When you write “this is not the only lie” Republicans tell it is misleading. This implies that at some point they tell the truth. I find that highly unlikely.
so true. Just a few moments ago a well educated retired RN argued with me that she "HEARD OF" an aborted five month fetus that was left in a pan and was whimpering. I said: you know that is impossible. And any product of abortion would be sent to a lab. Not left in a "pan!" She knows; she worked in the Hospital and was a great nurse. But the drumpfery got to her!
I had lost track of all the times I had to explain to people why an ectopic fetus CANNOT be removed and implanted into the uterus to become a baby. The mind boggles.
I take exception to Ohio being characterized as “deep red.” It’s not. It’s deeply gerrymandered red. There’s a difference and many in Ohio are working to change redistricting practices.
It was made perfectly clear that the end game of sending this issue back to the states was to have a national ban. The decision by one judge in Texas to remove the option of using one of the safest and most convenient methods (mifepristone) of ending an unwanted pregnancy spoke volumes. If this ultimately succeeds in removing the FDA approval of a drug that has proven its safety and efficacy, we are on a very slippery slope.
I would propose that the next drug(s) to consider revoking approval for is any drug for erectile dysfunction. This could reduce the need for a number of abortions, and so would be in line with the pro-life (birth) agenda.
“If this ultimately succeeds in removing the FDA approval of a drug that has proven its safety and efficacy, we are on a very slippery slope.”
Don’t soft peddle it. We’re not heading toward a slippery slope. We’re not seeing bad things that might happen in the future.
The bad things are already happening. We’ve already slid and are now down in the Republican muck where they have *already* put things in place to hurt women.
Suggesting otherwise, failing to acknowledge what Republicans have already done, is providing cover for them. Let’s stop doing that.
The problem of course is that procedures after viability are not "abortion." Either the fetus is born early and massive attempts are made to save it, just as with naturally premature babies, or all attempts to save it will fail. Is administering Pitocin to assist a stalled birth "abortion? " Or inducing labor for any other medical reason late in pregnancy? It would help if Democratic leadership stopped USING the term "abortion" for such medically necessary procedures. "Abortion" is a procedure to stop both the pregnancy and the development of the fetus. That is NOT what happens late term.
I agree. Democrats should talk about medical procedures necessary in late-term pregnancies as they should hammer the problem of ectopic pregnancies. At 20 weeks of pregnancy, a woman can undergo a sonogram to determine if there is genetic unviability (no kidneys in the fetus, for example). But if this is discovered in a "heartbeat" state, the parents must suffer, and the mother herself might possibly die because of the dying fetus. The Draconian bans that Republicans have instituted also include felony charges for doctors using their medical judgement in nuanced situations, which is, to say the least, a deterrent. As a result, OBs and FMOBs are rapidly leaving those states. How is this Pro-Life?
They are trying to regulate women and their sexual choices and behaviors. Sex ed should focus on all of the sexual actions and couplings that one can engage in that do not lead to pregnancy, and protection from STDs, with a lot of Tiktok and youtube promotions if possible, and any sites that the youth like to use, since the Republicans are also making sex ed in schools if allowed at all, abstinence only. They are attacking autonomy and information at every level. The conservative male goal for women is to keep them pregnant and tied to males who are decision makers that they are dependent on and have to cater to. It makes me sick!
I watched the video and read the comments and they made me so angry. Why do so many people believe that it is only women who should be punished for having an abortion and never the men? We don't just magically get pregnant on our own. We never punish the men or create laws about what they can do with their bodies. Abortion should ONLY be decided between the woman and her doctor. The government, next door neighbor, brother, cousin should have no say in her decision whatsoever.
I've used this (highly satirical) op-ed that I wrote as a great way to spark conversation about what body autonomy means and why abortion is such a personal affront to women's/birther's rights. When you take out the clearly focused efforts to control women and suggest an "idea" that would impact all genders, the conversation certainly changes. In short, if we take body autonomy out of the picture, why don't we mandate mandatory organ donation? Especially in situations where it would save the life of another...
"It’s hard to imagine someone refusing to provide a kidney to a dying child, even if they were the only match for that donation, but that’s where we are. Is this a question of morality? Is someone who refuses a live donation selfish or a monster? Is that person a murderer? In our current system of voluntary donation, a decision is made based in the right of bodily autonomy, the consequence is death for someone else, and this is an acceptable outcome."
