Happy Abortion Day, Everyone!
Today, on the 36th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic Roe v. Wade decision, that everybody go out tonight and have an unwanted pregnancy.
Our new president may be too busy gutting every last vestige of the Bush administration to join us, but he did take the time to offer the following statement…
On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.
While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.
On this anniversary, we must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education; to have fulfilling careers in any industry; to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work; and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere.
As a side note, have you ever stopped to consider how silly the term "pro-life" is?
Okay, if Roe v. Wade stated that all pregant women had to get abortions, then, yes, people opposed to it — which would be almost everybody — would be appropriately labeled as "pro-life." And people supporting it would be "anti-life."
But that's not what Roe v. Wade states. It states that a woman should have the right to choose to terminate her pregnancy for whatever reason she sees fit up until the point that it is "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks."
In that sense, supporters of Roe v. Wade are correctly identified as "pro-choice."
And people who oppose it — i.e. do not believe that women should be allowed that choice — should be identified as "anti-choice."
How the one side ever managed to get everybody to go along with their nonsense "pro-life" name is ridiculous. And how Republicans — who almost uniformly could be considered "anti-choice" — are still ever allowed to pretend that they're the protectors of personal freedoms without getting laughed out of the room is even ridiculouser.
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I have to say, I'm surprised no one is trying to defend Obama against my allegations that he's a closet libertarian.
"That is what I want for women everywhere."
This guy is dangerous. He'll make ya cry in public. In, y'know, the good way.
Not that I'm crying. You can't prove I am…
A Defense of Abortion – Judith Jarvis Thompson (1971)
Brilliant essay from Philosophy and Public affairs.
http://spot.colorado.edu/~heathwoo/Phil160,Fall02/thomson.htm
"What gets me are all the pro-lifers who are also pro-execution"
Funny, what I've never been able to figure out how someone who has trouble with executing murders, has no problem with executing the innocent unborn.
NO MORE WIRE HANGARS EVER!!! Try the Morning After Pill. *By Mennen
Ahem, as an independent who is against the death penalty and war, I think the term pro-choice is quite appropriate for my beliefs. I am against abortion, not because I want to oppress women (I am one) and not because some magical man in the sky tells me to (I'm an agnostic opposed to organized religion) but because "a person's a person, no matter how small." A fetus shows all seven scientific signs of life, and it has 23 chromosome pairs, therefore it is a human. The legal definition of murder is killing a human, so abortion is murder. The so-called "right to privacy" isn't even in the Constitution, some incarnation of the Supreme Court at one time inferred it, but the right to life (liberty and happiness) is stated in the Declaration of Independence. And as for being "anti-choice," people have the right to choose…they can choose to keep their pants on. I know what you're thinking, "But what about rape?" The number of abortions resulting from rape is .02%, so a large majority of women who choose abortions could have chosen abstinence or contraceptives instead.
"government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose."
All right Barack! I knew there was a libertarian in there somewhere!
Because it sounds better when you are "for" something instead of against it. What gets me are all the pro-lifers who are also pro-execution.
If someone believes "life is a fundamental right", and they are free to do so, then they need to have the consistency and say that right also belongs to inmates.