February 28, 2006
Nonya Bidness
I've been chastised for not weighing in on the recent invasive attack on women's rights in South Dakota, beyond quoting Tbogg. My hesitancy has been a result of the combination of frustration & anger mixed with an unhealthy does of pessimism surrounding the slow erosion of human rights in general.
Historically, in emerging theocracies, some of the first things to go are equal rights for women in society. We all are acutely aware, that if it was up to the XY chromosome to carry a child to term, abortions would be available in a 7/11 drive-through. Anyone who firmly believes that the argument over Roe v Wade is only about saving the lives of the unborn is completely delusional. The line in the sand being drawn now by the state legislature in South Dakota is merely the tip of the iceberg. The fault there, lies on the shoulders of every single eligible non-voter and each and every one of the idiots who were convinced that the GOP had their best interests at heart.
If this artificially constructed wedge issue was truly about saving lives, provisions for the health and welfare of the mother would have been considered. The need for available recourse in cases of incest, rape etc would have risen to the top of the must-haves. If love for babies was actually at the center of this debate, adoption assistance, funding for CPS and a waiver for gay adoptions would have been included. Loving and caring for those already amongst us is paramount to the life and safety of the unborn.
Politicians (primarily Democrats who "get it") who say they are anti-abortion and pro-Choice are not contradicting themselves. They are stating what their personal belief is and that they're not willing to foist it off onto others. Elected officials, who declare themselves pro-Life appear, in most cases, willing to do just about anything to invade other's lives and equally unwilling to assist when there's a need. Being "Pro-Life" should be about ALL life and not an ala carte menu.
If pro-Life movement truly meant what they said about reducing the number of abortions, they’d make condom kiosks as prevalent as Coke machines and the morning after pill over the counter. You can't bitch about crabgrass if you didn't weed-n-feed before the spring rains.
When your elected official fails to represent you it's time to stop voting for him/her. When the federal government fails to protect you, the status quo isn't enough. The cultural climate's not going to get "all better" by itself... stop voting for people who don't represent the will, needs and desires of the people.
Posted by kerry at February 28, 2006 05:50 AMright fucking ON, man.
Posted by: lulu at February 28, 2006 10:04 AM"If pro-Life movement truly meant what they said about reducing the number of abortions, they’d make condom kiosks as prevalent as Coke machines and the morning after pill over the counter. You can't bitch about crabgrass if you didn't weed-n-feed before the spring rains."
Which is why it's all politics -- this comment reflects the absolute disingenuousness at the heart of the debate. No one wants this problem to go away really. We need it to feed our political antipathy.
Good points. I hesitate to make statements about the debate too because I see it as tiresome and lacking in any means of addressing the actual problem of unwanted pregancy.
Posted by: Natalie at March 1, 2006 07:16 AMIf pro-Life movement truly meant what they said about reducing the number of abortions, they’d make condom kiosks as prevalent as Coke machines
Nothin' doin'. I'd be curious to see how you could make condoms and more ubiquitous than they are right now, but even saying you could, that's no solution to abortion. Contraception radically alters human behavior and the end result is -- well, why listen to me? Here's what abortionist Judith Bury had to say in 1981:
"There is overwhelming evidence that, contrary to what you might expect, the provision of contraception leads to an increase in the abortion rate."
This result was predicted by another abortionist, Malcom Potts, in 1976: "As people turn to contraception, there will be a rise, not a fall, in the abortion rate."
And though I don't consider him a very reliable source myself, give ear to what Alfred Kinsey told a 1955 conference on abortion: "At the risk of being repetitious, I would remind the group that we have found the highest frequency of induced abortions in the group which, in general, most frequently uses contraception."
Now, you can disagree with those of us in the pro-life movement who oppose contraception as a solution to abortion, but you can't accuse of of being inconsistent for doing so. We oppose such measures precisely because we do not believe they only increase abortion in the end.
You can't bitch about crabgrass if you didn't weed-n-feed before the spring rains.
I'm not sure what to make of this analogy. I don't think of babies, born or unborn, as weeds. I hope you don't either and that you just happened to use an unfortunate metaphor.
Posted by: Eric at March 1, 2006 04:16 PMAh yes Eric, the "contraceptive breeds promiscuity" angle. Nasty slope from there to legislating your flavor of morality on others. It can swiftly stop being about the person and only about the behavior. Many of those in the pro-life organization, also oppose education on sex and sexuality thus perpetuating a culture of ignorance, while simultaneously providing no alternative options. I notice you skipped
over the adoption note for the more controversial statemtent. Funny that.
My metaphor wasn't an accident. The analogy was one of preparedness. It seems odd to me, that the pro-life movement is so incredibly hostile to the notion of abortion as an option and so equally opposed to ensuring equal access to prevention methods. What's the old addage, ounce of prevention... pound of cure? Retarding the creation of a life before it starts would seem much more wise than the reactive solution of abortion, no?
on a side note: as the parent of a soon to be 4 year old who's 44" tall with a size 13 shoe... they're weeds.
Ass-kickin', side-splittin', wicked-smart bundle of joy that I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world.
My choices and your choices are not everyone's choices. Respect for that is paramount.