Where do babies come from? Or I lost it on the river!

It's a question we all asked at about 5 years old. The way our parent's explained it differed, but we can safely assume that by 12 we all knew that babies came about from sex.

So that's why I refuse to entertain the concept that a fetus is "raping it's mother" because she "did not consent to it being in her body". I have a news flash people: If you know that sex causes pregnancy, even if you take every step to not get pregnant, you are still consenting to pregnancy because it is the cost of the gamble.

Everyone knows that when you gamble you could very well lose your money. You go into a poker match with this knowledge. You lay down your bet, thinking you have a full- proof hand and lo and behold, you lose. Now you can not say "well I didn't consent to losing my money! I just consented to the act of gambling for other reasons!" and then proceed steal all the chips on the table. You went into the hand knowing that there was a high probability of losing your money, you lost your money despite your careful planning, and now you have to deal with it.

Now the crux of this argument comes in the fact that losing your money after losing a bet is NOT a punishment, but rather a foreseeable consequence of gambling. You gamble to feel good, make money, compulsion, get closer to the dealer, or whatever, but the "fun" of gambling takes into account the possibility of losing it all. It is your responsibility to uphold your end of the deal and relinquish your money.

When one consents to sex, she enters into a "bet" of sorts. The odds change depending on her contraceptives, but there is always the chance she will "lose it all" and become pregnant. To deny this is ludicrous, to maintain that this is a punishment is absurd. Sex is a gamble if you don't want a baby, if the cards fall against you you're responsible for the outcome. Even if you use every method of birth control known to man there's always a chance you'll "lose it on the river" and be stuck with the consequences. When was the last time you've seen someone refuse to pay up after losing a bet and walk away? Doing so would be a default on the "contract" of gambling, just as an abortion is a default on the "contract" of sex

A bit irritable

I've been a bit irritable lately around pro-choicers and I'm posting this as a formal apology if I came off as "snarky" in anyone's comments. I'm just having a hard time with the pro-choice movement right now and my anger is coming through in my posts. I'm going to take some time to pray and come back because I know that my cattiness isn't going to get me anywhere. I think the attack on the decision to NOT abort a "deformed" child such as my son has sent me into a funk.

It just gets so hard to constantly grin and bear it when I think of the atrocity of abortion. I can be polite and amicable for a long time, but eventually the blatant disregard for life starts to get to me. So again, I'm sorry if I was short to anyone, but I just have a hard time sometimes and I let my emotions get the best of me.

Thanks for understanding.

Why do all pro-choice women look like men?

This is a pretty vapid post but I was looking through planned parenthood and naral and I just realized that none of these women are very feminine. It seems to back up my theory that choicers don't want women to be women at all...

Newborns in Need

I just found a site that sounds great. Helping newborns in need to get the things they need.

His life is worthless?

This is Holden, he is "deformed". He was born prematurly with IUGR (growth restriction) and has a minor cosmetic birth defect. During the pregnancy they thought he had chromosomal abnormalities as well. By the grace of God this turned out to be false, but I know how it feels to decide to parent an "abnormal" child.

That is why reading the following nearly crushed me.

I would never ever consider giving birth to something deformed. (and if denied termination i would probably try to stab it to death or use other unsafe methods) I frown upon anyone who does but i would not shun them for it.

It IS a waste. All that energy and sustenance you put into it just so it can die?

No, unless the fetii i concieve are perfect and will outlive me once born, i would not hesistate to terminate it. (of course i would terminate it if i was not in the position to care for it too)

If something happened to it later on AFTER it was born then i would care for it for aslong as i can.
-Lady in White

She would have aborted my son.

I just bought a new camera and started a scrapbooking project involving a picture of my husband as a baby and now my son at the same age. It's not finished yet but I'll post the full page when I get done.

