* pulled from a conversation with my friend Umut that we had on Facebook in the aftermath of Dr. George Tiller's murder (words in italics are inserted in this blog for reader clarification).
Umut Newbury
Christian Fundamentalist Terrorism. It's shocking to write, but it's time to start calling it what it is. The "war on terror" needs to include domestic terrorists.
Yeah, I'm not even for abortion, and that guy killing the doctor - really, really sad and stupid. I mean, what? Less abortions will happen now because he's dead?!?! These ladies will just go to the next doctor...
Oh yeah, and they give Christians (especially the pro-life kind like myself) a really bad name!!!
Thank you, Sammy, for the perspective from the sane right. I'm not that religious at all, but I would think killing someone in a church has to: A. be among the mortal sins, B. absolve the dead guy immediately of all his sins. Am I wrong here? Not to mention, how does a pro-life person become pro-murder...
I don't know for sure about points A and B, but I do know this: If Jim Fitts (a huge anti-abortionist we both know) thinks what you did is wrong, then you are way too far to the "right" side of the spectrum!!!!
I will say after doing some research/reading last night, my opinion is only reaffirmed: I think we can all agree that partial-birth abortions are pretty sick. I mean, when the baby is like 85% out of the "birth canal" and then it's killed...pretty sick (still, though - the guy shouldn't have been shot).
Sammy, nobody is saying that it is "fun" to have a late term abortion, however, according to the research I have done, all of these cases are either when the baby is about to be stillborn, or with huge deformities, ie: brain growing outside of the skull, conjoined twins, and almost always the birth will result in mother's death or serious health complications (like bringing a child into the world that's going to die within a few days, but then never being able to have a child again.) These are the toughest decisions anyone would have to make, but let's not pretend that late term abortions are performed on some college twat who thought it would be cool to have a baby for 8 months then changed her mind at the last minute. These are very very rare cases. Tiller was an ob/gyn, he provided lots of different types of health care to women. The late term abortion thing was a small percentage of what he did, about 12 cases in 15 years or something like that. Tiller wasn't a "sick" man.
I never said that people thought it was fun to have them. And I never said that Tiller was a "sick man" because he preformed late-term abortions (any more so than anyone who performs abortions is "sick"). I said that the act itself is pretty sick. I've done some research as well. At this website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_the_United_States#Reasons_for_abortions) you can see that the number of abortions in the
So, I'm not too sure about your statement: "according to the research I have done, all of these cases are either when the baby is about to be stillborn, or with huge deformities, ie. brain growing outside of the skull, conjoined twins, and almost always the birth will result in mother's death or serious health complications". It looks like to me like those cases are the minority of late-term abortions. As far as me representing the "sane right" - although I appreciate being called sane - thank you :) - I am NOT "right". I'm just pro-life. And I'm consistent when I say that - I'm anti-abortion, anti-death penalty, and anti-Iraq war (I am, however, down with tearing ass through
And I'm not one of those "religious women-hating men" who is trying to have the gov't "control" women’s' bodies, or who doesn't like that there is promiscuous sex going on. My thing is this - people should be responsible for there actions. I would say hat 99% of people who fuck know that getting pregnant is a possibility, no matter how careful they are. And I'm not here to say that the woman should carry and/or care for the baby alone, and therefore be the one who "pays the consequences" for one crazy Friday night. No, not at all. I say if the dad doesn't want to be involved, then have the gov't garnish his wages to help support the child. Make the one with the penis be responsible to! It's a freaking human life, man. It's not just "her" body anymore once that lil' baby is conceived. I don't care how small - that little thing is alive in there. If you don't want a baby, don't have sex.
That's the problem with Roe v. Wade. I mean look at this quote: "When women are compelled to carry and bear children, they are subjected to 'involuntary servitude' in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment….[E]ven if the woman has stipulated to have consented to the risk of pregnancy, that does not permit the state to force her to remain pregnant." (quote found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade#Controversy) How dumb is that: "[E]ven if the woman has stipulated to have consented to the risk of pregnancy" !!!! That's like saying the state shouldn't punish me if I feel like driving down the street shooting my gun off at road signs and accidentally hit a few people. The quote is now saying the same thing, using an different example. "[E]ven if Sam has stipulated to have consented to the risk of hitting pedestrians, that does not permit the state to press charges against him".
So yeah, I'm pro-life. Do I think that abortions should be allowed in some instances (i.e.-fetal deformities or rape), well - probably so. I do sometimes wrestle with that, but I guess no one's asking me to jot down the particulars of a new abortion law tomorrow, anyways! But thanks for the conversation. It's nice to talk to people on the left (and the right) who aren't completely whacked out!
*Below the conversation is a paper I wrote on the psychological affects of abortion.
Abortion Is Not Psychologically Healthy
“Abortion destroys the psychological health of teenage girls” (D’Agostino, 2006, p.21). While this quote might seem like something you would hear from a group of protesters standing outside an abortion clinic, it is actually the opening line in an article that presents new research on women who have had abortions.
The debate on the morality of abortion has always been of interest to me. I grew up in a Christian home where we viewed abortion as wrong. I have always found it interesting, though, that some people are so staunchly pro-life, while at the same time pro-death penalty. The Fifth Commandment doesn’t distinguish between embryos and murders. Also, one of my very good friends went through the abortion of his child, and to this day has pent up feelings about it. The fact that new research is showing women have an increased risk of mental health problems is an interesting facet to throw into the pro-life/pro-choice debate.
“Abortion Causes Massive Mental Health Problems” was published in the magazine Human Events. It is a report on a research study carried out by Professor David Fergusson of Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences in
Of the women studied, 41 % had become pregnant at least once before reaching 25 years of age. 14.6 % of those women had an abortion. “Those having an abortion had elevated rates of subsequent mental health problems including depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviors and substance use disorders. This association persisted after adjustment for confounding factors.” (D’Agostino, 2006, p.21). The researchers also stated the anxiety and depression, among other factors, happened after the abortions. “These are not cases of depressed, drug-addicted or otherwise disturbed women being more likely to abort their children-the abortions preceded the disturbances.” (D’Agostino, 2006, p.21).
The study found that women aged 15 to 18 who had not become pregnant had a 31.2 % chance of experiencing major depression. The girls that did become pregnant, but chose to carry the child to term, had a similar chance at 35.7 %. However, for those who did have an abortion, the risk rose significantly to 78.6 % (D’Agostino, 2006). Results for developing anxiety were comparable. Not pregnant: 37.9 %; pregnant, had the child: 35.7%; those who had an abortion: 64.3 %. (D’Agostino, 2006). The study also found similar results for women who had thoughts of suicide. Not pregnant: 23%; pregnant, had the child: 25%; those who had an abortion: 50% (D’Agostino, 2006).
The fact that the risk for young women to approximately double their chance of any of these three behaviors by having an abortion is troubling. Although not statistically significant, I also found it interesting that the women who had children had less of a risk of developing anxiety than the women who didn’t become pregnant. I feel that more studies like this should be carried out, and the data should not only be used to help pregnant women make decisions when considering abortions, but must also be deemed relevant whenever our government debates the legality of abortion in the future. Research like this should not be lightly discounted by those who are pro-choice. Like the author says: “Pro-abortion activists cite possible psychological harm to women if they give birth to an unwanted child, but the scientific evidence continues to pile up proving the opposite.” (D’Agostino, 2006, p. 21).
References
D’Agostino, J. A. (2006, January 30). Abortion causes massive mental health problems. Human Events, 62(4), 21.
