It would be a wonderful thing to have absolutely no abortions in America.

[TheWraith]

It would mean that there were no children whose parents didn't want them.

It would mean no conceptions being caused by rape or child molestation.

It would mean no one was behaving cavalierly about the ability to create new life.

It would mean no teenagers fooling around without being smart, and changing their lives forever.

It would mean no one discovering that their child has a life-destroying condition before they're even born.

It would be a wonderful thing. It's just not very practical right now. Someday, I hope.

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

1. It Is a Romantic Ideal...

worthy of aim, but not of casting aside higher values.

[Yooperman]

6. One way to at least lower the number of abortions is to

provide free contraceptives to women!! Oh we have that now... in the new Health Insurance Reform Law....

YET... tonight on PBS Newshour they had a segment on how appalled the Catholic Bishops are because the Catholic Hospitals and Universities are being forced to comply with this new law and will fight it until they don't have too.

It's a free country... if the women in their parishes don't believe in contraceptives then just tell them "To Just Say No" ... and allow those that want some control over their baby making ability to do so.


For me... It is unbelievable that they want to abolish ALL abortions yet won't take steps to reduce that number through using contraceptives and encouraging all Catholics to do so if they don't want to have a child.

It is like they don't want to solve the problem...mindboggling..


YM.


P.S... I meant to reply to the original post... sorry...

[d_r]

43. I agree with the entire sentiment and point you make

entirely. But the thing is, we (you and I) don't understand the way they're (the rabid right wingers) think. It is something like "they shouldn't be doing it anyway, and it is there punishment if they get pregnant and they deserve it." or something like that. I once asked one how they could be against free health care for poor women, when clearly prenatal care would reduce the number of miscarriages, low birth weight and premies, and so on. Isn't that the same, I asked, as allowing a pre-born "life," that you are so committed to saving, die? They said that it was the poor person's responsibility for being pregnant, and that no one else should pay for it, and that this was different from abortion because that was the mothers' responsibility. It makes no sense to me, at all, but it seems to make sense to them. So yes, if they wanted to reduce abortion they should be working to increase access to health care, to make better access to high quality child care, to increase the safety net for the poor to reduce the need for abortions. But they don't think that is their responsibility. They are awful people, really.

[peacebird]

2. You left off: it would mean no birth control failures (condoms can break, diaphrams can slip)

It would mean no one took antibiotics which caused their bc pill to becomw useless.
It would mean the bc pill was better than 99% effective.


It is not only the careless unprepared sort who get abortions, it is also people who did everything practical and still got pregnant.

[pitohui]

3. no it would mean all of those things were going un-repaired

when abortions were not legal there were zillions of children being born whose parents didn't want them, and children do know when they're not wanted, it shadows their whole life

again, when there were "no" abortions (or no acknowledged legal abortions) there were plenty of rapes and child molestations, and plenty of babies giving birth to babies

awk, should i go on down the list?

if someone's utopia depends on depriving a woman of her freedom of choice, it is not a utopia for the child either...it is hell on earth

a world without abortions is hell, some of us are old enough that we remember

abortion is a marvelous technology that can fix many horrors, why don't we acknowledge it? instead of pretending that abortion is the problem?

the problem is unwanted children, women who can't determine their own lives, raped and violated women, and so on...THAT'S the problem, abortion is not a full solution but it's a great help in time of trouble

[PeaceNikki]

5. I'm with you

[Ship of Fools]

52. Ditto.

[uppityperson]

75. "abortion is not a full solution but it's a great help in time of trouble" Thank you pitohui.

[nanabugg]

4. It would mean everyone has access to and uses full-proof birth control. nt

[EFerrari]

18. And on some other planet because that situation doesn't exist on ths one.

Let me introduce you to my 30 something year old son.

[EFerrari]

7. Oh, fucking please. Does the right wing not have enough people

to reinforce their bullshit so that we have to do it here, too?

It wouldn't be a wonderful thing to have no abortions in America because that would mean that women would be suffering here.

And to paraphrase Whoopi, when was the last time you were pregnant?

[Mr Dixon]

56. Agreed

It would be a good thing if people minded their own business, and stay out of everyone else lives,
IMO a good thing would be if there was no religion, far less Wars and Bloodshed now that would be a good thing.