Today has been a good day. I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my family and that makes me happy as can be. I'll update more later, I just wanted to post a new picture of my little man :)

9 Reasons Planned Parenthood Thinks Women Need Abortion

I am in green

1. Laws against abortion kill women.
To prohibit abortions does not stop them. When women feel it is absolutely necessary, they will choose to have abortions, even in secret, without medical care, in dangerous circumstances. In the two decades before abortion was legal in the U.S., it's been estimated that nearly a million women per year sought out illegal abortions. Thousands died. Tens of thousands were mutilated. All were forced to behave as if they were criminals.

What about the women who die today from "safe, legal abortions"? What about the fact that the numbers of deaths from illegal abortions were fabricated? Why are we taking the attitude that "well, of course women will have abortions!" rather than "what can we do to stop women from feeling compelled to abortion"? For a "progressive thinker" such as planned parenthood this is pretty pathetic.

2. Legal abortions protect women's health.
Legal abortion not only protects women's lives, it also protects their health. For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, and other illnesses that can be life-threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, such women's choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortion or dangerous childbirth.

Hence the exception for the life of the mother. I would gladly include health as well if I was convinced that it wouldn't be used to allow the abortion of a 30 week fetus to a mother whose "mental health" was damaged by the finding that her child's nose looked a bit too much like his jerk of a fathers.

3. A woman is more than a fetus.
There's an argument these days that a fetus is a "person" that is "indistinguishable from the rest of us" and that it deserves rights equal to women's. On this question there is a tremendous spectrum of religious, philosophical, scientific, and medical opinion. It's been argued for centuries. Fortunately, our society has recognized that each woman must be able to make this decision, based on her own conscience. To impose
a law defining a fetus as a "person," granting it rights equal to or superior to a woman's ³ a thinking, feeling, conscious human being ³ is arrogant and absurd. It only serves to diminish women.

Exactly! Just like the argument about if blacks were people or jews or...oh wait...

4. Being a mother is just one option for women.
Many hard battles have been fought to win political and economic equality for women. These gains will not be worth much if reproductive choice is denied. To be able to choose a safe, legal abortion makes many other options possible. Otherwise an accident or a rape can end a woman's economic and personal freedom.

No, abortion has ruined women's chance at equality. Employers do not respect women who choose parenthood because they know that she could havchosenen abortion and thus helped the company. Companies see no reason to improvbenefitsts and childcare for mothers because they know at least half of their female employees will choose abortion. The "choice" has hurt any woman who chooses to keep her child and has mosdefiantlyly hurt women who feecompelleded to abort. Our society tells women that they can not be accepted "as is" (with baby making included) and must kill their children in order to enter a mans world. How is this good for women?

5. Outlawing abortion is discriminatory.
Anti-abortion laws discriminate against low-income women, who are driven to dangerous self-induced or back-alley abortions. That is all they can afford. But the rich can travel wherever necessary to obtain a safe abortion.

Right just like rich criminals often get away with their crimes while the poor sit in jail. This means we should legalize murder, theft, and any other crime right?

6. Compulsory pregnancy laws are incompatible with a free society.
If there is any matter which is personal and private, then pregnancy is it. There can be no more extreme invasion of privacy than requiring a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. If government is permitted to compel a woman to bear a child, where will government stop? The concept is morally repugnant. It violates traditional American ideas of individual rights and freedoms.

Being a parent means giving up some of your rights in order to not neglect your child. I no longer have complete "right to privacy" if my son comes into my bedroom at 4 am throwing up and needing a doctor. To lock my door and allow him to suffer would be neglect. I do not have the right to autonomy when I am obligated to allow my son into my home. Sure I could make him sleep on the lawn, but that would be neglect and that is illegal.

If I refuse these duties I must find a safe alternative. Just because I no longer want to take care of my sodoesn'tnt mean I don't have to. If there is no safe alternative I must wait until one exits. During a pregnancy there is no "safe alternative". That doesn't mean I can kill my child, but rather means I must stick it out and wait for a "safe alternative" to present itself (i.e give birth and adopt out). Yes it is unfortunate, but I can not neglect my child and I most certainly can not kill my child.

