are you personally pro choice? I'll clarify a bit.

[UpsideDownFlag]

I am getting a growing impression that many pro-choice people i know wouldn't actually go through with such a procedure themselves, because of moral qualms, or family reasons, or whatever. However, they still adamantly support the right of women to choose. Does this describe any of my fellow DUers position on the subject? I know i personally would have a very difficult time having one.

(I should clarify that i'm a man- this is just a kind of speculation i've been having for a while)

[mimitabby]

1. been there done that

and I'm still pro-choice!! It was a VERY easy choice.
you do it in the first 10 weeks.

[UpsideDownFlag]

4. ok. that's good to hear. nt

[fudge stripe cookays]

10. Me too.

A full course load at school (18 hours), over 40 hour workweeks, and over an hour commute from work to school each way every day.

I had no problem deciding whatsoever. It was difficult, but still the best option for me. I now have the degree and a decent job because of it.

FSC

[BlueCaliDem]

65. I Was *Almost* "there, and done that" once...But I Am Happy With...

...my youngest child, and only daughter today.
She was born in the Netherlands where it's arguably the MOST liberal country in the world (first country to recognize Gay Marriages in churches as well!)and in '91 I discovered I was pregnant. It wasn't a planned pregnancy, and I was working two jobs, and caring for an invalid father (who passed away on his birthday 8/8/94), and I didn't think I could handle a baby.
My (liberal, Dutch) husband left the choice up to me. My doctor was against it because he, and his wife couldn't get pregnant, but he fully understood that the choice was mine, and mine alone to make.
That's why I'm personally anti-abortion, but am pro-choice, because I really do believe that the choice should be left open to the woman herself.

[Wat_Tyler]

2. I support a woman's right to decide - anything else is irrelevant.

My opinion does not matter on this subject, other than to agree with choice.

[UpsideDownFlag]

6. I understand, and agree with the larger principle that you mention.

i was just bringing up a curiosity i'd had that was brought about by a few conversations with other pro-choice people.

[Wat_Tyler]

8. No problem.

[Politicub]

3. I'm pro choice

But I'm a man. I think such a decision should always be left between a woman and her doctor.

[RubyDuby in GA]

5. Always have been and always will be

I know many women who have had one.
And I want to know that if I ever needed one (for any reason), that the option would be there.

[Kitka]

7. I learned you should never say never.

I have always been one of those people – personally opposed to abortion but politically very pro-choice. I always said that I would never get an abortion myself, even as I was working hard for Planned Parenthood and working PP booths at concerts and volunteering at PP. Then I found out that I was pregnant while on a prescription drug that is known to cause major birth defects. That was the first time I realized that you can never say never. I lost the pregnancy before I could secure an abortion, but I would never say never again, though in most situations I can’t imagine getting one.

[Doohickie]

53. Never say never also applies to lots of other issues

For instance: Death penalty. I don't think I could ever sentence someone to death. Yet here in Texas, every person they execute seems to really, really deserve it. Yet I don't like pro-death penalty politicians.

Abortion, death penalty, and other issues, are often decided in a hypothetical sense only. When someone faces them first hand, they may see things differently. That is one reason why I don't advocate using these so-called "hot button" issues to make political decisions.

[Citizen Jane]

9. I am...

I am a strong supporter of a woman's right to choose. I don't know whether I would be able to abort a child (thankfully I have not been in that position), but it is not a decision I can pretend to be able to make/legislate for others. I honestly don't think that most people can say what they would do with total certainty about terminating a pregnancy unless they have been in that position. (N.B. I am saying most, not all, people.)

[Kber]

35. Agree. Supporting all civil liberties is an excersise

in defending rights you yourself may never need. It's like supporting freedom of religion even if you are not religious yourself. Or free speach for those you disagree with.

[bryant69]

11. I would gather that describes a lot of people

I think abortion is wrong in most cases. My whole family was adopted, obviously if abortion was more common in those days, I might have fewer brothers and sisters (or fewer me's as the case may be), so I have an emotional attachment to this issue.

That said, the question isn't whether or not people should have abortions, but whether or not the government should be able to tell people whether or not they can have abortions. Which is a very different question. There are all sorts of things that I think people do that are wrong, but that I don't think should be against the law.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[salin]

12. Personally, I think that many who claim this

have never been in the situation to make the call - and that others who claim it - have had someone close to them make the call - there is a lot of 'exceptionalism' on this issue. That is - I believe this but then there is this one case exception. This has been true in some very public GOP cases where the person actually was virulently anti-choice... both Bob Barr and John (? editor for the WSJ whose last name escapes me at the minute) had a wife or girlfriend who had an abortion. In both cases it seems they could have acted to prevent the abortion - but didn't.

As I have aged, I have learned of too many cases where an abortion happened - most under rather "exceptional" circumstances... to believe that so many people discuss this in the abstract as if they do not know anyone who has had one - and do not know the reasons why. In this experience, I can only claim to have heard of one case (and it was a rumour - back in my college days) of someone using abortion as birth control and having had multiple ones.

I would expect that there will be many who agree with your statement - I have read it hear a gazillion times. However, call me skeptical - because in real life I have heard those stories change when one gets down to specific stories of people they have known. Thus, I have come to view the line that you express as the rather political correct expression.

Just my two cents - and please take no offense at my cynicism.

[UpsideDownFlag]

18. this is another reason i've been thinking about it-

me nad my g/f had a little scare because of some 'lateness' a while back, and she was 'afraid' she might have to get an abortion. i had never thought of it in a real sense, like something i'd be a part of myself. thankfully, we werent put in a position where we needed to make that choice.

[Citizen Jane]

30. Sure I've been close to others who had or did not have abortions...

And I don't take any offense to what you are saying, Salin.

However, to be clear, I'm basing my "don't know what I'd do" more on my own personal experiences. I had a child in my mid-30's so I had to think about the increased risk of genetic problems due to my old eggs. I had an amniocentesis. I did a ton of time thinking about what would happen if various problems showed up during the tests in my pregnancy (I prepare for all eventualities by over-researching things). So, I did a lot of hard thinking about it, but I still don't know what I would have done given the various scenarios.

Of course I have had friends that I know decide to have abortions and decide not to have abortions, but fundamentally, when I say "I don't know" what I would do, I really don't. It would have to depend on the circumstances. For me, that is just being honest about how I personally feel and in no way intended to gloss over that or treat it as an exceptionality.

For me it really boils down to a matter that I don't think the government should be involved in legislating, no matter what my personal beliefs or personal actions would be.