Please note that this is political satire. I do not believe we should mandate organ or blood donation any more than we should legally mandate a person to carry a pregnancy to term. These are personal decisions. But phrasing this as a "proposal" has certainly made a lot of people (mostly men) gain a better understanding of what it would be like to lose one's ability to decide what happens to your body. Why should I have more rights to decide what happens to my body after my death (voluntary organ donation) than I have while alive?
I'm reminded of this interview by Chris Wallace with Pete Buttigieg:
Chris Wallace: So just to be clear, you’re saying you would be okay with a woman, well into the third trimester deciding to abort her pregnancy.
Buttigieg: Look, these hypotheticals are usually set up in order to provoke a strong emotional --
Wallace: It’s not hypothetical, there are 6,000 women a year who get abortions in the third trimester.
Buttigieg: That’s right, representing less than 1 percent of cases. So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a woman in that situation. If it’s that late in your pregnancy, then almost by definition, you’ve been expecting to carry it to term. We’re talking about women who have perhaps chosen a name. Women who have purchased a crib, families that then get the most devastating medical news of their lifetime, something about the health or the life of the mother or viability of the pregnancy that forces them to make an impossible, unthinkable choice. And the bottom line is as horrible as that choice is, that woman, that family may seek spiritual guidance, they may seek medical guidance, but that decision is not going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made."
Abortion is the leading edge of the Conservative's war to take us back to the 50s.................the 1850s, that is. Birth control is next, and it will be followed by other "originalist" positions (anyone ready for the return of "separate, but equal"?). And Tim Scott's asinine comment about certain blue states allowing/wanting abortion "up until the day of birth" should be getting bigger play. He needs to be universally condemned for spouting off this insane lie. If there is an abortion in the last trimester, it is because the woman is in grave health peril, and/or the fetus has fatal abnormalities. Shame on Senator Scott for spewing more lies.
It was never about abortion, it's about a wedge issue. They pounded it into the electorate that only Republicans are the saviors of the unborn and only they can legislate away a woman's right to choose.
Well, now they are stuck with it. They can't back down or hide. Some double down, some deflect but they are in the hole they dug themselves. Their wedge has become the rock that sits over the hole and there is no backing out.
Compromise is the ONLY way out and they will alienate 20-30% of their base in the process. We have see in the house rod reps what a small extremist contingent can do to a shaky majority.
"I feel there should be some kind of punishment"....."for the woman". And the man? Pregnancy is a 2 way street. A woman needs sperm to become pregnant. A man is free to impregnate and just walk away. it's not about protecting life for them and it never has been. Also their rally cry of "abortion up to the time of birth" has been something they've used against the Dems for a long time. It's one of the things that goes around on social media every election year and it's disgusting.
No woman has a pregnancy for 8 months and then decides to have an abortion...it is ludicrous to suggest otherwise. Ending a pregnancy at that point has to do with viability of baby or life of the mother. The GOP is irresponsible in their message...surprise, surprise.
The combined IQ of these 8 added to Herr Pumpkinfuhrer can’t be in triple digits. They seem to grasp how to appeal to the basest of the base. But past that there is zero comprehensive of what over 50% of Americans believe or want.
Getting rid of Birth Control keeps coming up and is clearly against the beliefs of the Federalist Society and Opus Dei who run the FS and the US Supreme Court. It is why I advocate a big campaign of sexual information for the youth. We have pretty good national standards and I am glad my daughter's school used an organization that used them. I pointed the person in charge to the USA and UN standards, and they overlap. It is better to bring in an outside group when possible. Our students all spent 4 months on this 2 times a week. That is a good way to deliver this sort of curriculum I have found. It is supposed to start in first grade or before with age appropriate discussions about respect and ownership of one's bodies. The Netherlands also have an extensive program on protecting yourself from predators on the internet that I wish my daughter's school could have included. They have it for children with autism and developmental delays. Once things are on the internet parents cannot keep their children from it. Even right wing households tend to have cell phones and internet.
When you write “this is not the only lie” Republicans tell it is misleading. This implies that at some point they tell the truth. I find that highly unlikely.
Fair point!
Ha,. Got me there!
“We’re seeking to control women’s bodies here, and their sexuality. Why do so many women reject being controlled???” Republicans wonder.
🤔
Exactly this!
How do we delicately explain this to them? Because I can't think of a way - every such discussion immediately makes me want to go for my sword.
so true. Just a few moments ago a well educated retired RN argued with me that she "HEARD OF" an aborted five month fetus that was left in a pan and was whimpering. I said: you know that is impossible. And any product of abortion would be sent to a lab. Not left in a "pan!" She knows; she worked in the Hospital and was a great nurse. But the drumpfery got to her!
