The power of story, abortion, and the Paulists

[mahina]

So, today I went into one of our only remaining independent bookstores. Picked up a copy of Krugman's 'End This Depression' for 24.95 though I'm sure I could get a better deal on Amazon, because I want an independent bookstore. I would never have known of this book's existence, or not for a long while.

The young man behind the desk who rang me in said he had seen an interesting discussion between Krugman and Ron Paul. I mentioned that I'd heard Ron Paul won in Maine last night. His eyes got big and a little glazed over as he started to talk about RP, how he was going to be in Florida and what was going to happen there.

I asked him what he liked so much about RP; he replied that he had some very compelling stories. I asked, about what? Abortion. Such as?

The dead baby in a bucket.

The story he told was of two pregnancies RP witnessed, both carried to 9 mos or very close. In one case, the whole medical team was fighting for the baby's life.

In the other case, the baby was dying in a bucket.

I told him that I agreed that story was where it's at in terms of sharing what we know, how we learn as a community. I started to share w him about a public health nurse that I know here who was working in Honolulu in the 40's when contraception was illegal. We were interrupted.

That nurse helped so many women who were super ill from self induced abortions, some had many children already and couldn't feed them.
Some died horribly, leaving other children motherless.

I told him women are going to have abortions, that is a fact, it's just our decision whether they will be safe, legal, and rare or illegal and unsafe.

On the way home I wondered what the circumstances surrounding the mother of the baby in the bucket. I bet that baby died in the womb. I am a mother myself and I can't imagine anyone choosing to carry a child to term or almost to term and then just deciding to abort it. I bet either the mother's life was at risk, the child was beyond saving for some reason, or the child was miscarried.

It's amazing how fast these folks are to judge women without the information. We must be lazy and selfish. It couldn't be possible that we are heartbroken and without other options.

Anyway, long story short, if you're still reading, we need to make a full court press on OUR stories. The stories of women who lived through those times when contraception was illegal. The stories of women who lost sisters and daughters to septicemia and other consequences of illegal abortion.

Our stories need telling. How's about inter-generational community conversations about choice?

I will be sure to complete my end.

[NYC_SKP]

1. K/R (nt)

[Thinkingabout]

2. I bet he did hear from Paul about his travelgate.

Paul soaks his travels and does not go for reasonable tickets. I bet he did not hear how Paul adds earmarks to bills he knows is going to pass and as usual votes agInst them but brings home the bacon to his district. I doubt he told about aligning withe the neo-Nazi socialist, a hate group. Paul has introduced some 464 bills and one was passed, he is a dead head. Also just on his stand about the military we would be sitting ducks for anyone to hit. Bad bad bad for America.

[Warpy]

3. The full term baby in a bucket was a stillbirth

Now I know Paul's a geezer and has been around a long time, but that's no excuse for not knowing that any full term fetus delivered alive is given heroics, at least now.

Or he's just lying. He does that a lot.

Now, perhaps the bucket baby had been badly injured in the birth process (it does happen) and advanced resuscitation might have saved it, had it been available at the time. However, if the mother was a charity case, some Ron Paul clone at the scene likely decided a stillbirth was a blessing.

You see, that's what the Ron Pauls of the world are all about. They want control, utter control, of someone else.