Actually more on reframing the abortion debate, primarily based on this past post from last May. (Took most of the day Youtube was pretty useless today.)
The pro-life protesters were asked about whether women getting abortions should be punished in this Youtube (embedding disabled). Well worth the click if you haven't seen it.
Do they believe that if abortion were illegal no one would have an abortion? Amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a long time, but I did write a post about abortion recently.
ReplyDeleteOf many issues that I ponder and pray about, that was the hardest. For those who may read this and do not know me, I am Catholic. And pro-choice.
Anyway, I did watch that Libertyville Anti Abortion march video and it was worth it. It is why I put the link to my post in this comment... I reference a NYT article about how the criminalization of abortion in El Salvador has created what I will rather impolitely call the pussy police in that country.
Women are punished for having abortions there. It is sick.
Our own country stands at the threshold today... we must not let Roe v. Wade fall.
I will close by saying that it took me a long time to get to where I am about this topic. I returned to my faith 18 years ago and was very pro-choice then too. I did look at abortion itself differently then. Bottom line - I have my freedom of choice NOT to have one.
While I know why I would not choose that path, I am mystified by the ardent pursuit of these people... why be obsessed with "killing fetuses" while so much other killing is all around us?
I just do not get it. At all.
NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and their opposite camps are similar to the March of Dimes, in a way...Initially putting forth the meme that when they had reached their goal of awareness/ eradication of polio, they would gladly dissolve their organization and fade into the sunset...but upon reaching their initial objective with Salk's vaccine discovery, they reassessed this policy and elected to find a new cause to fundraise for - premature birth and related issues.
ReplyDeleteWas this altruistic, or was it opportunistic? That's a judgement which I would personally reserve, but I'm certain that the professional fundraisers within the org weren't unhappy with the decision to continue.
It's a little more obvious with NARAL's attempts to keep their powder the driest in the land, in my opinion.
Regarding the Youtube - obviously, the interviewees haven't bothered to think through the progressive logic of their relative moral stance, and 'color me surprised'.
If indeed abortion was to be made illegal on the grounds that it is an 'act of murder', there can be no equivocation or extenuating circumstances allowed.
This concept of 'murder lite' with reserved celestial penalties as advocated by these people repels me, and is yet another example of why the law is not a place for fantasists to dabble in pet moral questions.
What frustrates me the most with the folks in the video clip is that none of them seem to believe that women have thought through their decision at all. They universally think a pregnant woman will wake up one morning and think to herself,
ReplyDelete"Hmm... I want a bran muffin, some orange juice, and oh yes! An abortion."
The only argument they have is the emotional - understandable, and I sympathize with their beliefs, but that's not going to sway me.
Something like 60% of women who have abortions already have children, and cited their need to care for the children they have as a reason for the abortion. I'm sorry, I don't have a link, but that study just came out.
ReplyDeleteI prefer permanent wave feminist, but that's just me...
ReplyDeleteBG, I have to disagree with a couple of your points. The first being that while I have my issues with Planned Parenthood, providing abortion services is only a small fraction of the kinds of services they provide. There is legislation in Congress that would strip funding for contraception from Planned Parenthood clinics. My question to the bill sponsors would be, if you don't want women to have abortions then why are you trying to make it harder to get birth control? So Planned Parenthood DOES need to fundraise to support the organization, and they need to use every opportunity available to do so.
ReplyDeleteI'm also concerned with your comments about unplanned pregnancy. The only way for a woman to insure that she won't get pregnant is to stop having sex with men. Short of that, there is always a chance that her birth control could fail. My niece is a "birth control pill" baby. My sister was using birth control, and it simply failed her. She chose to have my niece, but for other women who do not wish to give birth abortion has to be an option.
And while NARAL's actions make me crazy at times, as has PP at times, it is vital that we have organizations working to protect a woman's right to make reproductive health decisions. PP, in particular, because of the many services they provide.
The strongest protector of women's reproductive rights are NOW and the Feminist Majority. Neither of these organizations will compromise at all on the issue.
Roe v Wade was decided 35 years ago, and it's already been severely weakened. I think of my own organization that has been in existence for 60 years, and how hard we fight to protect our First Amendment guarantee of religious liberty. Until the other side gives up, and don't count on it, we've got to have strong organizations in place to safeguard our right to make personal decisions.
BAC