I see in the news that anti-choice organizations are planning demonstrations today at Planned Parenthood facilities around the US to support GOP plans to defund PP.
Of course, my first thought was to grab a sign (and my, ummm, "kittyhat"!) and head for my local facility to show my support for PP, but I also see in the news that PP offices are asking that supporters not show up at the facilities to counter-protest (because they don't want the crowds of protesters any larger or more chaotic than necessary as women are trying to get in and out for services).
Some communities are planning counter-demonstrations in other venues, but I haven't been able to find any information about any events planned in my city.
So, I've decided to set aside the time planned for the anti-choice demonstration in my city today to contact all my elected representatives, from the White House down to my state legislators, and Tom Price at DHHS, to remind them that I support PP and am strongly opposed to any efforts to restrict women's reproductive rights or Planned Parenthood's access to public healthcare dollars as a legitimate healthcare provider.
I hope PP supporters here will consider doing the same, and spread the word to people you know. I hope people all over the country will have the same thought. Wouldn't it be great if, while comparatively small groups of protesters are standing out in the cold and snow with their signs, huge numbers of Americans were flooding mail boxes and switchboards around the country with messages of support for PP, women's health, and reproductive rights?
I had to take my sister to get an abortion after she was raped and was so afraid that if she had the baby and her then bf found out, he would kill her.
It was $700, up front and we had to drive almost 3 hours and wait for 9.
NO ONE wants to get an abortion. The entire process is horrible from finding a place to go, having the legally mandated waiting periods, discussions, etc.,
Not to mention getting confronted by protesters who have NO IDEA what they are talking about because they aren't the ones faced with such a horrendous decision...THEN waiting around all day, getting your number called several times, each time for a different test. Bloodwork, ultrasound, consultation, video watching.
Like people waiting in line at a deli. No privacy, very little compassion and one hell of a sitty situation all around.
My heart broke for the women in that room, I can't imagine having to be faced with a choice like that.
they are not "tax payer funded", they receive money for services rendered, other than abortion, just like any other provider. why are persons insistent on muddying that fact?
Because they aren't doing research. They are just running with the latest facebook posts without knowing what they're talking about.
Despite your repeated inability to utilize the quote button I will assume you are responding to me and ask you this. How does having a moral objection to something but not pushing said objection on anyone all the while supporting an organization that promotes "choice" despite my objection make me "anti-choice"? The short answer...it doesn't and nothing you say will change that. Your responses are the reason nobody can have an open dialogue about this subject. You accuse somebody of using inflammatory language and order them to stop when you are doing the exact same thing.
operations, so you believe there are no alternatives to Planned Parenthood whose main business model is killing unborn children?
Do you struggle with math? 3% of PP services are r/t abortion and NOT funded by the gvmt. Thus - 97% of the services provided by PP have zero to do with abortion. This means that 100% of the payment received by PP from the gvmt are for non-abortion related women's health.
Again - PP does not get any government money for any abortion services provided.
If PP goes away, there will be MORE women who seek abortions, not less.
The Bible does not discuss bombs made from fertilizer, the use of airplanes as weapons of mass destruction or gas chambers, either.
We are taught "Thou shalt not kill..."
I'll agree to disagree, but have no doubt that the aforementioned Commandment refers to the willful destruction of innocent life, regardless of the means.
that commandment is alleged to actually be thou shalt not murder. there by not applying. otherwise no Christian could be in the military.
I completely agree with the posters who say abortion is not the business of anybody but the pregnant woman.
It is an issue of control, and little else.
These pro-lifers who want to regulate the uterus of all females, why don't you butt into the business of "parents" who abuse their living children? If you read any media outlet, you will find on a daily basis countless examples of living children being murdered and abused by their "parents."
I read a few weeks ago in the Washington Post about a seven-year-old being starved, beaten and fed to pigs. How pleasant do the pro-lifers think this child's life was? Perhaps it would have been better had he never been born. Of course, because he is dead, we can't ask him how much he suffered at the hands of his "parents."
I read yesterday in the NY Daily News about a two-week found dead in the woods. Her father has been arrested. In the same media outlet, there is a story of a three-year-old reported missing after her "parents" forced her to stand alone in an alley as punishment.
So please, pro-lifers, put your money where your mouth is and protect the "living" children, before you worry about the unborn.
Here is a blurb relating to one of the stories I mentioned above. Something tells me that one, if not both of this child's "parents" knows exactly what happened to her.
If pro-lifers truly want to help the unborn, why not seek rehab help for pregnant women addicted to drugs? Give that baby the best chance to have the best life possible.
The parents of Sherin Mathews, the Texas toddler who vanished after her father left her alone in an alley, are no longer cooperating with the investigation, police said.
According to CBS DFW, the Richardson Police Department said Wesley Mathews and his wife have hired a lawyer. The police department did not return the Daily News' request for comment.*
Mathews, 37, was arrested over the weekend and charged with abandoning or endangering a child after he allegedly told police that he made the 3-year-old little girl stand near a tree in an alley behind their home around 3 a.m. Saturday.
Mathews reportedly said he was punishing Sherin because she didn't finish drinking her milk. When he went to check on her around 3:15 a.m. she was gone.