[obamanut2012]

66. +1

[Chorophyll]

80. Thank you. + A million. nt

[PeaceNikki]

8. Please stop the rhetoric that it's a "necessary evil".

Abortion is a moral and positive choice that liberates women, saves lives, and protects families.

[Hugabear]

10. + 100000

I can't stand to see all this hand-wringing over abortion, as if women should be somehow ashamed of this.

[LeftyMom]

12. Seriously. I've had it with the soft-pedaled slut shaming.

And that IS what this is.

[PeaceNikki]

15. Sometimes less soft-pedaled than others

[obamanut2012]

68. That is exactly what it is

[morningfog]

27. Hear, hear.

[Azathoth]

29. "Abortion is a moral and positive choice that liberates women"

Somehow I don't think that statement would poll very well...anywhere.

[EFerrari]

31. And we wouldn't want to cross the poll, ever.

lmao

[Azathoth]

40. Some people are absolutely determined to marginalize themselves

Who am I to argue?

lmao

[EFerrari]

41. Honey, if you worship the poll, that's your decision.

[Azathoth]

47. Keep telling yourself that

as you stand on a street corner with a hand-drawn sandwich board.

[EFerrari]

48. LOL

Komen tried to defund Planned Parenthood last week and they were roasted all over the country.

I don't feel alone in the least. Maybe open a paper or something.

[Muskypundit]

50. That is because planned parenthood does more than abortion services

In fact, only 3 percent goes to abortion.

Planned parenthood is a fantastic organization that uses a intelligent, multi-layered strategy to help family plan.

Not many would be defending PP if all it did was provide abortions. I wouldn't.

[obamanut2012]

70. What do you have against abortion providers?

What other medical professionals would you not defend?

[uppityperson]

76. Why would you "not defend PP is all the did was provide abortions"? Thank you for answering this.

[Muskypundit]

82. Maybe "I wouldnt support it" was incorrect

I wouldn't give my money to them. I would give it to an organization that offers more choices than abortion.

[quinnox]

34. there is more to life than polling

unbelievable. The polling would have said to keep blacks in slavery and not give women the right to vote back in the past at one time as well.

[Azathoth]

38. Somehow, I don't think the slogan "black men marrying white daughters is positive and liberating"

would have worked for the abolitionists either.

[EFerrari]

42. And Dog knows, if it doesn't "work", it's not worth fighting for.

How sad is that.

[uppityperson]

77. I love the "men marrying daughters" part of your quote. It is telling.

[Azathoth]

89. Your need to resort to personal insinuations is very telling. n/t

[2ndAmForComputers]

105. Congratulations! You made PeaceNikki's point much better than she could!

And she's no slouch in the point-making department, either.

[PeaceNikki]

35. it's the liberating women part that chaps hides.

But it's time to change the narrative.

[Azathoth]

36. Yes, the part where aborting developing fetuses/children-to-be becomes a tool of female empowerment

certainly chaps a few hides.

I doubt that narrative is going to change.

[EFerrari]

37. A fetus is not a child.

Try taking a fetus to a playground and you'll see what I mean.

Good grief.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

84. I'm sorry for being so coarse, but I love the imagery

I immediately imagined a fetus getting stuck on the slide--baby powder would help with that friction coefficient.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

60. that statement polls GREAT with me! n/t

[SidDithers]

30. Yup...

Sid

[REP]

46. Thank you. Abortion is a minor surgical procedure. Period, the end.

Like many medical procedures, it can improve the patient's well-being - and usually does.

[obamanut2012]

67. Exactly, and is also a legal medical procedure

[Chorophyll]

81. + Billions and billions. nt

[Odin2005]

98. That's your opinion. I think its a necessary evil.

Then again, I was a Preemie, so that colors my views.

[PeaceNikki]

102. I have a uterus and can conceive for about 4 decades

Which "colors" my view.

[PeaceNikki]

104. Your comment has been bugging me all day. WTF does being a preemie have to do with choice?

Your mother made a choice to keep you and you were born early. Depending on how early, you were either viable or kept alive with the wonderful help of medical science.

So please, if you can, help me understand the correlation between you being a preemie whose mother made a choice and abortion.

I'm just not seeing it.

[smokey nj]

116. Well said!

[quinnox]

9. Ugh, sounds like a religious pamplet or something

I hope your Orwellian vision never comes true, because people being controlled to that degree would be a horrific society to live in.
Freedom can be messy sometimes, its a small price to pay methinks.

