Jezebel 
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New York, 11:47 PM
Mon Dec 21
55 posts in the last 24 hours
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People in a free society who can't articulate ideas with words resort to violence. They are desperate in their ignorance and mock the idea of freedom itself.
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Even ELF, which the righ-wingers love to demonize, targets property. Maybe it's the liberal pinko in me talking, but property and human lives are not equivalent.
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Let's be very clear about this: when a woman finds herself pregnant due to violence and chooses an abortion, it is the violence that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.
When a woman finds that the fetus she is carrying has anomalies incompatible with life, that it will not live and that she requires an abortion - often a late-term abortion - to protect her life, her health, or her fertility, it is the shattering of her hopes and dreams for that pregnancy that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.
When a woman wants a child but can't afford one because she hasn't the education necessary for a sustainable job, or access to health care, or day care, or adequate food, it is the abysmal priorities of our nation, the lack of social supports, the absence of justice that are the tragedies; the abortion is a blessing.
And when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion - there is not a tragedy in sight - only blessing. The ability to enjoy God's good gift of sexuality without compromising one's education, life's work, or ability to put to use God's gifts and call is simply blessing.
These are the two things I want you, please, to remember - abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Let me hear you say it: abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.
Reverend Katharine Ragsdale, future president and dean of Cambridge Episcopal Divinity School, in an address in Birmingham in 2007.
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I do understand what you're saying about the problem of "justification" that can arise from this term, but at the same time an abortion isn't just a minor act. I've seen the impact that abortions have had on friends, and it's not an easy thing to go through...physically or emotionally. I am glad they all had the right to make that choice, but I can't help but feel like there is so much more that we as a country can do in terms of prevention. I quite frankly think it's a travesty when women can't even get basic contraceptives like "Plan B" because they can't afford to pay $50. Or the fact that insurance will cover the cost of viagra but not birth control.
I don't see my advocating for less abortions as a statement rooted in right-wing agendas, so much as it is a desire for more women & girls to be able to avoid having to make such a tough decision because of a lack of sex eduaction and access to affordable birth control.
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Sure, it's not my favorite way to spend an afternoon, but I thank my lucky stars that the option was available when I needed it.
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I think a scary number of Americans think abortion should be very restricted, but available under certain circumstances. How will this work in their world? Will a woman come in and fill out an application requesting abortion? Will she have to choose a checkbox that says "Rape" or "Ectopic pregnancy"? And if her reasons don't fit the government-approved reasons for terminating, she'll be sent away, sentenced to carry the unwanted pregnancy?
I don't think any laws should attempt to interfere with a woman's decision to terminate a pregnancy. I trust women to make their own decisions.
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I don't mean for that to be a harsh response... but that is honestly how I feel. Legislating people's personal lives is a slipper slope.
Whether someone has an abortion is none of my business.
Who someone marries is none of my business.
Where someone worships is none of my business.
What someone had for lunch is none of my business.
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umm...you mean the documents that led to the charges he was ultimately completely acquitted of?