I had lost track of all the times I had to explain to people why an ectopic fetus CANNOT be removed and implanted into the uterus to become a baby. The mind boggles.
And of course: no fetus can Whimper!
Yes! This isn’t about abortion, its about freedom, equality under the law.
I take exception to Ohio being characterized as “deep red.” It’s not. It’s deeply gerrymandered red. There’s a difference and many in Ohio are working to change redistricting practices.
At the presidential and gubernatorial levels, it's pretty darn red, but I take your point. Perhaps "deep" is overselling it.
Yay Susan. All of my Ohio friends are blue, not red.
It was made perfectly clear that the end game of sending this issue back to the states was to have a national ban. The decision by one judge in Texas to remove the option of using one of the safest and most convenient methods (mifepristone) of ending an unwanted pregnancy spoke volumes. If this ultimately succeeds in removing the FDA approval of a drug that has proven its safety and efficacy, we are on a very slippery slope.
I would propose that the next drug(s) to consider revoking approval for is any drug for erectile dysfunction. This could reduce the need for a number of abortions, and so would be in line with the pro-life (birth) agenda.
“If this ultimately succeeds in removing the FDA approval of a drug that has proven its safety and efficacy, we are on a very slippery slope.”
Don’t soft peddle it. We’re not heading toward a slippery slope. We’re not seeing bad things that might happen in the future.
The bad things are already happening. We’ve already slid and are now down in the Republican muck where they have *already* put things in place to hurt women.
Suggesting otherwise, failing to acknowledge what Republicans have already done, is providing cover for them. Let’s stop doing that.
The problem of course is that procedures after viability are not "abortion." Either the fetus is born early and massive attempts are made to save it, just as with naturally premature babies, or all attempts to save it will fail. Is administering Pitocin to assist a stalled birth "abortion? " Or inducing labor for any other medical reason late in pregnancy? It would help if Democratic leadership stopped USING the term "abortion" for such medically necessary procedures. "Abortion" is a procedure to stop both the pregnancy and the development of the fetus. That is NOT what happens late term.
I agree. Democrats should talk about medical procedures necessary in late-term pregnancies as they should hammer the problem of ectopic pregnancies. At 20 weeks of pregnancy, a woman can undergo a sonogram to determine if there is genetic unviability (no kidneys in the fetus, for example). But if this is discovered in a "heartbeat" state, the parents must suffer, and the mother herself might possibly die because of the dying fetus. The Draconian bans that Republicans have instituted also include felony charges for doctors using their medical judgement in nuanced situations, which is, to say the least, a deterrent. As a result, OBs and FMOBs are rapidly leaving those states. How is this Pro-Life?
Republicans aren't trying to regulate abortion, they're trying to regulate pregnancy.
Pregnancy cant be legislated...there are too many variables, exceptions, complications.
So, what is their goal? Control over women.
What happens when red state legislatures pass laws that make it illegal for women to work while pregnant? Think it can't happen?
Contraception is next...they're already well into the planning phases.
They are trying to regulate women and their sexual choices and behaviors. Sex ed should focus on all of the sexual actions and couplings that one can engage in that do not lead to pregnancy, and protection from STDs, with a lot of Tiktok and youtube promotions if possible, and any sites that the youth like to use, since the Republicans are also making sex ed in schools if allowed at all, abstinence only. They are attacking autonomy and information at every level. The conservative male goal for women is to keep them pregnant and tied to males who are decision makers that they are dependent on and have to cater to. It makes me sick!
Agreed.
We need to channel this rage into votes at every level of government.
Voting isn't the only answer, but the carnage of decimated civil and human rights must be stopped.
I watched the video and read the comments and they made me so angry. Why do so many people believe that it is only women who should be punished for having an abortion and never the men? We don't just magically get pregnant on our own. We never punish the men or create laws about what they can do with their bodies. Abortion should ONLY be decided between the woman and her doctor. The government, next door neighbor, brother, cousin should have no say in her decision whatsoever.
I've used this (highly satirical) op-ed that I wrote as a great way to spark conversation about what body autonomy means and why abortion is such a personal affront to women's/birther's rights. When you take out the clearly focused efforts to control women and suggest an "idea" that would impact all genders, the conversation certainly changes. In short, if we take body autonomy out of the picture, why don't we mandate mandatory organ donation? Especially in situations where it would save the life of another...