[Nye Bevan]

11. "Surely we can all agree that abortion should be rare" - Ted Kennedy

In 1987, Kennedy delivered an impassioned speech condemning Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork as a "right-wing extremist" and warning that "Robert Bork's America" would be one marked by back alley abortions and other backward practices. Kennedy's strong opposition to Bork's nomination was important to the Senate's rejection of Bork's candidacy. In recent years, he has argued that much of the debate over abortion is a false dichotomy. Speaking at the National Press Club in 2005, he remarked, "Surely, we can all agree that abortion should be rare, and that we should do all we can to help women avoid the need to face that decision."[2] He voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ted_Kennedy

[PeaceNikki]

13. The Democratic Party dropped that seriously antiquated language in 2008

http://thecoathangerproject.blogspot.com/2008/08/reclaiming-morality-of-abortion-and.html

The Democratic Party platform of 2008 finally dropped its old abortion language ("safe, legal and rare&quot , which had asked that women not have abortions unless they absolutely must. The 2008 platform, just announced, says instead, "The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right." Should a woman desire to bear her child, the Dems advocate prenatal care, income support, and adoption programs to help her there, too. But in the world of the new Democratic platform, it's the woman's decision to make.

The wrong question will always lead to the wrong answer. Not coincidentally, the founding text of the Post-Abortion Syndrome movement is called "Making Abortion Rare." The Democratic platform of 2008 offers an opportunity to put an end to this self-destructive cycle of Safe, Legal, and Rare, otherwise known as regret, depression, and self-denigration. In its place, it can finally argue for the value of women's lives. Above rubies sounds about right to me.

[PeaceNikki]

14. What if we stopped focusing on the number of abortions and instead focused on the women themselves?

Numbers mean nothing without context. If the 1.21 million abortions that took place in 2005 (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html#1) represent the number of women who needed abortions (and in my opinion, if a woman decides she needs an abortion, then she does), as well as the many women who chose to terminate pregnancies that they very much wanted but could not afford to carry to term, then that number is too high. The work of reducing the number of abortions, therefore, would entail creating an authentically family-friendly society, where women would have the support they need to raise their families, whatever forms they took. That could include eliminating the family caps in TANF, encouraging unionization of low-wage workers, reforming immigration policies and making vocational and higher education more accessible.

On the other hand, if those 1.21 million abortions represent only the women who could access abortion financially, geographically or otherwise, then that number is too low. Yes, too low. If that’s the case, then what is an appropriate response? How do we best support women and their reproductive health? Do we dare admit that increasing the number of abortions might be not only good for women’s health, but also moral and just?

What if we stopped focusing on the number of abortions and instead focused on the women themselves? Much of the work of the reproductive health, rights and justice movements would remain the same. We would still advocate for legislation that helps our families. We would still fight to protect abortion providers and their staffs from verbal harassment and physical violence. What would change, however, is the stigma and shame. By focusing on supporting women’s agency and self-determination, rather than judging the outcomes of that agency, we send a powerful message. We say that we trust women. We say we will not use them and their experiences as pawns in a political game. We say we care about women and want them to have access to all the information, services and resources necessary to make the best decisions they can for themselves and their families. That is at the core of reproductive justice. Not reducing the number of abortions. Safe – yes. Legal– absolutely. Rare – not the point.

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/04/26/safe-legal-rare-another-perspective

[renie408]

23. Amen!! n/t

[Nye Bevan]

16. "Abortion should be safe, legal and rare" - Barack Obama, 2010

http://www.lifenews.com/2010/09/28/nat-6734/

Obama said today he thinks abortion should be "safe, legal and rare" in America and he said families, not the government, "should be the ones making the decision."

[EFerrari]

17. And when was the last time he was pregnant?

[quinnox]

19. lol, so what is the point of quoting notable Democrats like Kennedy and Obama

and what they said about abortion supposed to mean? Does that mean they are the final word or something? lol

[EFerrari]

20. Their childbearing record speaks for itself.

[SidDithers]

32. He's wrong about this...nt

Sid

[hughee99]

87. Apparently, no one told Obama that it is antiquated language. n/t

[renie408]

21. I get the spirit behind this post and appreciate it. But I think the wording...

is a little unfortunate.

