Why fight for abortion rights? It doesn't get any clearer than this...

[BlooInBloo]

What a sad story.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=2585102

"She said her boyfriend wouldn't pay for an abortion, so she carried her pregnancy to term.

Then she did the unthinkable.

Prosecutors say that on the morning she was scheduled to give birth, Skinner drove to an auto dealer's parking lot, took a gun, and shot herself in the belly, killing the fetus in an act of self-abortion. Skinner was charged with carrying out an illegal abortion.

Is Skinner a criminal?

Today, a Virginia judge said no. The charges were dropped, her case dismissed."


The author of the article is so stupid as to say that this case angers anti-choice people. Fuck that. This story should anger PRO-choice people - it's exactly WHY we're pro-choice - so this kind of shit doesn't have to happen.

[WindRavenX]

1. I would say this incident shows why abortion must be readily accessable

Cheap, rare, and available.

When these conditions aren't met, you get this :cry:

[BlooInBloo]

2. Yup. This story took place BECAUSE of anti-choicers. Damn them.

[nosmokes]

3. it's a very sad story,

but who do you want us to be angry at? the bf for being an asshole and not ponying up some $ to help pay for an abortion? ok. but what about anger for her? i mean she was 22yo, not some teenager. she should have known how to go about getting help. borrow some money FCOL. there's a lot more to this story than what we're getting, i have a hunch. if we had universal care like a civilized society should then she would have been able to get an abortion no problem. but even if it comes down to a money thing,PP i'm sure would have worked something out with her. i'm much more anquished than angry about this though, and thankful the judge saw fit not to criminalize her actions, misguided though they may be.

[WindRavenX]

5. "she should have known how to go about getting help"

Sadly nosmokes, many women do not know where to turn when they need help. It is a direct consequence of stigmatizing and moralizing abortion-- there is often shame which prevents a woman from seeking help, or there is simply no where to go period. If you live in a rural area, often the nearest clinic is many hours away. Mississippi only has ONE clinic to serve the ENTIRE state :(

[nosmokes]

9. I agree Wind raven, but...

she wasn't in MS, and at 22 and as the mother of two already, yes, she should have thw wherewithal to know how to go about getting help. hey, i'm a big-time pro-choice activist, a member of NARAL and NOW and was a patient escort in San diego for many years. but the day she goes into labor is not the day to get an abortion, and even in MS, while there isonly one clinic, there are busses, and yes that is as fucked up as fucked up gets, but that's reality. i don't mean to sound moralizing but at what point does she take responsibility? her boyfriend wouldn't cough up the cash, so obviously, if she had the cash an abortion was an option available to her. granted, not as convenient, not as close not as cheap as it should have been perhaps, but it was available. her BF is an asshole but she doesn't get any humanitarian awards either. like i said, there's more to this story than what that article lets on.

[BlooInBloo]

7. LOLOL! Good one, Dice-man! lolol!

[bluerum]

4. So - it is easier to get a gun and shoot someone than it is to get an

abortion - or in many cases, simple health care.

[WindRavenX]

6. quite telling, isn't it?

This incident shows a LOT with what is wrong with this country-- the fact that a woman was unable to have access to a SAFE medical procedure makes me feel ill :(
I can only imagine what terror and anxiety she was in to resort to this.

[Initech]

8. Wow, that is fucked up.

I'm not a woman, I'm a guy, but every time I hear one of those fucking televangelist pieces of shit like Falwell or Robertson go off about abortion, I want to punch them in the face. They need to see this story.