[Pirate Smile]

13. I think that is the position of many people. There is a big difference

between your personal decisions based on your entire life situation (financial, emotional, relationships, morals, religion) and feeling that you can impose your view on other people in completely different and possibly much more difficult situations.

I actually think Clinton's talking points on abortion were very good and fit most people. Legal, safe and rare.

[cali]

14. I've had an abortion

And though it wasn't a difficult decision for me, I appreciate that it is difficult for many women. I remain pro-choice, but I have some trepidation about abortions past 16 weeks that have nothing to do with the health of the mother or fetal anomalies. Harper's November issue has an excellent cover story on the abortion wars. One of the things the article points out is that the U.S. has one of the liberal abortion laws in the world. Laws in Europe tend to allow all first trimester abortions with restrictions applied after that in varying degrees.

[RebelOne]

45. From personal experience

I will say that I am 100% pro-choice.

[Beer Snob-50]

15. agree with your position

i am also a man. i think we have to work toward making this procedure rare through education (including about birth control), and then improving the economic conditions that force someone to consider an abortion. I think the safe haven laws that some states have enacted is a good first step.

[noonwitch]

16. I would never abort a healthy fetus, conceived in love

I likely wouldn't abort a pregnancy that they detected Down's syndrome in, either, but there are some conditions I would abort because of, like spina bifida, or a brain condition that would result in a vegetative baby, that kind of thing.

I would not hesitate to abort a pregnancy that was conceived in rape. I would resent anyone who tried to talk me out of it.

I support Roe v Wade with no exceptions. There is a part of me that feels that a pregnant teen's parents should be involved, but if their daughter doesn't trust them enough to tell them she's pregnant, then there is something seriously wrong in that family. Also, if I had gotten pregnant as a teenager, my mom would have forced me to have an abortion and I would have resented her for it (we used to discuss this as teen girls-I always said I would have the child and give it up for adoption-most of the rest of the girls stated they would get the father to marry them). Pro-choice should work both ways.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

17. Like many others...

As a woman of the 21st century, I have plenty of ways at my disposal to ensure that a pregnancy will be less likely to happen. I never had an abortion, but would not hesitate to get one within the first 10 weeks if a birth control method failed, if economic circumstances changed, if I was raped, if my health would be compromised, etc. I would have an abortion at later times if the health of the fetus or my health were to be in jeopardy. I believe that I have no right in dictating to other women if they should have an abortion.

However, I do have a very strong revulsion for women who use abortion repeatedly as a means for birth control, despite the availability of birth control methods.

[Nicholas_J]

Well since I am a male

I think that I have a much smaller part in the discussion than those would have to deal with the issue directly, so I would have to say I am pro-choice. Another factor is the fact that all anti-abortion positions are based on religion rather than scientific considerations. Culturally all around the world, there are different religious ideas as to when life begins. In some cultures and even religions. A human is not considered to have a soul until a year after birth. IN others, the soul is supposed to be put into the child after the fourth month of pregnancy. So any idea that life begins at conception is one that is based on religious principals alone. GIven separation of church and state, any attempts to overturn Roe v. wade will be based primarily on forcing the religious beliefs of one group onto another group.

I have know people who have had abortions based purely on economic considerations. THey simply could not afford to have a child, nor were they in any way shape of form prepared to be a parent, either at the time of the abortion or even years afterwards.

In the end, there are some who would not have the procedure themselves, simply because in their circumstances, having a child would either not be an economic, emotional, or phsyical catastophe.

For some it would be. That choice must be an individual choice. It is only a problem to those who beleive that most abortions are done for convenience. It is most important to define "Convenience".

[Nicholas_J]

Well since I am a male

I think that I have a much smaller part in the discussion than those would have to deal with the issue directly, so I would have to say I am pro-choice. Another factor is the fact that all anti-abortion positions are based on religion rather than scientific considerations. Culturally all around the world, there are different religious ideas as to when life begins. In some cultures and even religions. A human is not considered to have a soul until a year after birth. IN others, the soul is supposed to be put into the child after the fourth month of pregnancy. So any idea that life begins at conception is one that is based on religious principals alone. GIven separation of church and state, any attempts to overturn Roe v. wade will be based primarily on forcing the religious beliefs of one group onto another group.

I have know people who have had abortions based purely on economic considerations. THey simply could not afford to have a child, nor were they in any way shape of form prepared to be a parent, either at the time of the abortion or even years afterwards.

In the end, there are some who would not have the procedure themselves, simply because in their circumstances, having a child would either not be an economic, emotional, or phsyical catastophe.

For some it would be. That choice must be an individual choice. It is only a problem to those who beleive that most abortions are done for convenience. It is most important to define "Convenience".

[Nicholas_J]

19. Well since I am a male

I think that I have a much smaller part in the discussion than those would have to deal with the issue directly, so I would have to say I am pro-choice. Another factor is the fact that all anti-abortion positions are based on religion rather than scientific considerations. Culturally all around the world, there are different religious ideas as to when life begins. In some cultures and even religions. A human is not considered to have a soul until a year after birth. IN others, the soul is supposed to be put into the child after the fourth month of pregnancy. So any idea that life begins at conception is one that is based on religious principals alone. GIven separation of church and state, any attempts to overturn Roe v. wade will be based primarily on forcing the religious beliefs of one group onto another group.

I have know people who have had abortions based purely on economic considerations. THey simply could not afford to have a child, nor were they in any way shape of form prepared to be a parent, either at the time of the abortion or even years afterwards.

In the end, there are some who would not have the procedure themselves, simply because in their circumstances, having a child would either not be an economic, emotional, or phsyical catastophe.

For some it would be. That choice must be an individual choice. It is only a problem to those who beleive that most abortions are done for convenience. It is most important to define "Convenience".

[UpsideDownFlag]

21. ..don't you hate it when the 'post message' option sticks? nt

[Nicholas_J]

48. yup

I have even resorted to simply clicking on it just once and them closing the browswer and opening up again. and i still end up seeing three posts.

[RUDUing2]

20. I am personally pro choice...(M

and I thank god everyday that when I was a scared pregnant teenager I had the choice...and the choice I made was to carry my child to term and give birth and raise him...He is now 24 yrs old and wonderful married man...

and my dh that I married cause I was pregnant is still my dh going on 25 yrs now and we have 3 other children...

Being pro-choice doesn't mean that you chose abortion when faced with the decision, it means that you want to have the choice when you are pregnant.

What you seem to be asking is "Are any of you pro-abortion personally"

[napi21]

22. Well, I'm a female, I would NEVER consider having an abortion.

But, I don't believe any gov't should have a say in the decision made between a woman and her doctor.

