22 Women

As the anniversary of the overturning of Roe v Wade approaches, I thought I'd update an article I wrote a couple of years ago.

I can think of 22 women off of the top of my head who have had abortions. Many of them would be unable to today if they lived in the same states in which they received their original medical care. 

Nine of the women aborted due to fetal anomalies. Of the twenty-two, I know at least three who had to do so during the second trimester because the anomaly developed or was only able to be seen during the second trimester. In one case, the person initially was told, after learning her fetus would not survive (incompatible with life), that she would have to have the abortion out of state. But they found out that they could do an induction early and remain at their home hospital.

Five were teenagers or not in stable relationships and didn't feel ready or interested in having a child.

Three were married but couldn't handle more children.

Three were in bad marriages and couldn't cope with more children and being in a bad marriages.

One was married with two children but was destitute and couldn't afford a third child or the medical expenses involved in prenatal care and recovery from what would be a third c-section.

One was raped. 

For these twenty-two women, abortion was part of their healthcare, both physiological and psychological. It still makes no sense to me why the government is involved in these decisions.

"That woman, that family, might 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," answered Pete Buttigieg when he was pressed on Fox News about third trimester abortions, which are extremely rare, when he was running for President.

I understand and respect that for men and women who oppose abortion that this is a deeply religious issue. They really feel that they are doing God's work by banning abortion. A woman's right to healthcare does not supersede that for them. However, they shouldn't be deciding the law of our land.

For five of the six Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, they weaponized the law to serve their religious dogma. Catastrophically, they created a health care situation that puts the United States way outside the human rights bounds for women living in like-countries (ones in the EU, Israel, Australia, UK, New Zealand, and Canada,).

Women in states with restrictive abortion laws are dealing with cases where doctors are refusing to treat women in distress because they fear that they will be jailed. Idaho's biggest hospital has to fly patients out of state to avoid risking their doctors being prosecuted. 
At 20 weeks, Samantha Casiano found out her fetus would not be compatible with life. Under Texas law, she had to carry the fetus to term, deliver her, and plan her funeral four hours later. 

And this article is awful too. 

It's too bad we can't turn back time and laws couldn't be written by OBGYNs. Perhaps there was room for compromise. Now the laws are based on obtuse jargon that has no place governing a woman's body. 

Problematic Palin

When John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, I, like many around the world, googled her and read the brimming news coverage featuring scattered details about her biography. I admit that even though she is a Republican, I couldn’t help but give kudos to John McCain for making such a “maverick” move. [How ridiculous is it that choosing a woman is seen as unusual given women make up more than half of the population, but regardless it was bold given that only one other woman has ever been nominated.]

And then her speech! I found myself enjoying her jabs at Barack Obama. Yeah, small town people are an awesome part of America Yeah, she probably does know a thing or two being governor so it’s fine that she is a heart beat away from the presidency. Yeah, come to think of it, pit bulls are like hockey moms.

But Sarah Palin, with all her charisma and rhetoric prowess is most definitely dangerous. And I believe that Americans will see beyond the superficiality and recognize that the prospect of a McCain-Palin presidency will not lead to a safer America, but a more perilous one. Their legacy could include unsafe abortions, an increase in teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, continued environmental damage, a retraction of basic freedoms, a continuance of the health care crisis, and more failed foreign policy degrading the United States’ reputation as a world leader.

McCain, no matter how independent minded he was at some point, has recently switched his stance on a woman’s right to choose. He has always been “Pro Life” but until recently he was opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade. If he is elected president, and pressured to appoint conservative judges, there is a real possibility that women’s lives will be in danger if forced to perform unsafe abortions.

You would think that the “Pro Life” crew would want women not to have unplanned pregnancies in the first place. Sarah Palin supports abstinence only sex education. Again, this is dangerous for our young people. Putting aside teen pregnancy, an abstinence only curriculum does not provide young people with the information that they need to prevent contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Besides STDs, expect more kids to develop asthma due to Republican disregard of environmental protections. Watch wildlife and sea creatures die if Republicans expand drilling.

Freedom will suffer from a terminal illness as the Patriot Act is renewed under a Republican presidency.

Horrible diseases will continue to kill as progress is stunted without federal funds for stem cell research.

And those who contract those diseases will not be able to afford health care because the Republicans are not committed to providing affordable health insurance to all Americans, just as they are not committed to improving public education (with vouchers reducing fund for schools).

With joblessness rising, the sub prime mortgage mess, instability in Georgia, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan, the security of our country both domestically and abroad cannot be left to a senator who has compromised his values to appease the Republican Right and a governor who has the hubris to think that God supports her policies.

While both Palin and McCain are likable and even worth admiring, if elected their policies will make America a worse place four years from now.