7. Outlaw abortion, and more children will bear children.
Forty percent of 14-year-old girls will become pregnant before they turn 20. This could happen to your daughter or someone else close to you. Here are the critical questions: Should the penalty for lack of knowledge or even for a moment's carelessness be enforced pregnancy and childrearing? Or dangerous illegal abortion? Should we consign a teenager to a life sentence of joblessness, hopelessness, and dependency?

Oh how hopeless the world is. Obviously if abortion is taken away teenagers will all live hopeless lives and there is nothing we can do about it. Seriously, this doesn't even deserve a response...But in the spirit of rebuttal- First of all, if abortion was taken away it is quitlikelyly that teens would be a bit more careful about sex. If the opportunity costs rise, teens think twice. Secondly, even if they didn't think twice, an explosion in teen birth would mean we as a society must do everything we can taccommodatete these teens and their children and ensure their prosperity. Better alternative learning and childcare would be a great start.

8. "Every child a wanted child."
If women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, the result is unwanted children. Everyone knows they are among society's most tragic cases, often uncared-for, unloved, brutalized, and abandoned. When they grow up, these children are often seriously disadvantaged, and sometimes inclined toward brutal behavior to others. This is not good for children, for families, or for the country. Children need love and families who want and will care for them.

"Every unwanted child a dead child." Interestingly most abused children were "wanted children" and post abortive women have a 144% higher chance of being abusive than their non abortive peers. Also, please show me how this "wanted child" generation has been better or more successful than any previous generation.

9. Choice is good for families.
Even when precautions are taken, accidents can and do happen. For some families, this is not a problem.
But for others, such an event can be catastrophic. An unintended pregnancy can increase tensions, disrupt stability, and push people below the line of economic survival. Family planning is the answer. All options must be open. At the most basic level, the abortion issue is not really about abortion. It is about the value of women in society. Should women make their own decisions about family, career, and how to live their lives? Or should government do that for them? Do women have the option of deciding when or whether to have children? Or is that a government decision?

What kind of family value is being issued when a mother and father decide that they do not want to accept responsibility and instead look for a "quick fix"? What sort of positive impact will the decision to kill their child have on their relationship? How will the knowledge of a parents abortion impact a child and her future decision making skills?

If our society truly "valued women" we woulbelieveve that the deserve far better than abortion. Abortion turns women into sex toys and demeans their verfemininityiy. Abortion tells women that without abortion they can not achieve their dreams. Is this really what we call pro-women?

True Tales of a Teen Mom

I just stumbled upon this article on planned parenthood's teen site "teenwire". Tell me this isn't trying to discourage parenting...

Have you ever been out at the mall and seen a teen mom with her baby? Maybe you thought to yourself, "That doesn't look so hard! And the babies are so adorable!" But before you think that being a teen parent is all about shopping for cute little clothes, here's what life is really like for a teen parent.

Rachel, 19, got pregnant with her son Dylan when she was starting her first year of college. "I always knew that I wanted to have children ... someday," says Rachel. "I had a friend who got pregnant a few years ago and she made it look so easy. It's anything but easy, though! My whole life revolves around my son!"

Rachel and Dylan start most of their days at 7 a.m. "When Dylan first came home from the hospital, he slept all of the time. I should have taken advantage of that and slept more myself! Now that Dylan is older, he is much more alert and needs to be entertained. Some days, I can't even find the time to take a shower!"

Rachel is luckier than a lot of teen moms — she lives at her mother's house with her younger siblings and Dylan, and her family provides her with a lot of support. But she realized right away that Dylan is ultimately her responsibility. "My sister is great with Dylan, but she disappears pretty quickly if she thinks that his diaper needs to be changed. Especially if it's a poopy diaper! People say that they will help you, but in the end ... it all falls on me."

Having Dylan definitely put the brakes on Rachel's social life. Rachel's friends have offered to baby-sit, but she just isn't ready to leave her baby with anyone else right now. "I used to go out all of the time and stay out all night," she says. "Now, Dylan and I stay at home 24/7. Even something as simple as running errands can be a huge hassle."