I completely agree with the posters who say abortion is not the business of anybody but the pregnant woman.
It is an issue of control, and little else.
These pro-lifers who want to regulate the uterus of all females, why don't you butt into the business of "parents" who abuse their living children? If you read any media outlet, you will find on a daily basis countless examples of living children being murdered and abused by their "parents."
I read a few weeks ago in the Washington Post about a seven-year-old being starved, beaten and fed to pigs. How pleasant do the pro-lifers think this child's life was? Perhaps it would have been better had he never been born. Of course, because he is dead, we can't ask him how much he suffered at the hands of his "parents."
I read yesterday in the NY Daily News about a two-week found dead in the woods. Her father has been arrested. In the same media outlet, there is a story of a three-year-old reported missing after her "parents" forced her to stand alone in an alley as punishment.
So please, pro-lifers, put your money where your mouth is and protect the "living" children, before you worry about the unborn.
You are assuming that these cases are known to people in time to do something to help.
Whether or not a fetus is an "innocent child" with rights is a matter of personal opinion and belief about which many people disagree. If you're opposed to abortion, you are welcome to not have one, or to persuade or forbid women directly connected to you (wife, daughters, etc.) not to have one. Otherwise, none of your business.
Abortion is a societal issue. We all have, and are allowed to have, and should have an opinion about it.
You are assuming that these cases are known to people in time to do something to help.
Nope, not an excuse ... you, as a citizen, contribute to the problem by way of defunding services aimed at supporting children at risk. The generally proposed excuse for that is that such services represent an unjustified benefit to the childrens' parents. IOW, punishing the parents is more important than protecting and supporting the children. This is why I don't take the forced pregnancy movement (distinct from pro-life) seriously when they carry on about "reverence for life".
I honestly don't know how to respond to this. You paint a vivid picture of something you cannot possibly know the reality of. You are using language to manipulate people in order to further your agenda. It's despicable. I often find when people are unable to make a logical arguments, they make emotional ones.
You offer an anecdote. Yes, some women do get repeat abortions. So what? I'll reiterate that abortion is a legal, acceptable procedure that is there for women who need it.
I could not give a sh*t less about the father, either. I know that's very un PC of me, but men shouldn't be having sex with a women until they've had discussions about pregnancy and what options will be on the table if something were to happen. If you're sleeping with someone who believes in abortion, and you don't - that's on you.
The fact is, I don't care about your religion, your god or your heaven. What I do to my body is my choice. You don't get to have an opinion about it. Period. You can judge me however you like, but it matters not - not only in a personal sense, but in a legal sense as well.
I agree women need support when faced with an unwanted pregnancy and should be made aware of all options available to her. But that's where I step out and allow a woman total bodily autonomy, because I certainly don't have a right to choose anything on her behalf. Nor do I have the right to remind her to "mourn" her embryo. That's asinine.
As far as abortion being control over women, I cannot disagree more. Especially considering the new restrictions on birth control. We're not supposed to have abortions, or we're horrible people. We are no longer legally allowed to have abortions after 20 weeks, and now our employers get to make decisions about our hormonal birth control. I don't know how these actions can be taken as anything other than controlling women. I mean, vasectomies are covered. Boner pills are covered. No one is trying to infringe on the rights of men.
If women want birth control, is anything stopping them from having it? If their employer doesn't pay for it, a woman can work her budget so that she can pay for it herself. Should Viagra be covered? No, IMO. Vasectomies should definitely be covered - less pregnancies result. Should tubal ligations be covered? Yes. Same reason.
I know the reality of AB as well as anyone who can read about them or see the pictures of aborted babies. And don't think that just because I haven't had to fear being pregnant I can't relate to women who have or do. I'm as sensitive to it all as anyone who's ever lived. Men have wives, daughters, sisters, mothers - some of whom have had to deal with such a situation, due either to rape or failure of contraception, or failure to use any in the first place. It's never easy, never a pretty picture.
Mourning embryos - some are far past the embryonic stage. Those that get stabbed in the neck are close to full term if not fully there.
20 weeks - weren't abortions supposed to be done only during the first trimester originally? That's 12 weeks, right? You have an extra 8 weeks but you're complaining about it. Now that is asinine.
Language - you are using cursing and rage to manipulate. Pretty emotional.
Religion, God, Heaven - take it or leave it, Jen. It's where I'm coming from. You are free to have your own view.
Glycerine82, LPN
1 Article; 2,188 Posts
THIS!
I had to take my sister to get an abortion after she was raped and was so afraid that if she had the baby and her then bf found out, he would kill her.
It was $700, up front and we had to drive almost 3 hours and wait for 9.
NO ONE wants to get an abortion. The entire process is horrible from finding a place to go, having the legally mandated waiting periods, discussions, etc.,
Not to mention getting confronted by protesters who have NO IDEA what they are talking about because they aren't the ones faced with such a horrendous decision...THEN waiting around all day, getting your number called several times, each time for a different test. Bloodwork, ultrasound, consultation, video watching.
Like people waiting in line at a deli. No privacy, very little compassion and one hell of a sitty situation all around.
My heart broke for the women in that room, I can't imagine having to be faced with a choice like that.