All of your scenarios imply some flaw in the woman who got pregnant or the person who impregnated her or in the fetus. Sometimes people want the child, but cannot see a realistic way to keep the baby. Sometimes people DO take precautions, but are unlucky.

Why is it that human beings always want to find someone or something to blame in every situation? You know, sometimes shit happens. And that's that.

[EFerrari]

22. The spirit behind this post is anti-abortion, anti-choice.

And this thread is proof that any half-assed stupid wish can get ten votes here
because wherever there are fertile women, abortion needs to be an option.

[renie408]

54. Anti-choice?

If I think that abortion is a tough thing that I wish women didn't have to go through, and therefore I would also like to reduce their necessity, does that make me anti-abortion and anti-choice, also?

And, you know, I would bet that most women that have abortions really wish they didn't have to. It is painful and invasive and whether you want to or not, you think about that child that might have been. What is wrong with wishing woman didn't have to make this choice, even if you think they should have the right?

[EFerrari]

65. Because it irresponsibly re-enforces the right wing demonization of abortion

and at a moment when they have declared war on women's health care:

* In 2011, 135 measures on reproductive health were passed by 36 US states
* There was a 50 per cent rise in reproductive health provisions in 2011 compared to 2010
* Sixty-eight per cent of reproductive health measures in 2011 restrict access to abortion
* Ninety-two provisions enacted in 24 states restrict access to abortion
* Republicans rule most states where abortion restrictions were enacted
* The Republican majority in the US House wants greater limits placed on abortion
* House Republicans have launched a probe into Planned Parenthood
* Komen cited the House probe of Planned Parenthood while halting funding
* Most Republicans oppose government funding of Planned Parenthood
* Republican candidates have pledge to de-fund Planned Parenthood
* All four candidates for the Republican nomination for the presidency have opposed abortion rights

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101612439

[obamanut2012]

73. Who told you that?

I have never had an abortion, but several of my friends have (as adults), and they all say the very opposite of what your post says, even down to "painful and invasive." That turn of phrase always amuses me, because oral surgery is painful and invasive.

[renie408]

92. I told me that.

I had an abortion at nineteen. I am not lying, it hurt. To dilate you they insert increasingly larger rods into your cervix and it hurt. I also had cramping afterward.

And they said the 'opposite'? It was fun? They enjoyed it? Can't wait to have another? Think I'll go and have a D&C for the fun of it? Huh?

What I would like to know is WHY do people like you latch onto one single thing in a post which isn't the actual thrust of the post and pick it to pieces? Do you feel smarter? Wiser? Superior? Cause, you know, I am thinking not.

[renie408]

95. I just read about the procedure. I was not given anesthesia

I think that's why my procedure was so painful.

[uppityperson]

100. Many places are using one of those fast acting/fast stopping anesthesias these days, unlike

in the past when you got a valium and some pain med prior. The newer anesthetics are very good to have for all sorts of procedures.

[renie408]

106. As I recall...

What I got was a couple of pills, probably the Valium and pain meds. It's been nearly thirty years ago, so I imagine things ARE a lot different now. At least I hope so. It was painful and, for a young woman, embarrassing and I really did feel like it was invasive. The doctor kept impatiently telling me to 'relax'. That is what I remember most distinctly. Him telling me to relax and me thinking, "Yeah, right."

I am SO glad it is better now.

[uppityperson]

78. Getting my teeth cleaned is also tough and I wish I didn't have to go through it. I would like

to reduce the necessity.

Most people that have their teeth cleaned really wish they didn't have to. It is painful and invasive.

I have had contact with many many women who have had abortions and some thought about the child that might have been, many didn't.

[renie408]

93. I am really sorry, I cannot find the point in what you just said. n/t

[uppityperson]

101. since you asked nicely, and thank you for that, I'll try to clarify. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

There are all sorts of procedures that are painful and invasive and we wish we didn't have to go through. An abortion or teeth cleaning are 2 examples.

I know of no woman who decides to have an abortion for fun, all I know wished they didn't have to go through it but were pregnant and felt they had to.

Rather like getting my teeth cleaned.

Some " think about that child that might have been", others don't. As I wrote elsewhere, I've seen women get pregnant on purpose as soon as they can after an abortion. I've seen many who didn't, who went on and focused on the life they had. Some made changes, others kept on just as they had before the abortion. There are so many reasons women get abortions that trying to simplify just doesn't work.

Thank you for sharing your experience in another post.

