...from your favorite pro-choice blogger
Do Colorado’s women deserve the right to make their own personal, private reproductive health choices?
Can we reduce the need for abortion in Colorado by ensuring that reproductive health care is a core benefit in any comprehensive health care reform?
Should Colorado’s youth learn medically accurate and age-appropriate information about sex, pregnancy and prevention?
If you answered yes, here’s one more question: Do your elected representatives share these values?
Don’t know?
Attend Pro-Choice Lobby Day on Thursday, March 20, 2008 and find out!
posted by kate @ 10:35 AM
15 comments
15 Comments:
Isn't Doug Bruce your elected representative? Have you thought about sitting down with him for a nice, quiet and enlightening conversation?
I'll bet he's a very nice person. You'd probably like him a lot.
Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.
This overturns the consensus that has stood for decades that the risk to mental health of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the risks of living with the possible regrets of having an abortion.
MPs will shortly vote on a proposal to reduce the upper time limit for abortions “for social reasons” from 24 weeks to 20 weeks, a move not backed by the government. A Sunday Times poll today shows 59% of women would support such a reduction, with only 28% backing the status quo. Taken together, just under half (48%) of men and women want a reduction to 20 weeks, while 35% want to retain 24 weeks.
Some MPs also want women to have a “cooling off” period in which they would be made aware of the possible consequences of the abortion, including the impact on their mental health, before they could go ahead.
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An embryonic disaster?
More than 90% of the 200,000 terminations in Britain every year are believed to be carried out because doctors believe that continuing with the pregnancy would cause greater mental strain.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends updating abortion information leaflets to include details of the risks of depression. “Consent cannot be informed without the provision of adequate and appropriate information,” it says.
Several studies, including research published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2006, concluded that abortion in young women might be associated with risks of mental health problems.
The controversy intensified earlier this year when an inquest in Cornwall heard that a talented artist hanged herself because she was overcome with grief after aborting her twins. Emma Beck, 30, left a note saying: “Living is hell for me. I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum. I want to be with my babies; they need me, no one else does.”
The college’s revised stance was welcomed by Nadine Dorries, a Conservative MP campaigning for a statutory cooling-off period: “For doctors to process a woman’s request for an abortion without providing the support, information and help women need at this time of crisis I regard almost as a form of abuse,” she said.
Dawn Primarolo, the health minister, will this week appeal to MPs to ignore attempts to reduce the time limit on abortion when new laws on fertility treatment and embryo research come before parliament.
Dr Peter Saunders, general secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said: “How can a doctor now justify an abortion [on mental health grounds] if psychiatrists are questioning whether there is any clear evidence that continuing with the pregnancy leads to mental health problems.”
Not sure how I feel about the whole Right to Death/Freedom from Choice debate. As a dude (and a middle-aged one at that), I know I'll never have to make that choice myself. As a dad to a 17 year old daughter who sometimes makes really stupid choices and almost never chooses decent boyfriends? Sticky wicket, that. I know this, while I try to tell all my kids (yes, especially the boys), that sex is a lot better when you love someone, I've told them all that condoms are an absolute must have if they're going to have sex. Couple of seconds and a slight cooling of the mood is a lot better than having to think about adoption/abortion/marriage.
your own personal fetus termination, brought to you by your DNC
and now we hear that black fetuses are targeted for termination.
once we are born, it's ok for us to say others can't make it
that makes us "the decider", not Bush
Hi everyone.
I am a gay man. I have a terrible problem.
I was at a second rate after-new-years party. A female co-worker friend invited me, and I only went to just be social.
MBF Bruce and Nick were not there, and, as far as I know, no one there knew I was gay. My friend was quite the vivacious person, and as the night advanced, she seemed to be attracted to me.
I must say up front that what happened was not me. Before I knew it, she was going down on me, and I just couldn't say no. I was swept up in the emotion of the moment. I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't stop.
I felt obligated to please her as much as she was pleasing me. It was surreal. I felt like I was someone else.
The bad part is, she got pregnant. And she wants to have the baby. I am angry. I feel deceived and used. All of my close friends are pro-choice. They all believe that the woman has the choice to abort an unwanted fetus.
I don't want this baby. I should have a choice. This is so unfair.
Somebody help me.
Presuming that is true - you're stuck. Get prepared to pay child support for the next 18 years or so. You have no choice.
Most importantly, get prepared to be a dad !!!!!
Funny how all the pro-choicers here aren't leaping to give this guy a choice.......
Man, Double Fisted, that really sucks. If "Murphy Brown" did it intentionally, it wouldn' be the first time that sort of thing has happened. Definitely you should get a DNA test to make sure you're the pop (if "mom" decides to go forward). You might threaten to seek custody if any resulting baby is yours. Might scare her into leaving you alone. Be careful, though, depending on the State and the judge (and your circumstance and her circumstances), you might win. If Brittany Spears, there, decides to have the baby, and if the baby turns out to be yours, then you really should try to be a dad, because even if preditor Polly doesn't deserve you, the baby deserves a father and a mother (and, who knows? you might end up caring about the baby (if the baby is yours) and gain in the bargain.
And the kids from "My Three Sons" had dad and Uncle Charlie. I have absolutely no problem with two moms or two dads, but however you slice it, two is generally better than one. I'm just saying, fully participate with your kids, even if they weren't your idea.
If women can't be forced to have children that they don't want, then why can men be so forced? Where is HIS choice?
Finally, a worthwhile question from an anonymous poster.
I don't have a good answer to the subject of a man and his choice. Do you?
Perhaps we should put more money, time, and energy into preventing pregnancy in the first place. That might help. Making sure condoms are available and used properly is an option.
Men shouldn't be forced into having children they don't want, that's for sure. But I couldn't back a law that forced abortions on women who didn't want them, forced having babies on women who don't want them, etc.
Maybe judges shouldn't force men to pay child support if such men could prove that said baby wasn't their plan or idea. But a man that would do that, while technically correct, well, the price will be paid by an innocent baby.
I guess I'm going to go with education beforehand. Comprehensive sex classes in high school where these sorts of issues are discussed and contemplated. It won't solve everything, but it's a start. You have no idea how many ignorant boys are out there and not aware of what could happen.
In SC, men frequently did have responsibility-free babies. I rep'd one guy who'd had babies by five (yep, five) different mammas. When an action to enforce child support finally came through, dude said that he and each of the mammas had a deal, that he wouldn't pay. Trouble was, several of them made claims for AFDC (welfare) and food stamps, and SC had passed a law requiring DSS to get a daddy's name for each claim, and to seek Child Support from daddy, in the event that dad wasn't paying. It was one of the few things that the Palmetto State did right. Bottom line, SOMEBODY has to support the children. Better daddy than the taxpayers, right? Collateral good news: daddy insisted on visitation if he had to pay $. Baby wins twice.
Actually, anonymous posters here ask a number of very good questions. You just choose to ignore most of them, or simply denigrate them. Your loss.
Actually father of five was a pretty good guy, Rebecca. Obviously had something going for him to get five woman pregnant.
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