I'm certainly no finatic, but I am Catholic. I don't believe in abortion, divorce, the death penalty, or going to war...expecially pre-emptively! I think all those who are so insistant that the frds overturn Roe, permit the 10 commandments in fed buildings, and all the other federal interventions in the way people live their lives are being very hypocrytical.

For secular laws to PERMIT some action doesn't mean anyone MUST participate in the activity! It=f they really did believe in what they are preaching, they would:

-Not recognize divorce! Remember the "till death do us part line?"

-Outlaw the death penalty. "Thou shalt not kill!"

-Fight against all wars, except a specific enemy who has attacked US! It's the "thou shalt not kill thing again."

-Permit the 10 commandments in public buildings...ALONG WITH...the Koran, the Jewish Shavuot, and any symbol of ANY other faith supported in our country. Seems to me this could get quite confusing, and gee...maybe not even have enough wall space! I do think this is an all or none situation.

-Outlaw abortion. But that includes in-vitro fertilization, birth control pills, etc. Everything that is NOT purely natural.

If they were really honest, they would admit that each individual is responsible for their OWN actions, not the actions of the State! I can just imagine the response from your MAKER when you say, bbbut I only did that because the State told me I could! Doesnt sound like it would be acceptable...does it?

[mimitabby]

51. wow. too bad most catholics don't think like you

you made a lot of excellent points that have just driven
me nuts over the years;
IE the "good christian" woman who had 7 embryos implanted in her body
and how those poor babies suffered, some dying, some with serious
serious problems... the stupid woman wouldn't abort a few..
I agree with you, abortion is no more unnatural than implantation.
m

[UpsideDownFlag]

83. wow. I wish there were more Catholics like you. nt

[napi21]

88. I actually think there are quite a few.

There really are a lot of people who just don't want gov't interference. I say this as a Catholic, but I have a close friend who's husband is a minister, reborn Christian. Both of them are very anti Shrub! She hates the "Faith based inititives". I asked her why! She firmly believes that if they accept gov't funds, there will be gov't interference in their programs and they don't want that! Most Catholic organizations feel the same way.

Please try to remember, the loudmouths are the ones you hear! I don't think there are a whole lot of them, but they sure have found a way to be heard!

[MsTryska]

23. yes it would be very difficult for you to have one

being a man and all. *lol*


and yes, for myself, i don't know that i could have one, but that is situational. ie - if a situation presents itself wehre abortion would be the best option, then yes, maybe.

however I am adamant that each and every woman has to make that decision for herself.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

24. That is what CHOICE is about...

every woman making that decision for herself. Whatever that decision be.

My choice?

I would not choose to terminate a pregancy.

[notadmblnd]

25. You Know, often I've read about or seen in my own community

the horrors some children suffer when they have been brought into this world when they were unwanted. Brain damaged babies because their parents shook them, children drowned when god spoke to their mothers or people like Susan Smith who killed her children when they got in the way of her and her lover. Or how about the children who grow up on the streets and meet their end by gun violence or end up spending their lives behind bars in some prison. Would they have been any worse off if they had been aborted?

I don't believe there is any woman out there who has had to make the decision on whether or not to have an abortion, did it easily or happily.

I find it pretty asnine that these right to lifers have so much concern for a fetus before it is born and then have nothing but disdain for these children once they are brought into this world.

[kodi]

26. yes, yet i think it is a horrible thing to destroy potential sentience

i'm not much for this "soul" thing, but i grieve when i consider that a potential sentient being is destroyed.

in all the universe, sentience is the most unique feature in it. destroying it is saddening.

i am not not an advocate of the death penalty for the same reason.

[Catherine Vincent]

27. Yes. It describes me precisely.

I wouldn't have one performed but if someone else does, that is their business.

[jobycom]

28. Less of a moral issue than a tonselectomy

Yes, I'm male, so it would and should never be my decision. Having said that, I have been involved in the decision before. Details not necessary. I see no moral issue involved in it at all before the semester point. After that, I would discourage it except in cases of the survival of the parent-- but even so I don't see it as murder.

To me, it's a glob of tissue until it can have a reasonable expectation of survival on its own, and after that, it's a nonsentient being that will develop into a human, but isn't one yet.

For the record, I have two children, I helped birth both, I raised the oldest myself while my wife worked, and I even went through mild post partum depression. I'm not a detached male, in other words, though of course there is a dimension to child bearing that I can't experience.

Just MHO, since it was asked.

[recovering democrat]

29. Personally, absolutely Pro-Choice

I have lived through the times when abortion was illegal and performed on the poor by back-alley butchers and on the rich by highly skilled physicians. In all that time, to the present, I have personally known women who were saved from devastating personal medical and emotional crises by having an abortion, and women for whom having an abortion was literally devastating to them medically and/or emotionally. I am thankful I have not had to make this decision personally but respect just how difficult a choice it can be.

My position on why it should not be legislated reflects that background, as I expressed a while back, on another thread: Pro-choice does NOT mean "pro-abortion" which is what the anti-abortion folks would like to have us believe. Pro-choice simply means it is my choice, not the government's. Would I choose to have an abortion? None of your business; none of the government's business. Only the business of me, my doctor and my God.

[DuaneBidoux]

34. I'm a man-and pro choice: but do you understand exactly how partial birth

abortion is achieved?

On the partial birth abortion thing I don't see how any reasonable person could support it. If you have studied it (or as in the case of my wife, who worked in a later term abortion clinic in Kansas (how ironic) the only state that allows abortions in the third trimester), if you really know what it means if FEELS like murder.

In early stages abortion is accomplished by inducing labor and birth of the fetus. Since the fetus is not viable without the mother, the fetus dies.

In the third trimester such a procedure leads to a premature delivery of a living, breathing, crying baby. So, in order to keep that from happening they insert a needle into the baby with poisen and "put it to sleep" prior to inducing labor. In other words they actively kill the baby (at this state you can call it a fetus but it doesn't feel like a fetus anymore).

That is my line-that is simply too much for me to deal with ethically.
The one exception I have here (but even then it gives me qualms) is for the life of the mother.

But I respect where you are coming from...no one wants to return to the kind of situation where women used coat hangers. I would love to find a t-shirt that shows a strung out coat hanger with the message "Republican Abortion Kit."

[RUDUing2]

38. actually D&X leads to (in the vast majority of cases) to the

delivery of a non-viable fetus with conditions that are/were non-compatible with life.