[renie408]

108. I wasn't trying to imply that abortion was 'bad'.

I was just trying to stand up for the OP, I guess. It doesn't seem like such a bad thing to wish there was a world where NOBODY had to make this choice. And I guess I did probably project me feelings and the feelings of the women I have known who have talked about their abortions with me onto this subject. It just makes logical sense to me that you would think about the fact that as long as you are pregnant, you have the possibility of this child. Especially since that possibility is why you are having the abortion in the first place.

You are welcome on the sharing, but it really doesn't bother me to discuss it. It was something that I am neither proud nor ashamed of...sort of like that teeth cleaning. I am careful who I talk to about it, but not because of anything I feel about having done it. I live in the Deep South and run a small business here and I sometimes feel I have to be careful about some of my views. Ok, like nearly ALL of my views. I work with a lot of kids and families and this is the sort of thing that can effect business here.

**edited because I am dog tired and had some typos**

[uppityperson]

112. Thank you and you are welcome also. I know what you mean about being open with views.

Good luck to you and I hope you find others in the area of similar views to help sustain you.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

88. Abortion is the same as a D&C

It is not painful at all. Well worth it considering the shit that can happen to some women or girls of having the unwanted baby in their lives. On the other hand, pregnancy is painful and dangerous.

Root canals are a "tough thing"....but there you go. Life is tough

I don't agree with your statement, "you think about that child that might have been". No, I don't dwell on all the early miscarriages I had. I never think about what kind of people they could be now...if they had made it passed the embryonic stage. And these pregnancies were very wanted. I put my thoughts and efforts into the sons and grandchild I do have. That is how it should be, women making a better life for themselves and the children they have. That is what it is all about.

[renie408]

94. Why are you arguing with me? Just to do it?

I HAD AN ABORTION. I am not lying, it hurt. I am not lying, I definitely think about the child that might have been sometimes and the women that I know who have had abortions do the same. And trust me, I have talked to a lot of women who have had abortions. I am not judging any woman who doesn't. I am not arguing in any way, shape or form that abortion should be illegal or curtailed or anything else. I am trying to say WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH WISHING WOMEN DIDN'T HAVE TO HAVE ABORTIONS?

But some of you are so goddam busy defending something that isn't even being threatened in the comments you are addressing that, instead of addressing WHAT I AM SAYING, you are picking portions of the comments and attacking those. I think there is a name for that kind of tactic, isn't there? Republicanism?

[uppityperson]

99. D&Cs are painful, like having REALLY REALLY bad cramps. So are abortions. Unless you get

anesthesia, yes, they are painful. Not as painful as getting a leg cut off, or other major surgery, but yes, they are painful.

To say they involve no discomfort, no pain, is dead wrong. Unless of course you get anesthesia. I've held the hand of many a woman getting an abortion and helped her through breathing, even though they got some pain meds prior.

I've had women show up pregnant on purpose a few months after an abortion because they thought of what could have been and decided to have a child. But I've had many many many more feel it was the best choice and move on otherwise.

People are different and it is as wrong to say every woman who had an abortion or miscarried is psychologically traumatized as to say none think about the child that might have been. I've seen very few of the first, many more of the latter.

But back to my first point, D&C is painful, as are abortions, without enough anesthesia.

[Bluenorthwest]

24. Crappy rhetoric that is really a pile of shaming and nonsense....

Feh.

[EFerrari]

25. No, I think we should devote more threads to how awful abortion is

because abortion providers all over the country aren't under enough threat. And women who need those services have it too easy.

:

[joshcryer]

26. Or it would mean we live in a fascist state.

[bullwinkle428]

28. You could have saved some energy and just typed "Keep your knees together, ladies".

[Nikia]

33. I would add that health care is provided and there is adequate financial support to pregnant women

and mothers of small children.
I think that it is unfortunate that a woman who would otherwise want a child feels that she needs to have an abortion because she cannot afford prenatal care and delivery or that she cannot afford any time off of work.
Pro Life people who want to lower the abortion rate should be giving more help to pregnant women and mothers of young children not talk about cutting it.

[undeterred]

39. It would be a wonderful thing to have absolutely no Republicans in America.

[EFerrari]

44. It would be a wonderful thing to have no apologists in America.

[Kaleko]

49. ...and no pithy, pious pandering

to the pitiful leftovers of Puritan ideals that make puppy dogs puke.

