abortion rights

Her teenage daughter is pregnant -- and keeping the baby. That's one choice. There are others, but Sarah Palin doesn't want them to be available to young women who might not have the same resources that her daughter does.

What it all boils down to is this: Abortion is never an easy choice. Ever. It’s not made lightly, on a lark, for fun. It’s life-changing, one of those turning points that you never forget, a moment where you stand on a crossroads. You pray to whatever gods you believe in, and you do the best you can for yourself, your partner, and your unborn child, and then you do whatever you have to do to never ever be in that situation again. And you go out and fight to make sure that other women still have the same choices that were available to you when you needed them. And you go home at the end of the day and hug your family.

When it comes to flat-out ignorance, Senator Liddy Dole takes the cake. Though she appears unable to hold a coherent thought together for more than a nanosecond, that hasn't detracted from her ability to regurgitate extremist talking points. Her latest offense, reported Under the Dome today is an act of supreme dishonesty that should leave everyone in North Carolina wondering if the sad old Senator has finally lost her marbles.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has called on Congress to stop funding for Planned Parenthood because the non-profit organization provides abortions. Dole, a Salisbury Republican seeking re-election next year, joined 12 other Republicans in signing a letter to Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations, and Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, reports Barb Barrett.

The group of senators asks the appropriations committees to suspend all federal funding for “organizations that promote abortion.” The signers say Planned Parenthood Federation of America receives $300 million a year from the federal government.

As you probably have heard, the US Supreme Court today upheld the federal abortion ban. Reminiscent of Bill Frist in the sad Terry Schiavo case, we now have a cabal of privileged men stepping in to overrule the judgments of front-line physicians. This ruling could mean the end of medically necessary abortions for women who are only 12 weeks into pregnancies that could cost them their lives. For more on the issue, you can go here.

And if that weren't bad enough, the Theocrats here in North Carolina are also getting in on the act to impose their moral judgments on women who - for whatever reasons - choose to have abortions. Under a new bill submitted by Party of Greed Representative Linda Johnson, North Carolina would trundle back to the dark ages with a host of paternalistic restrictions that tell women they are too stupid to know what they're doing with their bodies. Here's the sorry piece of legislation, and here's the email address of the sorry person who submitted it: lindajo@ncleg.net

“Our respect, in society, for the “Rule of Law” is what gives the U.S. Constitution & Bill of Rights true validation and power”
Marshall Adame

The abortion issue is the favorite subject of almost no American politician. The argument is endless because in a country where many very different people, of varied belief systems live together, the differences between them and the various interpretation of principle becomes the root of continual disagreement and turmoil, both public and private.

I believe that the American people are greater than our differences however serious, or great in the realm of politics, spirituality, or social injustice.
No subject highlights this gulf separating many of us from each other greater than the issue of abortion.

The left and right extremes from both political spectrums have convinced much of America that each is right and there is no opinion, other than their own, that is valid or worthy of consideration. Even common sense does not prevail.

Robert P pointed me to a proposed bit of legislation that would permit not only physicians, but also pharmacists to refuse to participate in any medical procedure or dispensing medicine relating to abortion. This is what's known as a "conscience clause," because the refusal is on moral or religious grounds, rather than scientific.

What started this all was a pair of pharmacists in Illinois who were suspended by Walgreens for refusing to dispense Plan B because they believe (note that word) it is abortion.

There are few things more annoying than the smarmy self-righteousness of pro-life men, especially when one of those men has been given a platform to spin his depraved view of reality on the pages of the News and Observer. Which brings us to the sad case of Mr. Rick Martinez.

I'll spare you most of his holier-than-though pontificating about the state of feminism in America - and zero in on one core issue: Mr. Martinez believes abortion should be illegal, pure and simple.

. . . the right to privacy, on which abortion on demand is based, is being transformed into the right not to be inconvenienced by an unwanted child. As each year goes by, the traditional arguments in favor of abortion rights crumble. This leaves advocates in the unenviable position of being more anti-child than pro-woman.