"It’s hard to imagine someone refusing to provide a kidney to a dying child, even if they were the only match for that donation, but that’s where we are. Is this a question of morality? Is someone who refuses a live donation selfish or a monster? Is that person a murderer? In our current system of voluntary donation, a decision is made based in the right of bodily autonomy, the consequence is death for someone else, and this is an acceptable outcome."
Please note that this is political satire. I do not believe we should mandate organ or blood donation any more than we should legally mandate a person to carry a pregnancy to term. These are personal decisions. But phrasing this as a "proposal" has certainly made a lot of people (mostly men) gain a better understanding of what it would be like to lose one's ability to decide what happens to your body. Why should I have more rights to decide what happens to my body after my death (voluntary organ donation) than I have while alive?
https://danismart.substack.com/p/a-modest-proposal-for-compulsory
I'm reminded of this interview by Chris Wallace with Pete Buttigieg:
Chris Wallace: So just to be clear, you’re saying you would be okay with a woman, well into the third trimester deciding to abort her pregnancy.
Buttigieg: Look, these hypotheticals are usually set up in order to provoke a strong emotional --
Wallace: It’s not hypothetical, there are 6,000 women a year who get abortions in the third trimester.
Buttigieg: That’s right, representing less than 1 percent of cases. So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a woman in that situation. If it’s that late in your pregnancy, then almost by definition, you’ve been expecting to carry it to term. We’re talking about women who have perhaps chosen a name. Women who have purchased a crib, families that then get the most devastating medical news of their lifetime, something about the health or the life of the mother or viability of the pregnancy that forces them to make an impossible, unthinkable choice. And the bottom line is as horrible as that choice is, that woman, that family may seek spiritual guidance, they may seek medical guidance, but that decision is not going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made."
Abortion is the leading edge of the Conservative's war to take us back to the 50s.................the 1850s, that is. Birth control is next, and it will be followed by other "originalist" positions (anyone ready for the return of "separate, but equal"?). And Tim Scott's asinine comment about certain blue states allowing/wanting abortion "up until the day of birth" should be getting bigger play. He needs to be universally condemned for spouting off this insane lie. If there is an abortion in the last trimester, it is because the woman is in grave health peril, and/or the fetus has fatal abnormalities. Shame on Senator Scott for spewing more lies.
It was never about abortion, it's about a wedge issue. They pounded it into the electorate that only Republicans are the saviors of the unborn and only they can legislate away a woman's right to choose.
Well, now they are stuck with it. They can't back down or hide. Some double down, some deflect but they are in the hole they dug themselves. Their wedge has become the rock that sits over the hole and there is no backing out.
Compromise is the ONLY way out and they will alienate 20-30% of their base in the process. We have see in the house rod reps what a small extremist contingent can do to a shaky majority.
"I feel there should be some kind of punishment"....."for the woman". And the man? Pregnancy is a 2 way street. A woman needs sperm to become pregnant. A man is free to impregnate and just walk away. it's not about protecting life for them and it never has been. Also their rally cry of "abortion up to the time of birth" has been something they've used against the Dems for a long time. It's one of the things that goes around on social media every election year and it's disgusting.
No woman has a pregnancy for 8 months and then decides to have an abortion...it is ludicrous to suggest otherwise. Ending a pregnancy at that point has to do with viability of baby or life of the mother. The GOP is irresponsible in their message...surprise, surprise.
It is all about control and power !! That's what all these old white men are squawking about along with the Christian zealots !
The combined IQ of these 8 added to Herr Pumpkinfuhrer can’t be in triple digits. They seem to grasp how to appeal to the basest of the base. But past that there is zero comprehensive of what over 50% of Americans believe or want.
The GOP right-wing extremists need to be asked if they'll also support a ban on birth control. Because that very well could be next.
Getting rid of Birth Control keeps coming up and is clearly against the beliefs of the Federalist Society and Opus Dei who run the FS and the US Supreme Court. It is why I advocate a big campaign of sexual information for the youth. We have pretty good national standards and I am glad my daughter's school used an organization that used them. I pointed the person in charge to the USA and UN standards, and they overlap. It is better to bring in an outside group when possible. Our students all spent 4 months on this 2 times a week. That is a good way to deliver this sort of curriculum I have found. It is supposed to start in first grade or before with age appropriate discussions about respect and ownership of one's bodies. The Netherlands also have an extensive program on protecting yourself from predators on the internet that I wish my daughter's school could have included. They have it for children with autism and developmental delays. Once things are on the internet parents cannot keep their children from it. Even right wing households tend to have cell phones and internet.