Bill Maher discussed this on his program last week and while he was too much of a pussy to call these people terrorists there was an interesting discussing brought up by the Pres. of the NAACP. Throughout his career, he has received death threats for assisting this nation in advancing a group of people saddled with years of oppression. He asked a former Nat'l Sec. Advisor, also on the program, how many death threats the groups like the Family Research Council and Operation Rescue receive. None she said. NONE!
O'Reilly is every bit as inflammatory as Taliban clergy; he's a narcissist fearmonger who decries any sort of progress; a cranky old man with no original ideas and a control fetish. I can only hope that before he dies, he's convicted for his excitation of individuals to terrorism or sued for his involvement in perpetrating hate crimes.
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.
Can we also thank her for the last twenty seconds of this interview and pointing out that Michael Moore and other "far-left lunatics" have NEVER brought violence upon this country, yet it has happened ROUTINELY by RIGHT WING lunatics. A point that you WILL NEVER SEE IN THE LIBERAL MEDIA!
@ArtfulSlinger: I'm so tired of the obligatory, "Both sides have crazy extremists" argument. Both sides may have extremists, but only one side stockpiles weapons.
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.
@Gumbina80: ELF and ALF and other environment and animal rights activism groups have been called out for terrorism on Fox News programs and other right wing talking head programs. This is where we really need to get stringent and make sure that the dialog is "If you have an underground group, soliciting members, perpetrating harassment on people who are performing legal acts and repeatedly threatening violence on said people" you are a domestic terrorist. Plain and simple.
I think the debate for "reduced abortions" doesnt necessarily mean that some abortions are okay and some arent. I think it could mean that there are thousands of women getting/having abortions who wouldnt need to if they were actually taught something about sex education, had access to birth control and other contraceptives and had a greater understanding of what being a parent actually entails. I think we can all safely assume that staggering number of abortions means that there is an even more staggering number of people having unprotecting sex. This means either they aren't being educated enough to understand the dangers of having sex with people and this goes way beyond unwated pregnancies.
Ugh, the whole thing with medical students not learning how to perform abortions reminds me of a feminist essay I once read. The author talked about a phenomenon she coined as something to the effect of learned ignorance, as in there are important things we know how to do but we just choose to either forget them or not do them. The example she used is gynecological students and breach babies -- med students today aren't always taught how to turn around breach babies because C-sections can solve the problem. I think the author would agree the same could be said about abortion techniques.
Ahem, something I want to share with y'all, which took my breath away when I first read it.
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.
@cate3710: @lalaland13: Share it, share it, share it, especially when someone tries to tell you abortion is regretable, or a tragedy. It's not abortion that's the tragedy here.
To an extent I agree with what you're saying Anna, but at the same time I think you're glossing over the physical act of abortion. Yes I am pro-choice and yes I believe in late term abortions, but honestly, I don't see what's wrong with supporting the notion of "abortion reduction."
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.
When pressed, a lot of anti-abortion people will admit that there should be "exceptions" in abortion bans for women whose health or life are in danger, women who were raped, or (sometimes) severe fetal abnormality. And even some supposedly pro-choice people will talk about how rare abortion should be, how it's a tragedy, blah blah blah.
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.
@Gumbina80: Exactly. And also, how long should women be in jail for their abortions? Seriously. I think if more people started talking about that, maybe this argument would die down a little.
@Gumbina80: I love the rape & incest line, especially since as we've seen, rape & incest so easily proven in a court of law & justice is swift, so the mother would be sure to get permission before the 9 months are up. So, I'm fully confident that anti-choicers would be able to devise some sort of quick & easy determination if your abortion is for the "right" reasons.
@lalaland13: Oh, but if you ask how long women should be in jail for getting abortion, you get stuff about how it's the doctors who are to blame. The poor little women were forced, you see. They didn't know any better.
I watched this on Gawker the other night. She had him fuming. You can see him just losing his shit. I love that she never lost her cool and she was calm and collected. That just drove him over the edge.
O'Reilly is right. $6,000 out of pocket for an OB procedure? Outrageous! I'm so glad we can count on Bill O to support single-payer health care reform. Bipartisanship FTW!
Someone on Gawker last week totally debunked the he performed 60,000 abortion claims. If you do the math he would have had to perform something like 35 abortions a day for the last 30 yrs no vacations or days off.
Erm, I'm probably opening up a can of worms here -- but how do we juxtapose this with sex-selective abortions? I consider myself very pro-choice, but I would have a very hard time understanding someone who terminates a planned, healthy pregnancy because the fetus isn't their preferred sex.
@kentuckienne: I deal with it the same way I deal with everything else-- I might not like your reasons for the abortion, I might personally feel judgey towards you about the abortion, but at the end of the day, it is not my decision to make, its yours.
@kentuckienne: That would depend on what you define as being your business. I define pro-choice for myself the same way I define most other things in my life, and that is that 99.999% of everything having to do with other people's personal lives are None Of My Business (TM).
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.
@kentuckienne: I believe that if you are truly pro-choice, then you cannot advocating outlawing certain reasons for having an abortion. You can think that the reasons are less than ideal and you can abstain from aborting based on those reasons, but to claim to be pro choice and to advocate outlawing some of the reasons for making a choice is hypocritical.
I can't believe people watch this asshole and agree with him. He's a raving lunatic who employs just enough logic to convince viewers that he's being sensible. He constantly puts 2 and 2 together and gets 666.
@morninggloria: Now that you mention it, he does sound rather like the performance artist who rants on the 5th Avenue subway platform. Maybe that's where he gets his material.
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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.
06/15/09
06/15/09
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.
06/15/09
06/15/09
06/15/09
06/15/09
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.
06/15/09
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.
06/15/09
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?