And what about quality time with her boyfriend? There is no such thing! "Anything that we do for fun has to be the three of us," she explains. "I used to think that I was ready to settle down and not go out so much, but you don't recognize how much freedom you have until it's taken away from you!"

The other thing that Rachel misses is her pre-baby physique. "I thought that I would have my baby and my belly would go away, but there are other changes to my body — like wider hips. Those are here for good." Not being able to wear her old clothes isn't the only thing that will set Rachel apart from other 19-year-olds when she returns to college. She often thinks about how she will make new friends with Dylan in her life. "When someone asks for your number, do you tell them that you have a baby? Will they still want to hang out with you?" she wonders.

And finally, there are financial concerns. Any money that Rachel gets goes to Dylan. Diapers, clothes, toys ... the list is endless!

Rachel has made a lot of sacrifices in order to be a good mom to her baby Dylan. She hopes to one day get a degree in nursing and marry Dylan's father. But she admits that she's not positive that their relationship will last, and she questions how she'd be able to date other guys when she's got Dylan in her life. She often wonders what the future will hold. "I almost feel like I won't have much to look forward to since I had my baby so early in my life. The love I have for my son is overwhelming. But, he's kind of like a gift that was given a little bit too early."

So what is Rachel's advice to teens who are thinking about having a baby? "Wait. Just wait. Having a baby changes things forever."

I don't think I have ever been so furious. I got pregnant my first year of college. Yet somehow my life isnt "ruined" in the slightest. This article says in flashing lights "having a child WILL ruin your life". I am seething.

If I was a pregnant teen who read this article, I would probably think that my life was over if I decided to have the child. This is certainly what planned parenthood advertises.

The next time someone tells me that planned parenthood gives "fair and balanced" positions on all "choices" I'm going to show them this.

Lost

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the DFW area, but if you are I'm sure you all know about loop 820 and where it intersects 121 in NRH. It is the most confusing area I have ever driven. I drove around with 3 children for an hour and a half looking for a street that should have run parallel to the one I was on.

I haven't felt so out of control in a long time. Every time I thought I had things figured out I would wind up on the same wrong street. After lots of prayer and the help of a friendly gas station attendant I finally found my way to the right street. It seems that in this particular area, the only way to get to the right street is to take a ride down the "wrong" street for a few miles.

I thought about that for a while and realized that a lot of life seems to come at me in a similar pattern. I look and look for the right way and usually end up stumbling upon it when I feel the most lost. I've made a lot of wrong turns in my life, but I'm so happy to know that I've somehow managed to come out on the right street.

Childfree rage against...Themselves?

I just realized something about the childfree movement.

In all of their fervor of berating "breeders" for not instilling responsibility in their "spawns", they have somehow missed the fact that they themselves seem lacking in the same skill.

I was reading the snide writings of a "childfree" individual who was furious at the parents who do not raise their children to be responsible citizens. In the next breath she talked about how sex does not require that one be open to the responsibility of pregnancy.

Perhaps these people should take a look at their own battle with responsibility before pointing a finger at the little girl who lost her doll.

Pray

I'm just making another quick post to encourage everyone to pray pray pray. Remember the faith of a mustard seed can move mountains.

In Your presence
That's where I am strong
In Your presence
O Lord my God
In Your presence
That's where I belong
Seeking Your face
Touching Your grace
In the cleft of the Rock
In Your presence O God

I want to go
Where the rivers
Cannot overflow me
Where my feet are
On the rock
I want to hide
Where the blazing
Fire cannot burn me
In Your presence O God

I want to hide
Where the flood of
Evil cannot reach me
Where I'm covered by the blood
I want to be where
The schemes of darkness
Cannot touch me
In Your presence O God

You are my firm foundation
I trust in You all day long
I am Your child
And Your servant
And You are my
Strength and my song
You're my song

Seeking Your face
Touching Your grace
In the cleft of the Rock
In Your presence O God
In Your presence

In your presence-Lynn DeShazo

I'm Back

Just a quick post to say I'm back in Texas after a long weekend in TN with my inlaws. It was a great time, but I'm glad to be home. I'll post more later.

