Comments on Let The Abortion Games Begin

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Very diplomatic, Dennison, and well-said. I have no problem with allowing
laws to state abortion deadlines be at week 13.  There must be a legal point when abortion becomes murder.  As for the 'wanted/unwanted' aspect, many times the decision is not made by both biological parents.  It is made by one.  And here's where more extenuating circumstances rear their confusing heads.  Like I said, it's not a simple issue. 

posted by saul_relative on March 25, 2006 at 9:54 PM | link to this | reply

Let Me Try My Hand At Diplomacy Here...

"Continue gestating the unwanted..."

From where I sit, if a couple (and it should always be a couple's decision because "it takes two to make things go right") hasn't decided by the 12th week of pregnancy whether or not they want the baby then the baby, by default, becomes "wanted." After that 12th week, though, doctors should only perform abortions in extreme cases. You see, during the 13th week of development the fetus transforms from a simple cluster of cells into an organized human being with a central nervous system of its own, which registers for the unborn child all the horrible pain caused by an abortion.

Personally, I feel that a couple should have the right to terminate a pregnancy; but only before the 13th week. If they have not decided to abort the pregnancy by that time then they're choosing to terminate a child's life though a process that brings a great deal of pain to that unborn child.

On top of that, if we really think about this aspect of a "woman's right to choose" then we must admit that she made the decision surrounding her "right to choose" when she decided to risk pregnancy in the first place. Once she completes a union with a man  and that union results in a pregnancy then it's no longer just her right. It becomes their right.  

I'm not advocating that we completely remove a couple's right to choose pregnancy or abortion, I just think that once the central nervous system develops during the 13th week of pregnancy, any discussion of abortion must also include the rights of the unborn child who can feel physical pain from that week forward. Doctors should only perform routine abortions before the 12th week, and only perform emergency abortions after the 13th week.

Beyond that, I challenge any conservative voice to bring me to a full funeral for any child miscarried before the 12th week. When I routinely see religious services for miscarriages then I'll respect the much ballyhooed "sanctity of life" proclamations so often raised by conservatives. When I see mourners routinely gathered under black umbrellas attending frequent funerals for souls lost during the first trimester of pregnancy then I'll respect the claim that "life begins at conception." Otherwise, the first trimester remains as the only viable window for routine abortion.

DM

posted by Dennison..Mann on March 24, 2006 at 4:18 AM | link to this | reply

I agree, brettnik. The self-righteousness of the political right when it
comes to privacy issues borders on fascist state-mandating legal maneuvering.  Big Brother knows what's best for you, because you are lumpen.  And the health issue must always remain paramount when considering the legalities in abortion cases.  Until a legal measure of what constitutes an individual's life is established, the abortion issue will continue to be a violently contentious one.  Until then, a woman's right to govern her own body remains the standard, as it should.

posted by saul_relative on February 23, 2006 at 9:21 PM | link to this | reply

My number one reason for contributing to Planned Parenthood...
I understand your ambivalence.  I feel the same way about babies who can survive on their own.  It's kind of a selfish act not to see it through, if it's only a matter of a couple months.   There are plenty who'd love to raise the baby.  But not having an exception for the life/health of the mother is extremism.  And as far as I know, partial birth abortions are only done in cases of extreme fetal distress/deformity and if the health of the mother is at stake.  I've asked people forever for evidence that they've been going on in any other type of case, but no one provides it.  I think this is just a way for conservatives to push the envelope.  It's their worm-hole into the issue.

posted by brettnik on February 23, 2006 at 4:01 PM | link to this | reply

It is a terrible issue, but an important one, M.P.O. I am truly glad that
the legal or physical decision isn't one that I will ever have to make...

posted by saul_relative on February 21, 2006 at 10:30 PM | link to this | reply

I hate this issue so much...

I have ever since I learned the facts regarding the whole abortion process.

So now, I just keep quiet whenever the issue comes up at ACLU meetings.

 

Pour your misery down
Pour your misery down on me

posted by Mademoiselle on February 21, 2006 at 10:19 PM | link to this | reply