Why abortion needs to remain legal and safe...

[MonkeyFunk]

I just got off the phone with my best friend. She had to end her pregnancy after tests showed the fetus had Edward's Syndrome, which is a chromosomal disorder similar to Down's, but more severe.


There was only a small chance the pregnancy would carry to term, and if it did, the baby would be severely disabled.

This is why I sent years as a Clinic Defender.

[NC_Nurse]

1. One of many reasons.

Thanks for your work. :)

[Az]

2. I still do escort services

And the protesters are still there. Their obsession is a constant.

[MonkeyFunk]

9. I wish I could still do it...

but now I live in an area that has no anti-choice protesters.

I really enjoyed doing it, though. Got into some good tussles with the fundies.

[mudesi]

3. 91 to 93 percent of downs syndrome pregnancies are aborted

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome#Prenatal_screening

Conservatives/Republicans/Christians are having abortions.

[theoldman]

4. Carrying a child like this to term is like giving the parents a

life long sentence of confinement. I hope that the religious fanatics never win and that common sense prevails.

[tandot]

5. I am 43 and we are trying to have a baby. I'll have a higher chance of having

a child with downs and other disorders. We are glad that I still have the choice to end a pregnancy if we decide it would be the right thing to do for us and the fetus. We'll make that decision when/if we get there.

Thank you for defending our rights, MonkeyFunk :pals:

[MonkeyFunk]

6. I wish you the best of luck

:hug:

[tandot]

7. Thanks, MonkeyFunk

After a year of trying, we finally ordered an ovulation test kit. After that, we are not quite sure what to do. We don't have the money for all the fertility treatment stuff.

I'll post on DU if we have any good news. :hi:

[Norquist Nemesis]

8. The best case is that healthcare/reproductive decisions stay with the individual

Over and over, I've had people tell me, "It's murder!" I refuse to get into that moral argument and go straight to, "If you think the decision about abortion should be in the hands of the government, think China!"

At least it gets them thinking.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. It's all about people being able to make their own decisions.

The government should not be in the business of managing womens' reproductive systems for them.

I said it in another thread yesterday, to some folks who seem intent on spreading the lie that "real" progressivism is only about so-called "economic issues", and that "we" need to jettison our pro-choice values to appeal to the so-called "traditional religious left":

Roe v. Wade is a DEAL BREAKER for me. I will NOT support any candidate that cannot support the right to choose. PERIOD.

[hfojvt]

11. Edwards' syndrome?

Isn't that just an addiction to expensive houses and fancy haircuts? And isn't that just alot of media hype against somebody who would make a great President?

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

[uppityperson]

12. Indeed and best wishes

[yellerpup]

13. When abortion was illegal no one tested a pregnant woman for anything

You just climbed up on some stranger's kitchen table and hoped you'd survive. If I'd been tested before the abortion, I would have known that I was RH Negative and would have been able to take a Rhogam (sp?) shot afterward to prevent my body from building up antibodies against future pregnancies. I paid a month and a half's salary (in 1970) dollars for an illegal procedure that prevented me from ever carrying a child to term. I am glad that I did not bear a child to the man who made me pregnant because he would have had rights over my child (and forced access to me) for at least the next eighteen years if not forever, but I would have preferred to have a choice of whether or not to bear children with the man who eventually became my husband. I read somewhere that the leading cause of maternal death prior to 1971 was from complications from illegal abortion. Keep abortion safe and legal. The choice should not belong to the government, but to the woman alone.

[demigoddess]

14. I was one of those who had to wait out a pregnancy on pins and needles.

Back in the days when abortion was illegal I had a daughter with severe birth defects. Later I got pregnant and had amniocentisis and was told the baby was normal. After I gave birth and was told he was normal, I cried for an hour and a half from sheer relief. I really feel for those who would have to go through a pregnancy like this if they outlaw abortion.

[DFW]

15. GMTA, Monkey Funk--good timing, too

I was just thinking the same thing, and put up a post closely related.