Morality

Moral Relativism is an ethical judgment. It is the claim that no ethical system is better than another. It stems from the fact that to judge an ethical system, it must be judged by a moral standard. Since every ethical system should evaluate itself as the best and only moral system, and every other system is flawed and immoral, it is assumed that moral judgments about ethical systems are meaningless.

Moral Relativism rests on the belief that values are subjective. It is holds the belief that there is no objective morality. That there is no such thing as right and wrong, good or evil. Only if moral systems are just made up and supported only by personal or social bias can moral judgments of ethical systems be wasted. Moral Relativism cannot and does not accept the possibility that an objective moral system exists. If it did, you could evaluate other ethical systems meaningfully.

Moral Relativism is the denial of truth in ethical questions. A Moral Relativist accepts that his own moral system is meaningless and is accepted on whim, not reason. Intellectually, Moral Relativism is an attempt at destroying the concept of ethics. This is done by claiming that ethics are irrelevant and we accept them due to societal conditioning. Since morality is necessary, Moral Relativism is a default on the responsibility of choosing a rational moral guide.

Since Moral Relativism holds that ethical systems are subjective, it claims that none is better or worse than another. It makes an exception, though. Any system that claims to be true or absolute is evil. It commits the only possible truly evil act. It maintains the possibility of truth in ethics. source

It is easy for evil to proliferate when people refuse to acknowledge it's existence.

Why a "Choicer" thinks we can't be pro-woman.

Pro-life is inherently anti-women. It is a position that logically follows from the views held by the pro-life camp.

Abortion may victimize women (which I highly disagree with), however it is not the abortion that victimizes her - she had every opportunity to say "no, I will stay pregnant." No one forced her to get an abortion. They might argue that our society is one that forces women to choose between abortion and pregnancy - however that's society victimizing her, not abortion.

So even though our society most certainly uses abortion as a way to victimize women, abortion is somehow not victimizing women?

Taking away abortion rights will make it so that not only will society victimize her, saying she should have never gotten pregnant to begin with, but the unsympathetic society that would push her towards abortion would now remove her from the work-force, college, high school, and essentially end any career-woman-esque life she might have wanted.

The entire reason women are "pushed to abortion" is because our society knows that with the advent of abortion comes the idea that we do not need to treat mothers as equals because they could have easily chosen abortion. This mindset hurts mothers and as a result shows any pregnant woman that life as a mother is a fate worse than death. With this knowledge, pregnant women feel compelled into an unwanted abortion in order to save themselves from the horror of motherhood that our society has created.

Removing the right to an abortion will not solve the problem of women being victimized when pregnant, because abortion is NOT what victimizes women, our unsympathetic society it. It will only exasperate it, making women even MORE victimized now that they have absolutely no option, because the unsympathetic society will NOT be affected by banning abortion!

No, if society realizes that women get pregnant and have babies and there is nothing anyone can do about it, they will be forced to change. It is very easy for society to be complacent when it comes to mother's rights because, like I said, they feel that because women made the choice to have the child they have "dug their own grave".

How can this be anything other than an affront to woman's rights?

Because of this pro-life logically leads to an anti-women view, because removing abortion only makes things worse for women and does nothing to end the "victimization."

I could go into it more, but I imagine most of you understand where I'm just summarizing and don't need me to spell it all out for you step-by-step.

And as for pro-child... we need to only look as far as the pro-life republican party's stance on welfare to know that's a crock of shit.
"Talon-Chan"

Har Har, when all else fails claim the pro-life side doesn't care about children. I'll be the first to admit that the republican party isn't the greatest when it comes to child care but neither are the bleeding heart democrats. It's a complicated issue and to make blanket statements is absurd.

Men LOVE birthcontrol? Who would have thought?

Hmm, who would have thought that men would love to have sex with women without any consequence! Heck if I were a promiscuous male I guess I would love birthcontrol too!

I am not condeming all who use birthcontrol, I just think it's ammusing that something that supposedly "empowers women" is obviously turning them into sex objects for men like these. Oh yes, that's a HUGE step forward in women's rights[/sarcasm]

I "heart" birth control!

