is the worst. if we ever develop technology that allows a fetus to be transferred to a father who wants to carry it, then maybe we can talk. but until then, the possibility of this is absolutely horrifying to me.

ohio is also trying to ban all abortions in the state, but there's a lot more craziness this week all over the nation:

* missouri: "A measure is set to go into effect in Missouri next month that will require any clinic performing a certain minimum number of abortions to be licensed as an "ambulatory surgical center." The stated purpose: Ensure women's health and safety. But clinics, of course, have been performing safe surgical abortions for years. The real goal: Put clinics out of (the abortion) business. The end result, ergo: Endanger women's health and safety." (ala salon)

* colorado (grrrrrr!): "Abortion-rights groups have until next week to appeal the language of a proposed ballot measure that would define a fertilized egg, either inside or outside the womb, as a person. The secretary of state’s three-person title board on Wednesday crafted language for a constitutional amendment that would ban abortions. It would define humans as existing from the moment of fertilization and extend the Colorado Constitution’s inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law to them." (via denver post)

* oklahoma: "A controversial abortion law taking effect in November prevents state-funded hospitals from performing most abortions and could result in pregnant women seeking the procedure in other states." (via newsok)

* louisiana: "Gov. Kathleen Blanco has signed into law two nearly identical bills banning a controversial form of late-term abortions, making Louisiana the first state in the nation to adopt its own laws outlawing the procedure after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year upheld a federal ban." (via nola.com)

and as if that wasn't all bad enough, i have to say the new democrat approach makes me queasy.

among other things, the emphasis on "rare" in hilary clinton's "safe, legal and rare" bothers me. abortion is not an evil that needs to be reduced. no abortion should be criminalized. i want legal abortions at any point, widely available without stigma, and without minimizing sex education. when the top priority is to "counsel more young women in crisis to consider adoption, not abortion," we are "counseling" women to become merely incubators and minimizing the stress, turmoil and risks associated with pregnancy & birth for a baby they don't want. it emphasizes that the fetus is more important than the woman.

i think it would be grand if planned parenthood added an adoption agency and a parenting support arm to its prevention and abortion services. i'd love to see something take a swipe at the "crisis pregnancy" centers with a comprehensive program which supports a woman through -all- the choices. but i understand why planned parenthood focuses on what they do -- because nobody else will do it, and it needs to be done.

(and this should all go without saying, but the debate is so ridiculously polarized i'll say it anyway: i also wholly support people who want to be parents and value legislation to provide for mothers, children & families.)

Comments:

I've met some whacky leftists in my day, but I can honestly say that I've never come across someone - liberal or conservative alike - who yearns for women to have abortions just for the sake of having abortions. Kind of like joining the military just so you can kill someone legally. Quite sick indeed.

There is an ironic cause for celebration, however. As the country continues to very slowly wake up from its four-decade morality coma regarding this issue - thanks to extremists like yourself - the subtleties of the more "moderate" positions on abortion that have allowed pro-abortion politicians to get as far as they have in past years, are going to lose their effectiveness in selling the need for infanticide to the voting public.

The irony is that black-and-white fanaticism like yours is eventually going to help overturn Roe vs. Wade. Congratulations and please keep it up.

# posted by  Anonymous : Sun Aug 05, 06:37:00 PM PDT

 

Hm. Someone named "anonymous" shows up to say you're an "extremist" and a "fanatic." Sort of a hit-and-run name-calling approach.

I appreciate the update, gl. -- thank you. In an online environment where folks like "anonymous" drop by like snipers to be "ironic" (read "sarcastic"), it clearly takes courage to keep on writing.

So, to echo the last post -- but twist it around to a kind direction: Congratulations and please keep it up!

# posted by  Sven Bonnichsen : Sun Aug 05, 08:22:00 PM PDT

 

anonymous, i think you read me wrong. i certainly don't "[yearn] for women to have abortions just for the sake of having abortions." i yearn for women to have an option for an abortion if they believe it's the right choice for them, without fear or shame.

i find it weird to be considered "extreme." i'm really quite mild-mannered and didn't realize that even within a radical culture i'd be considered radical. but there need to be more voices on this end of the spectrum to counterbalance the howling from the right, to pull the politics to the center. so if you think i'm extremist, so be it, though i hardly think "allow people to make their own decisions" is an extreme position.

# posted by  gl. : Sun Aug 05, 09:49:00 PM PDT

 

(oh, and thanks, sven.) :*

# posted by  gl. : Sun Aug 05, 09:50:00 PM PDT

 

I think it's great that you actually think you're making a difference by posting something on an online blog
(laughs)
(and anonymous is quite wise, imho)

# posted by  Anonymous : Wed Jun 25, 08:23:00 PM PDT

 

you're a little late to the party, amused, but i'm glad i've made enough of a difference, no matter how small on this online blog, to compel you to comment. staying silent helps no one.

# posted by  gl. : Sat Jun 28, 12:16:00 AM PDT

 

Post a Comment