If you want to know why late term abortions are performed read these sites/info

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/01/25/my_late_term_abortion/

http://www.womenenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2046

http://www.ppslr.org/Media/Articles/03march_15.htm

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11268529%255E7583,00.html

http://www.imnotsorry.net/lynn.htm

http://rwor.org/a/v19/905-09/906/why.htm

http://www.nnaf.org/nyaaf/waiting_room.html

http://www.religioustolerance.com/abo_pba.htm

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/hydrceph.html
According to Dr. William F. Harrison, a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology writing in the Arkansas _Times_ a weekly newspaper, "approximately 1 in 2000 fetuses develop hydrocephalus while in the womb." Usually not discovered until LATE in the second trimester, "it is not unusual for the fetal head to be as large as 50 centimeters (nearly 20 inches) in diameter and may contain ... close to two gallons ... of cerebrospinal fluid." (The average *adult* skull is about 7 to 8" in diameter.)
Studies show that most elective abortions occur in the first trimester. Second or third trimester abortions are usually because of birth defects or danger to the mother.

Dr. Harrison says the partial birth and the "draining" of the fetus' skull is actually drawing off of this fluid from the brain area of the fetus. The collapsing of the fetal skull is to allow the removal without the brutal rupturing of a woman's uterine passage or necessitating a classic cesarean section that poses its own dangers to a woman and any future pregnancies. The fetus with severe hydrocephalus cannot live and we wish someone would let people like Ralph Reed, Orin Hatch, Pat Robertson, and Pope John Paul II know that they are condemning women to death for no reason - no reason except their damned puny male egos.

Approximately 500 women face this procedure each year. Mild to moderate hydrocephalus can be sometimes be treated in utero and the fetus saved, and some very mild cases can be delivered and treated after birth. Those which have advanced or severe hydrocephalus cannot. Without the "partial birth" abortions, their births can easily kill their mothers with no chance of fetal survival.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-13-02.cfm

http://www.religioustolerance.com/abo_late.htm

http://www.religioustolerance.com/abo_late1.htm

[DuaneBidoux]

44. Well there is all that, and then there is the fact

that my wife personally did them (28) and so I know what I'm talking about.

[RUDUing2]

49. no you know about *some of them* and about *some* of the reasons

and I find it very disturbing that you wife violated the medical confidentiallity of her patients this way...and wonder how much of the *whole* story you were told.

[DuaneBidoux]

55. Do a Google Search on Dr. Tiller, (Wichita, KS) that's where she worked.

It is common knowledge what happened there. See all my posts. I think it was rare, otherwise they wouldn't have all been flying in from all over the country and world. And my wife never told me names. She just told me about cases. All I can say, is, it changed her profoundly, as I guess all life experiences do.

[RUDUing2]

57. what do you want me to read ...the

hype put up by the freaks who shot at him? Am I seriously supposed to believe anything they write as being truthful or accurate?

the clinic itself posts this

Admission Criteria
In order to offer you an appointment, we require that a physician refer you to our center. In addition, we need your genetic counselor or doctor to provide us with gestational and diagnostic information regarding your pregnancy. Over the past twenty-five years, we have had experience with pregnancy terminations in such situations as anencephaly, Trisomy 13, 18, and 21, polycystic kidney disease, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, Potter's syndrome, lethal dwarfism, holoprosencephaly, anterior and posterior encephalocele, non-immune hydrops, and a variety of other very significant abnormalities.

and

At Women's Health Care Services, we specialize in "late" abortion care. We are able to perform elective abortions to the time in the pregnancy when the fetus is viable. Viability is not a set point in time. Viability is determined by the attending physician and is based on sonogram results, physical examination and last menstrual period date (if known). Our telephone counselors will ask you a number of medical questions to determine if you are eligible for an elective abortion. If you have visited another clinic or physician, we will ask for the results from a recent ultrasound.

Kansas law allows for post-viability abortion procedures when continuing the pregnancy is detrimental to the pregnant woman's health. Each person's circumstances are reviewed on a case-by-base basis. Please call so that we can discuss admission criteria with you.

(considering Kansas Law I really doubt the 28 viable no health issues late abortion claim cause if that claim was true then at the very least he would have been brought up on charges...

Kansas Statutes partial-birth abortion restrictions, 65-6721:
(a) No person shall perform or induce a partial birth abortion on a viable fetus unless such person is a physician and has a documented referral from another physician not legally or financially affiliated with the physician performing or inducing the abortion and both physicians determine: (1) The abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman; or (2) a continuation of the pregnancy will cause a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major physical or mental function of the pregnant woman.


Kansas Statutes post-viability abortion restrictions, 65-6703:
(a) No person shall perform or induce an abortion when the fetus is viable unless such person is a physician and has a documented referral from another physician not legally or financially affiliated with the physician performing or inducing the abortion and both physicians determine that: (1) The abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman; or (2) a continuation of the pregnancy will cause a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant w

[DuaneBidoux]

63. No, fuck the hype...my wife worked in that clinic for 2 years.

Any post you got from me was not hype. This was the early 80s and I haven't a clue what has changed since then. I haven't kept up with it. I just know what happened when she was there. I don't believe these last statutes were in place when she worked there because I know the one's she did were convenience, with the exception of several. Most women who came at that time were refused by hospitals.

Of course don't believe the hype from the freaks that shot him.

But I do know what happened there THEN. Okay? I am quite willing to admit that this knowledge may now have no relevance to what is happening now. But, it has impacted my wife and I's feelings on the topic FOR US.

[Susang]

92. I did do a google search on him

If you wife worked there, why aren't you enraged about the danger she faced on a daily basis from the bomb threats or the shootings? Why no mention of that? Or don't you care about the living's right to life?

[Susang]

98. Oh, Duane.....no reply at all?

:-(

[Cheswick2.0]

64. never mind

I read your later posts.

I worked in a womans clinic and am very educated in both the procedures and laws surrounding abortion.

You didn't even get early term abortion right. Why should I believe anything else you say?

[DuaneBidoux]

76. Don't believe me. We all choose what we wish to believe.

I didn't work in a woman's clinic, so I am NOT very educated in the procedures and laws surrounding abortion clinics. And my knowledge is second hand (which always gets a little garbled in translation).

If you do have the energy or time (however) I would be curious if those Kansas statutes post-date the mid 80s.

Listen carefully: I'm on your side. I do not believe in the restriction of a women's right to choose. I distinguish between my emotional (perhaps irrationally emotional) feelsing and creating laws to strip women of rights. Those are two separate issues.