That would be wonderful indeed.

[REP]

45. It would mean perfect contraception that always works for everyone with no side-effects...

It would that every woman is and stays healthy - no diagnosis of a deadly or disabling disease or condition...

It would mean that every woman could carry a pregnancy safely - no kidney disease, no heart disease, no hyperemesis gravidarum, etc...

It would mean young men and women being able to obtain surgical sterilizations when they've decided they want no (more) children, and not being told "you'll change your mind"...

Getting the picture yet?

[jacobisrael]

51. "view abortion as murder"

Most polls show a majority "view abortion as murder".

Can you cite one that doesn't?

[PeaceNikki]

53. Do you "view abortion as murder"? If so, who should be punished and how?

[rhett o rick]

63. That's a big statement. Can you back it up? You do realize that abortion is legal? nm

[rhett o rick]

64. Most polls show that of 2/3 of anti-choice advocates are men. They think they

are better at deciding what women should do.

[PeaceNikki]

72. Polls show most are fucking idiots.

[EFerrari]

83. My civil rights are not up for a vote.

[Hugabear]

103. Welcome to DU

Enjoy your stay

[uppityperson]

111. Indeed. fwiw, link to the other post he's made

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1869877&mesg_id=1869978

[NYC_SKP]

113. And this is their blog/website:

Plenty of sick stuff.

http://israeliteknight.wordpress.com/obamas-iq-is-71-max/

And a jury voted 3/3 to leave it alone.

[renie408]

115. Eww...you really need to give a little bit more of a head's up...

if you are going to post a link like that. I swear, I feel like I need to go take a shower now.

[uppityperson]

117. Thank you. He is now gone.

good job

[2ndAmForComputers]

108. No, YOU have to prove YOUR bullcrap assertion.

Until then, I will regard it as the bullcrap it is.

[NYC_SKP]

110. Dear jacobisrael:

Yes, I can cite a number of polls that show only a minority consider abortion to be murder.

Please tell me your feelings about welfare, and undocumented workers.

And, how do you feel about same-sex marriages?

[Shankapotomus]

55. And imagine what forced childbirth would look like (nt)

[ananda]

57. It would also mean...

... no life threatening pregnancies.

[renie408]

58. Knee jerk reactions typically indicate lower intelligence.

I think most people must have some kind of mental shorthand with which they label issues in their minds: Abortion: Good, Pro-life: Bad, Democrats: Good, Republicans: Bad, OWS: Good, Police: Bad, etc. That makes it easier to righteously stomp through life without having to slow down long enough to actually assess whatever issue is at hand.

Saying that you think it would be wonderful if women never found it necessary to get an abortion isn't fascist. It isn't anti-choice. It isn't any of the other icky things that some of you are trying to make it out to be. Let's be really, really clear here...I will fight like a rabid dog to insure that any woman, ANYWHERE that needs an abortion is able to have one safely, legally and without stigma. But that doesn't mean that I don't wish for her that it were unnecessary.

On another thread I talked about the abortion I had at nineteen and I received several very sympathetic private and public comments and I appreciated them all. Here's the thing...I am not embarrassed about it. I don't think I did anything wrong. It wasn't an easy choice, but it isn't something I hide from people. My kids know about it. I mean, I don't exactly introduce myself by saying, "Hi, I'm Renie and I have had an abortion." But it doesn't bother me to talk about it. Yeah, it was not the best time of my life. Yeah, I sometimes wonder about that child-that-might-have-been...but I know that what I did was the only smart thing for me at that time in my situation. So, just like I wish I didn't have to have a C-section with my son, but it was necessary; I wish I hadn't had to have an abortion, but it was necessary. And with abortion, unlike C-sections or most other medical procedures, no matter how you try to ignore it, there IS the loss of the potential of that child that isn't. So, thinking the world would be a wonderful place if there were no more abortions doesn't make the OP a horrible, anti-abortion, anti-choice bastard.

[justiceischeap]

59. Just please keep the following in mind: Nature is the biggest abortion "provider" going

If you believe in God, then you must acknowledge that God (or nature) is the biggest abortion provider in the world. Hardly anyone ever talks about those facts. Why is it okay for your body (or God/Nature) to allow women to miscarry because something isn't "right" with the pregnancy but when a doctor suggests something isn't right with the pregnancy and a woman opts for an abortion, people get their underwear in a wad?

