"thirty-five per cent of all women of reproductive age in America today will have had an abortion by the time they are forty-five" - Why Is Abortion Even Up For Debate In The Healthcare Bill?

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:29 AM EST

Article Source: New Yorker

politics, sex, law, healthcare, abortion, constitution, sexuality, roe-v-wade

Abortion is almost as old as childbirth. There has always been a need for some women to end their pregnancies. In modern times, the law's attitude toward that need has varied. In the United States, at the time the Constitution was adopted, abortions before "quickening" were both legal and commonplace, often performed by midwives. In the nineteenth century, under the influence of the ascendant medical profession, which opposed abortion (and wanted to control health care), states began to outlaw the procedure, and by the turn of the twentieth century it was all but uniformly illegal. The rise of the feminist movement led to widespread efforts to decriminalize abortion, and in 1973 the Supreme Court found, in Roe v. Wade, that the Constitution prohibited the states from outlawing it.

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8.3

{"commentId":10721368,"authorDomain":"killfile"}

Killfile

It's not like we're talking about a procedure that only a tiny percentage of women have. We're talking about a major medical procedure that hundreds of millions of women undergo - typically early in their pregnancies. To simply decide that it ought not be covered by a public health plan is unconscionable.

Besides, do we really think we're doing kids a service by allowing them to be born into a home where Mom wanted an abortion but just couldn't afford to get one? That's a hell of a thing to saddle an infant with.

{"commentId":10721368,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"killfile"}

8 votes

#1 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:58 AM EST

{"commentId":10721678,"authorDomain":"courts"}

Courts

It exists because there exists a substantial number of people who believe that a fetus is more important than a woman.

They aren't pro-life. They're anti-woman.

{"commentId":10721678,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"courts"}

10 votes

#2 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:11 AM EST

{"commentId":10723803,"authorDomain":"rick-1207403"}

Rickeroo

The fetus / woman equation only comes into play when either life is in danger. Most would say "save the mother".

However, when the health of the mother is not threatened, it seems like the desires of the mother are more important than the babies' life.

That is where the pro-life stance comes from.

{"commentId":10723803,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"rick-1207403"}

1 vote

#2.1 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:26 AM EST

{"commentId":10724758,"authorDomain":"courts"}

Courts

Bull@!$%#.

There is no "baby" until it's born alive. Until then the sovereignty of the woman over her own body remains supreme.

{"commentId":10724758,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"courts"}

6 votes

#2.2 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:58 AM EST

{"commentId":10724782,"authorDomain":"kj031056-1"}

kj031056-1

I agree with Courts!

{"commentId":10724782,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"kj031056-1"}

3 votes

#2.3 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:59 AM EST

{"commentId":10725445,"authorDomain":"rick-1207403"}

Rickeroo

Whatever the definition is, it's obvious what results from it, and the importance of it to each of us living today.

My argument is not one of defintion. Whatever you choose to call "it", I believe it is important enough so that it outweighs the woman's desire ("whim", if you will) to terminate it for frivolous reasons.

{"commentId":10725445,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"rick-1207403"}

1 vote

#2.4 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:22 PM EST

{"commentId":10725732,"authorDomain":"kj031056-1"}

kj031056-1

outweighs the woman's desire ("whim", if you will) to terminate it for frivolous reasons What an ignorant statement!

I remember the "second" that it took me to decide whether to have an abortion or not.....I was trying to decide if I should spend my savings on a new pair of shoes, dinner and dancing or to have an abortion.....because it was just a "whim", a decision that I wouldn't give more than a "second of thought" too. It's not as if, the entire rest of my life, education, career, family is a frivolious reason. But don't let the actual facts get in the way of your rant.

{"commentId":10725732,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"kj031056-1"}

6 votes

#2.5 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:31 PM EST

{"commentId":10726933,"authorDomain":"courts"}

Courts

It's obvious what results from it

What does that mean?

If "pregnancy," the answer is far from obvious.

The result might be a miscarriage. Or a stillbirth. Or a live birth.

But that has nothing to do with it.

The potential "life" represented by a embryo or fetus is not more important than the life embodied by the woman.

You control your own reproductive capacities on the basis of whatever beliefs you choose. But where the hell do you get off telling women what they can or can't do with their bodies? Who are you to determine that a termination is "frivolous" or legitimate?

{"commentId":10726933,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"courts"}

5 votes

#2.6 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:17 PM EST

{"commentId":10728911,"authorDomain":"redaly"}

REDaly

Rickeroo, pregnancy is never a safe condition. It always threatens the health of the mother. There's nothing trivial about deciding to persue an education or career instead of motherhood.

{"commentId":10728911,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"redaly"}

5 votes

#2.7 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:40 PM EST

{"commentId":10723788,"authorDomain":"kj031056-1"}

kj031056-1

77% of pro-lifers are men, 100% of them will never get pregnant......source: bumper sticker.

I think that says it all.....the people who can't get pregnant are making the decisions for the people who do get pregnant.

{"commentId":10723788,"threadId":"726316","contentId":"3511221","authorDomain":"kj031056-1"}

5 votes

#3 - Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:25 AM EST

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"726316","isPrivate":false}

	Abortion amendment 'throws women under bus' — US activists	The Daily Tribune (Without fear or favor)	Tue Nov 17	3
	Faith Communities Come Out Against Catholic and Fundamentalist Mangling of Health Care Bill - meanwhile bishops meet to plan their next move	Daily Kos	Tue Nov 17	9

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"thirty-five per cent of all women of reproductive age in America today will have had an abortion by the time they are forty-five" - Why Is Abortion Even Up For Debate In The Healthcare Bill?

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