[Cheswick2.0]

80. then please get the right information and really get on my side

you would have to think a woman was evil to suddenly decide at 8 months she didn't want to be pregnant and for selfish reasons had a later term abortion. It just doesn't happen.

[Cheswick2.0]

61. I can promise you that you have absolutely zero idea of what you are

talking about. You've got both early stage and late term WRONG. Where in heavens name did you get this misinformation?

In fact you have almost no fact in your post at all. But to make up for it there is quite a bit of emotional manipulation.

[MountainLaurel]

68. Imagine that . . .

Emotional manipulation on the part of the anti-choicers? I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked.

:eyes:

[DuaneBidoux]

78. I am not, I repeat NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT

an anti-choicer. I am not attempting to manipulate emotions (although obviously a few have been manipulated).

I support a women's right to choose. Period.

[DuaneBidoux]

71. I'm not an expert...I do know only what my wife told me...

She did work there in the early 80s, I am recalling things from some 20 years ago. Explain to me exactly what I got wrong? I'm willing to learn. If you want, we can do a buddy thing and I'll even give you detailed info. I haven't lied about a thing, although I may not understand the details.

By the way...although you don't seem to want to hear this, I'm on your side.

[Cheswick2.0]

79. Duane, I believe that you just have a lot of misinformation

early term abortion is done by dialation and vacume extraction. It was done that way in the eighties too. 2nd trimester used to be done sometimes by saline injection with killed the fetus and brought on labor or by inducing labor chemically. This was mostly done for the health of the mother... but not always. All these 2nd term abortions were before fetal viability.
You are talking about late term abortion and the information posted by another individual is very accurate. She posted a lot of links and you really should read them.
Women who have late term abortion do it to save their life and health. At no time was it ever legal to have a late term abortion just because you felt like it. NEVER. Not in Kansas, not anywhere else.

[recovering democrat]

84. Me, my doctor, my God

I read your posts about partial-birth abortions and all the arguments. Know the drill. Now, take the word "partial-birth" out of the information, and just use the word "abortion".

It is hard, and certainly not "politically correct" to be absolutely pro-choice when the anti-abortion foes started holding up "partial-birth abortions" as some kind of special issue, and it worked! First comes the limitation for third-trimester with no exceptions for the life of the mother which is outrageous, then comes the exceptions, then the crack in the dam breaks and we are back to the coathangers.

I understand you and your wife are among the types of people to whom I referred as devastated by abortion experiences, and that you are entirely, philosophically pro-choice in your words. Please understand that your personal ethical problem with this one thing is your choice, with your doctor and your God, but it is part of the crack in the dam because it ignores the genuine medical reasons that medical professionals should be making this decision instead of us.

[buckettgirl]

99. Um, Partial Birth Abortion is not a medical term

I hope that you realize people who are wholly against abortion made up the term to incite rage and anger and turn people away from freedom of choice.

[progmom]

31. I have always been pro-choice

And it always seemed like such an easy argument when I was younger. Get your laws off my body. I marched in DC for choice, gave to NARAL and Planned Parenthood. But I never really thought about how I would react if I was faced by the choice. It was easier not to think of it in real, concrete terms.

Three years ago, I was pregnant (for the first time, and on purpose) and got some possibly strange results back from my 18 week ultrasound. There was an "echogenic focus" showing on the baby's heart, which was a "marker" for down syndrome. Next step was to meet with a genetic counselor, whose job it was to help us determine whether or not we should go through with amniocentesis (there are risks associated with amnio) to discover beyind a shadow of a doubt whether or not our child-to-be had down syndrome. At a certin point, I asked why, if we wanted to know whether there were genetic problems, was this being presented as such a difficult decision? Her response: Most people who wouldn't consider aborting if they got bad news don't go through with the amnio.

And that's when it hit me - I was going to have to figure out how I stood on abortion, personally. It wasn't just a political thing, it wasn't just a rallying cry, it was a very real possibility.
I didn't sleep for 3 days. I spent hours online trying to determine the potential quality of life for a person with DS. I had a real, personal crisis. I had felt this child kicking. Hell, I had started talking to it. How could I? But then, on the flip side, how could I chose to sign this child up for a lifetime of pain, health problems, misery and ridicule (because you can't tell me that even the most well-loved, well-protected children with DS don't get ridiculed).

The good news - and it was great - is that I requested a second, more detailed ultrasound with a high-risk doc, and he assured me that the echogenic focus was just a fluke, and that there were no other markers for DS showing. We had a healthy baby 22 weeks later, and all is right with the world.

So, now that all is said and done, I still don't know what I would have done if Jacob had been diagnosed with DS at 18 weeks. I still wrestle with that question regularly.
But I do know one thing: I am really grateful that I would have had a choice.

[Kber]

37. Waiting for my amnio results this week

and it just sucks! Most likely (hopefully) a "false positive" on a previous screening. Like you, what has hit us (me and my husband) is how hard any potential decision will be and how much I don't need Jerry Falwall's input right now.

[progmom]

40. Kber.

My thoughts and prayers will be with you. That's an excruciating place to be.
But you're right - more often than not it's a false positive.

-fingers crossed-

[Midlodemocrat]

62. I had one of those false positives

Son is now 12, healthy as a horse. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Kber]

77. Thanks for the support

my doctor says they can get bad news back to you in less than three days, and it's been just over a week, so the longer the wait, the better actually. We are hopeful!

[CatBoreal]

93. Big hugs to you.

Been there. Done that. It's so hard.

I hope it works out. Good luck.

Cam

[Selwynn]

32. I support a woman's right to decide - and I am a man, so I have no further

...opinion.

(Ok, I *DO* but I really have no basis, since I am a man. Personally, I have moral reservations about abortion. Perosnally I have a very stong position on life - no war, no death penatly, no abortion. But like I said, its personal - I really don't want to fight about it. I support individual's rights to make these decisions.)

[DuaneBidoux]

33. I am pro-choice with the exception of partial birth abortion

But that does not indeed mean that either my wife or I would choose to do it ourself. I think WE would feel wrong doing it.

On the partial birth abortion thing I don't see how any reasonable person could support it. If you have studied it (or as in the case of my wife, who worked in a later term abortion clinic in Kansas (how ironic) the only state that allows abortions in the third trimester), if you really know what it means if FEELS like murder.

In early stages abortion is accomplished by inducing labor and birth of the fetus. Since the fetus is not viable without the mother, the fetus dies.

In the third trimester such a procedure leads to a premature delivery of a living, breathing, crying baby. So, in order to keep that from happening they insert a needle into the baby and "put it to sleep" prior to inducing labor. In other words they actively kill the baby.