I have a sister who is a recovering heroin addict (but still abuses alcohol and prescription drugs) whose had untold number's of miscarriages. I thank the stars every single day she never had a child--she could never be a fit mother and either my parents or the state would have had to have taken on the responsibility of that child/children.

Some women shouldn't have children--like my sister. Some women (children) aren't ready for children, some women need to end pregnancies for medical reasons, some women are raped and don't want to carry the product of that rape; In the end, none of that matters because it's a personal decision and a legal procedure that none of us really have the right to have a say in. Doesn't mean we can't have our opinions about the subject but we have NO right to judge other's about this.

[Ilsa]

107. Thank you! This is what I argued with my sister.

I told her that Mother Nature or God or whatever takes out a third to one-half of all pregnancies, so either God is an abortionist or just doesn't care.

[SidDithers]

61. It would be a wonderful thing if everyone who needed an abortion in America had access to one...nt

Sid

[musette_sf]

62. Pregnancy termination is a legal medical procedure,

that, when legal, has a very high safety profile.

Pregnancy termination is not a sin.

Pregnancy termination is a medical procedure, that's ALL.

I find absolutely nothing wrong with this legal medical procedure. And I'm really tired of the hand-wringing about "safe, RARE and legal" and "what a wonderful world it would be if we had NO abortions".

The demonization and stigmatization of this safe, legal medical procedure, and also of medically prescribed contraception, MUST end.

And to that end, what really needs to happen is for the civil, human and Constitutional rights of female US citizens to personal bodily autonomy to be honored, respected, and inviolate. What needs to happen is for any violation of these rights to be a prosecutable offense. Rights granted, but not defended, are shifting sands. We see in recent months how these rights are utterly disrespected by the RW and the theocrats.

If all this pious moralizing over women's reproductive health care were to end tomorrow, highly effective contraception would be very, very easy, convenient, and inexpensive to obtain for ALL people, most terminations would be performed as early as possible as any interference or impediment thereto would be vigorously prosecuted, and terminations due to fetal health and/or the woman's health would be treated with compassion instead of with punitiveness.

A first step in this direction would be to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

[myrna minx]

69. Thank you so much for this post. If I could recommend, I would. n/t

[obamanut2012]

71. It would be a wonderful thing to have no more vasectomies in the US

(we never see that statement, do we)

It would be a wonderful thing to have no more cardiac bypasses in the US.

(or that one)

It would be a wonderful thing to have no more laparoscopic surgery in the US.

(nope, never heard that one)


I wonder why we never hear any of these statements???

[GeorgeGist]

74. It could mean ...

that their is no life in America.

[Chorophyll]

79. "It would mean no one was behaving cavalierly about the ability to create new life."

You know what? What if someone WAS "cavalier" about it? What if there ARE women out there who get pregnant by mistake, and then feel nothing but a sense of relief that they were able to un-do it?

Who are we to sit in judgment of other people's lives?

Life is not a freaking fairy tale. It's messy. People are imperfect. Abortion is a medical procedure that must be available to all women and girls, whether we like their reasons or not.

[NoGOPZone]

85. It wouldn't be a wonderful thing to eliminate the right to have one nt

[frazzled]

86. Yeah, to achieve that there'd have to be no (heterosexual) sex in America

And that's not going to happen, nor should it.

As long as people engage in (heterosexual) sex, there will always be accidental or unwanted pregnancies. And there will always be the need for the right to an abortion.

Let's not help the right by pretending that terminating a pregnancy in its early stages is anything to be ashamed of. It's not wrong, and it's been going on for thousands of years.

Let me repeat: there's nothing wrong with abortion in the first trimester.

[FloridaJudy]

90. It would mean we'd finally caught up with most of Europe

Where abortions are rare. Because access to contraception and education about it are considered a basic right. Some of those are Catholic countries, too. The Europeans just have more sense than to allow their religious fanatics to dictate government policy. They've already been there, and recognize how much it stinks.

[joshcryer]

91. OP hasn't responded once to this thread.

There are quite a few good, reasonable, sound objections to the caricaturization in the OP. (Yes, that's a word.)

[TBF]

96. Agree. I don't like them -

who does? But it should be a medical decision between a woman and a doctor, not everyone else's business.

[ehrnst]

97. When conception becomes a conscious decision, that may happen. (nt)