That is my line-that is simply too much for me to deal with ethically.
The one exception I have here (but even then it gives me qualms) is for the life of the mother.

[RUDUing2]

39. so your wife was carrying a fetus w/a condition that was non compatible

w/life like my cousin? A fetus that had severe hydrocephaly, anecephalis and organ, facial and cranial defects?..cause that is why my cousin had a late 2nd term D&X...are you going to claim that she would have given birth to a living, breathing crying baby?..cause the fetus that was removed had no brain and a severely malformed skull and face....

I posted a whole bunch of links above...if you want to really understand why women have late term abortions then go read them..It is *murder* it is making the best choice for themselves in a terrible situation, concerning a pregnancy that will not result in a living, breathing, crying child..or if it does of a child that will quickly die after suffering tremendously during their short life (like w/Tay Sachs or Trisomy 18).

[DuaneBidoux]

46. HANG ON

I am not judging you nor the people that do them. Okay? I have my perspective, and it is from experience. I don't claim that even the majority of late term partial birth abortions don't have good reasons. But in the case of the many (28) that I personally know about the only good reason was that the 16 or 15 year old girl had hidden the pregnancy until it was too late. Now we can certainly debate the idiotic social norms that lead to girls in that situation, but I know that for the clinic at which my wife worked this was rarely the case. This was a clinic, dedicated to late term abortions, no questions asked. Period. Located in Wichita Kansas and run by a man named Dr. Tiller (who I believe has since either been murdered or shot and run out of business, or Kansas may have passed a law). These were not done in hospitals...these were done here because hospitals would not perform them. Girls flew in from the Middle East, Europe, and all over the Americas because they would do an abortion on a girl one week before due date-no questions asked period. And I know how they were done, because my wife assisted.

[RUDUing2]

47. or that the abortion was necessary for the mental health of the

mother...or that there were other *hidden* birth defects...not all show up externally.

You stated that late term abortion is murder...that is a black and white statement. You are making a judgement about something that you have little information on..I have provided the links..read them.

[DuaneBidoux]

56. No I did not state it was murder...read my post carefully

I said, that for me, in the cases I knew about (where my own wife participated for God's sake) it now feels like murder (to me...now to us). There is no moral judgement being made outside of my own personal experience. Okay? Somewhere I posted exactly the experiences I'm talking about. It is in those exact circumstances that I talk about...I make no statement about anyone's elses reality beyond that.

[Cheswick2.0]

70. I thought you were saying Dr Tiller was your wife..... so she didn't "do"

them, she assisted. But I can tell you that I know all about the law in Ks and the procedure you claim your wife assisted. It just doesn't happen the way you claim.

[DuaneBidoux]

75. Again, I know what she told me. Could she have lied to me?

Sure. Could I have misunderstood? Sure. But, I am not lying about her working there. I generalized about the procedure because I don't know the details. They had, from what I remember her telling me, a number of ways of killing (or if that bothers you) terminating the life of the baby depending on the situation. I pulled one from memory (perhaps a poor memory) that had struck me the hardest.

And again, it may not "happen" the way I claim now. This was the early 80s and believe me it was a different climate. Cut me some slack okay? I am, as I've said, on your side. I don't feel the way you do on the issue if it is of convenience, but I am not for restricting a women's right to make her own choices. Period.

[Fleshdancer]

41. Third semester abortions aren't about choice, it's about med. neccessity

Late term abortions are for women who's health is extremely compromised or if the fetus is extremely deformed (ie: no development of the spinal chord).

I guess there is the random possibility that somewhere out there is a woman who could abort a viable, kicking fetus for no medical reason and I guess there's the random possibility that there's a doctor crazy enough to abort a healthy 8 month fetus for no reason but I'm going to take the risk and assume it's extremely rare. Hell, all late term abortions are extremely rare - much less than 1% of all abortions in America from what I understand.

I can support making such laws to ensure that those rare cases don't occur, but I'll never support such a law if it doesn't take a woman's health into consideration.

[DuaneBidoux]

52. See my post above about my wife's experience working

at a late term abortion clinic. It probably was rare, it may not even be done anymore anywhere (this was in the late 80s). The very fact that girs were flying in from all over the world probably says it was rare.

There is a defensiveness from responses to my post that is understandable. But, don't assume my own position is anti-choice. It certainly isn't. There are many things that simply can't/ shouldn't be handled by the gov't. You probably believe, like I believe, that abortion, in the end can't be stopped. There is evidence of widespread abortion in virtually every civilization on Earth. So we need to make sure that women can do what they inevitably will, safely, and of their own free will. Are you convinced yet I'm on your side?

I believe this issue is extremely complex, like most in the world.

Like I said, I'm looking for a T-shirt with a coat hanger and the title "Republican Abortion Kit." And I WOULD wear it, probably at the mall for best effect. So you see where I stand.

[FlaGranny]

36. I don't know how to answer

your question. The time is long over anyway. ;-) If I were raped I DEFINITELY would abort. If the pregnancy was the result of "love" I would be very torn, even to save my own life. If the fetus had no chance of survival (without a brain, or other organs necessary for life) I would be more likely to choose abortion.

On the other hand, I feel I have no right to make someone else adhere to my standards.

Some children have been born into this world only to be beaten and tortured and deprived. I remember one case from many years ago of a baby, a 2-year-old, who was murdered in the most horrible way. He was being toilet trained and messed his pants. He died by having his own feces pushed into his face, plugging up his nostrils and mouth to the point he suffocated. I still shudder to this day and that was about 40 years ago. Every time this issue comes up I remember that child and think - how much better if he had never been born. Abortion was illegal at that time. At times like that I almost believe in forced sterilization.

[Ravenseye]

42. I'm personally Pro-Life but actively Pro-Choice.

I think, personally, that it is killing a child. I think it's a life at conception and that it is morally wrong to have an abortion, along the same lines that infanticide is wrong. Same thing in my head.

Yet I'm Pro-Choice, and that won't change. Why?

Firstly, I think that a belief should not be legislated. I can see other people's points about not considering it a life until birth, or 'the quickening' or whenever. I just don't believe that my personal beliefs should in any way affect another persons.

Secondly, I think that abortion is morally acceptable in cases of incest, rape, and a danger to the mother. If a person has been forcibly impregnated they should have a right to have that pregnancy terminated. If a person could be killed by the pregnancy, they should have a right to have that pregnancy terminated, even late term. Is it called 'Preclampsia'? where the high blood pressure of a woman will kill both her and the baby? If thats the case abortion saves lives. Better the woman lives, and the baby dies, than both die, in my opinion.

Thirdly, I don't think there should be parental notification. The parents have their say in how they raise their kids. If the kids don't feel like they can communicate and share with the parents, they've had their turn. In addition in the cases of rape and incest you have the additional burden of shame. What if the parent is the one who raped the child? A young girl should not be forced to have her own fathers child, via a rape, simply because the person who raped and shamed her is the one who has to give permission to end it.

Fourthly, I think that there are always options, such as closed adoptions, open adoptions, to abortion that women with schedules can take advantage of. I think if a person is an adult, healthy, and able to have a child, they should be responsible about it. Yet at the same time nobody should be forced to give the reasons for an abortion, because of the shame and embarrasement of possible situations.

Therefore, I am personally pro-life, but totally pro-choice. I see no other way (the pro-choice part) that a person who actually considers the situation, could morally support.

On Edit: I also just want to add that I make absolutely no judgements whatsover on people that have had abortions. As my position should indicate, I feel that it is a personal decision, which nobody else should ever have any judgement over.

[alevensalor]

43. My wife and I are both pro-choice

but didn't even consider abortion when she got pregnant. We were in a place where we had no reason to consider it, really.

Personally, I don't think it would be right for my family, as we have the education and resources for family planning information available, and we stop the process with a condom.

But am I pro-choice? Oh hell yes. It's no one's right to tell me or my wife what we can and cannot do. The decision should be ours, no matter what that decision is. The government has no fucking right to inject itself into our personal lives.

~A!

[sherrem]

50. I am pro-choice, not pro-abortion

I think that is something that republicans don't understand. I have no right to tell anyone what to do to their body, and neither does anyone else.

I have been in the position where an abortion was a very real and "logical" option, but it wasn't the option for ME. That said, I considered adoption long and hard, and decided that didn't work for me either. Being 18 years old, a college freshman, and pregnant with twins is a hard situation, but I went through with the pregnancy, and now I have two beautiful 6 year old girls. I didn't have help, my boyfriend (now husband) and I raised them by ourselves from the beginning. Sure I had to quit school, but I can always go back. If I had aborted them or had them adopted, that isn't something I could have "fixed". That is a decision I personally could not have lived with, but I'm not "everyone".

In circumstances such as rape, from the outside looking in I can say I would probably make the decision to have the child, but give it up for adoption. I've always had the philosophy that the child did not ask to be brought into this world and therefore should not be punished for the actions of others.

I grew up in one of those families people use as an excuse for abortion. I had a mother who didn't give two shits about me, and never should have been a mother, and I had a father with a mental illness who, for all intents and purposes "couldn't" take care of me, but did the best he could when he could. My life may not be perfect, but I'm sure glad I have one. Unwanted children can make decent lives for themselves, it just takes hard work.

That's my two cents :)

[hyphenate]

54. Never had the need personally

So I could never say. I know that it's sometimes a heart-wrenching decision even for most who do go for an abortion, but those I know who have done it don't regret having it.

I'm slightly passed child-bearing years now, and my kids are four legged and furry ones, so I would never have had to worry about them. :)

[Midlodemocrat]

58. I am pro-choice

...for anyone but me. I believe that life begins at conception, and personally wouldn't have one. That being said, I was never unmarried and pregnant, or raped and pregant, or carrying a severely deformed baby. I don't know what I would have done in any of those cases. I know one thing for sure, I am glad that women have a choice and am praying that the choice always remains. I don't think my views on the issue matter at all to the person having an abortion. And I would never pass judgment on someone who had an abortion. It is between the woman and her doctor. Period.

[Cheswick2.0]

59. do you mean "are you personally pro-abortion"?

Cause being personally pro-choice just means you may or may not agree with abortion but think it should be leagal.

I am personally pro-abortion for anyone who needs one including myself. No one likes abortion but I refuse to make the wimp-out qualifier that "I wouldn't do it but....."

If I needed one I would get one and I would encourage any woman who felt the need for an abortion to do it with out guilt.

[Susang]

73. I'm not pro-appendectomy either

:eyes:

I am getting so fucking sick of this shit. We have this argument constantly and yet we as humans are content to kill and eat living creatures of all types, we allow our fellow humans to be killed and starve on a daily basis throughout the planet, and in the case of some of the more zealous pro-life activists, actually kill fully formed human life to prevent the destruction of unformed potential human life. Yet, when it comes to a mass of cells that will eventually become a human, we freak out because they sort of resemble cute little babies. Insane.

[Cheswick2.0]

81. we also declare whole cities in Iraq to be full of terrorist and

wipe out the whole population with chemical weapons and bombs. Lovely people we americans.

[Susang]

86. But don't you dare touch those cells!!!!

Insanity.

[murray hill farm]

60. I am , of course, prochoice.

what has always confused me is that ole "moral" stand taken by the prolife folks...based on religous beliefs. By any religous belief anywhere, the basis is that we believe that the soul is not an intity that can be destroyed...that it existed before birth and will exist after death...the earthly body being just a place to life and experience life on earth...an abortion does not destroy the soul if one really believes in the soul...and its immortality...or its decision to live on earth..in another fetus..at another point in time.

[CatBoreal]

66. Pro Choice... Exceedingly Pro Choice but..

...when I faced the possibility of having a child with Downs syndrome and was asked by my doctor if I would abort the child, my first reaction was to wrap my arms around my waist protectively and say: "No way!"

Does this mean I would look down on someone who did choose to abort. Absolutely not.

I would no more force a woman to carry a child with Downs to term than I would force that same woman to abort that same child.

Cam

Edited: spelling error. You would think a biologist would know how to spell syndrome.

[Susang]

67. Yes, I'm sure it does

I'll even add this to the fray. Those women who say that they'll never have an abortion may be accurate, or they may have never been put in the position to test their convictions.

It's quite easy to say you'll never do something that you are never put in the position of having to do. However, women do get pregnant. Often there are reasons to not go through with the pregnancy. That's why no one, not even another woman, has the right to tell a woman what to do when she becomes pregnant. Your (or my) moral judgements or how hard it would be for you, personally, to have an abortion, have nothing to do with that woman's right to decide for herself.

[Dark]

69. Me too. n/t

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

72. Yes, I think I am personally pro-choice.

I've never had an abortion, but I would consider it if my family's circumstances were not right to have another child.

I did consider the possibility of abortion when I got pregnant (unplanned) with my son. I discussed it with my husband, and we decided that we wanted to have a child and that we were confident that we would be able to handle raising a child. I know we made the right decision. I think I'm less likely to consider abortion as an option in the future after having one child, because I would like to have a second child sometime. However, I think I would be able to make the choice that is best for my family.

[sunnystarr]

74. I'm mostly pro choice

I believe women have to act responsibly and use available birth control methods. In the event of an unwanted pregnancy I would limit abortion to the first tri-mester only. I'm totally against late term abortions unless to save the life of the mother (which would be rare).

Women know if there's a possibility of pregnancy and a home pregnancy test isn't expensive.

[choicevoice]

82. The name I use should say it all.....

After the rape of my daughter some idiot had the nerve to come up to my daughter at the hospital and try to tell her that if pregnant the only moral thing to do would be to have the baby. Imagine how quickly and in how many ways I told this idiot to "Fuck Off".

This made me an activist and for years I spent my summers defending clinics throughout the south during the summer seiges of womens clinics by the "christian" people who thought it was ok to shoot a doctor or bomb a clinic in gods name to save fetuses.

I personally have not had to make the decision. For every other female what I think is of no consequence, it's their decision and my opinion nor anyone elses matters unless by invitation that person asks for opinions.

[proudbluestater]

85. Pro Choice means MY Choice, not the governments

Had my last child, unexpectedly, at age 40. Wouldn't even consider an abortion.

However, if the genetic testing had shown problems with the fetus, I would have had to make a careful, well thought out decision.

[JerseygirlCT]

87. That's me. Wouldn't be my choice (at least under any -m

circumstances I now can imagine - never say never), but I fully support every woman's right to make that decision for herself.

[Behind the Aegis]

89. my opinion on the subject

I feel it is between the couple to make a decision. However, the woman's final choice trumps all! I know a few women who made the decision without talking to the man, only to discover that he was excited and wanted it, contrary to what she believed but was to afraid to ask. I have been to a clinic with a friend. For her, it was a very difficult choice. Truth be told, for some women, it is not having the procedure, but how she is treated after! I have ALWAYS been supportive of the decision! If we as a society chose to support the choice of women and didn't belittle them by saying they are not capable of making that choice, I feel their might be fewer abortions! It should ALWAYS be left to the woman as the final say!

[really-looney]

90. My wife and I are both in that boat

We have a 10 year old daughter, we have been married for 9 years. We talked about all the options and both decided to have the baby. It is important to be able to talk through the possibilities but in the end, both my wife and I could not go through with an abortion. I am glad it was a mutual decision because I would have gone with whatever my wife wanted to do. We are both pro-choice and do not feel that it is our right to impose our will on others but when the choice became personal we chose to have our daughter.

You never know what you will do until you are there. It is a personal decision.

[RB TexLa]

91. It is not a female only issue

The right to control and regulate one's body is the right of people of both genders. A man does not have to have his wife's permission or have her notified before he can have a vasectomy. Abortion is part of it but the far right wing is trying to mainstream their ideas. During the campaign we finally had stem cell research become a debate item and the right wing let us know that the zygote is "scared life." Trust me it is not that far of a step for them to force the belief that sperm and eggs are "scared life." I doubt there are many in the country that want that amount of government in our personal lives.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

94. No-one knows until they are in the situation themselves....

I've seen a lot of "former" anti-abortion people run out and get abortions when THEY were affected.

[m berst]

95. phony issue

I have no political position one way or the other on abortion, and I would encourage all liberals to take the same position.

I am opposed to theocracy, and I believe that is the legitimate issue here.

Abortion is an issue that extremely reactionary forces have shoved into the political arena, because they raise a lot of cash with it and it gets them a lot of votes. It has destroyed the political dialogue in the country - debased it and coarsened it.

Life and death decisions need to be be made, and are made, every day in the medical community. Politicizing the complex and challenging issues the medical community faces is a form of barbarism.

If you get drawn in to discsussing abortion as a political issue, you have already lost. The right wingers don't care about winning this argument, and they have no interest in eliminating abortion or even in reducing it. They want us to fight about it so we are distracted while they install a theocracy. So long as we argue, they win.

Back in the 80's Falwell, Robertson and their pals started test-marketing ideas. They wanted to see what things they could preach that would bring in the most money so they could build their "ministries." Sodomy and dead fetuses brought the best "return" on their investment in TV time and from their direct mail campaigns.

If gays and abortion didn't make money - BIG money - and didn't win votes for these people, we would never hear about them. Arguing against their "ideas" as though they were legitimate is like arguing with a TV commercial. It might make you feel good, but you have surrendered to the advertiser's agenda and you can never "win" the debate or effect anything in the real world.

Only mental midgets think "abortion" and "gays" and "immigration" and "public schools" and "drugs" are problems that need some sort of simple moralistic "solutions" provided for us by a bunch of ruthless, unprincipled, hypocritical theocrats. Once you let the right wingers define what the problems are for us, the battle is lost before it begins.

[Dora]

96. Yeppers.

Always been pro-choice, never had to exercise that choice.

If I had become pregnant while a teenager, I probably would have chosen abortion.

Later, during my first serious adult relationship, I decided that if I was old enough to live as an emancipated adult, I was old enough to take responsibility for my reproductive choices and I went on the Pill. Told myself that if I got pregnant despite the Pill or due to my own poor judgment that I'd go ahead and have the baby and give it up for adoption. Never happened, so it was always just a hypothetical situation for me.

Now I'm 35 and pregnant with my first. Loving every second of this experience.

God bless Planned Parenthood.

[buckettgirl]

97. I am pro-choice for many reasons

At first my reasons had to do with, well, being a woman. I sure as hell didn't want any telling me what to do with my body and how to live my life.
Then it became more personal.
I have to be pro-choice so that the choice still exists if I need it.
My husband and I don't know if we are going to have children. He has several genetic issues that run in his family. He has had a son die at 2 months, a niece die at 8 months (she had an alien-shaped head, don't know what her problems were though), and he has a nephew who just turned 4, but has many many medical issues - stunted growth, can't speak, balance issues, etc. etc.
We don't know if we are going to try for children yet. I know that having a baby is cheaper than adoption, unfortunately for us - we would be happy to adopt, but MY GOD! adopted children can cost anywhere from $10,000 - $30,000...its crazy.
We have decided that, whether planned or an accident, we would do whatever genetic screening necessary to find out if we will have a healthy baby. If not, then we will terminate.
It was a hard decision to come to, and as I said - we don't even know if we are going to have kids yet. But I know that it would kill my husband to have another child die in his arms and that I couldn't live with myself for bringing a child into the world that would never have any normal quality of life.