Oh one more thing! My comments are back on thanks to my beautiful new template from Akshmala a wonderful lifer :)

Trust and why Post Abortive Mothers are More Likely to Commit Child Abuse

My son is just beginning to really understand the concept of trust. He's 11 months and has just started to be a little weary of strangers(he used to jump smiling into the arms of anyone who looked at him!) Now, he looks back at me for approval. He understands, cognitively or not, that I will protect him.

He is already asserting his relationship with my husband and I. With Oliver he plays and giggles and crawls and claps. He loves his daddy. They're buddies. He knows his daddy will play with him and love him and, if mommy isn't there feed and change him. They have a great relationship.

Holden expects different things from me. I represent safety. It is not uncommon for Holden to reach out to Oliver to come play while clinging to me to keep him secure. When he's exploring the wonders of our kitchen, he likes knowing that there is a safe mommy lap to crawl into. He recognizes that no matter what, his daddy and mommy will be there.

When I think about that I get a little upset that so many children can not claim such trust. I know I never could. My mother was busy, and I wasn't her child as much as I was another thing checked off her "to do list".

In a society where we claim "every child a wanted child!" I find it disturbing how many of these supposed "wanted children" have such trust and attachment issues. I think in our age of pregnancy termination parents have stopped trusting themselves.

I read a study regarding child abuse rates of post abortive women compared to their abortion free peers. The numbers were staggering. Could it be that when a woman betrays her child's trust in the ultimate way she is no longer able to have a trusting relationship with any subsequent child?

I would like to find more research on the subject. I think abortion has done more of a disservice to our society than we could ever have foreseen.

The study found that " Compared to women with no history of perinatal loss, those with one loss (voluntary or involuntary) had a 99% higher risk for child physical abuse, and women with multiple losses were 189% more likely to physically abuse their children. Compared to women with no history of induced abortion, those with one prior abortion had a 144% higher risk for child physical abuse."

Dr. Priscilla Coleman, associate professor of human development and family studies at Bowling Green State University and the study's lead author, noted, "Emotional problems and unresolved grief responses associated with the abortion could hinder effective parenting by reducing parental responsiveness to child needs, interfering with parent-child attachment processes, or by instilling anger, a common symptom of grief."

Looks like my instincts were pretty dead on.

Coleman, P. K., D. C. Maxey, C. Coyle, and V. Rue. "Associations between voluntary and involuntary forms of perinatal loss and child maltreatment among low income, single mothers." Acta Paediatrica 94 (2005).

ACLU backs down from support of CPC bill.

The ACLU has decided that supporting the anti-CPC bill would be too much an affront of freedom of speech and would too clearly give away their anti-life agenda.

Thus they have pulled support of Maloney's bill.
full story

Family Planning

I was talking to my mother in law yesterday about my husband and my fears about having another child too close in age to Holden. Basically we were afraid that Holden will not get enough "special" only child time and we might not be best prepared to have another child for another year or so. The problem is, even with all the rational reasons why we shouldn't have a child right now, I really want to try.

So I was talking this over with my Mother in law and she said two things that really stuck with me.

First- Any child we have after Holden will not get "special only child time". We need to make sure all of our children feel "special" and not worry so much that one will have more attention than the other. This seems pretty simple, but in deciding whether or not to try we often came back to Holden's special only child time. So there goes that argument.

Second- There really is no "good" time to have a baby. Whenever you're pregnant, well that's the "good" time. There are times that are better than others, but a child is a big change and whenever God decides is the right time-well that's the "good" time.

So I've decided not to worry so much about if it is a "good" time or not. I'm turning it over to God and putting it in his hands. In this world of Birth Control and Abortions, even those of us who oppose both somehow get swept up in this whole "family planning" business. So no more, I'm giving up my planning to God(as if I could really plan against him anyways!) Though some may call me irresponsible or worse, this is my decision.

STOP the Freedom of Choice Act

I just found planned parenhood's website talking about the "Freedom of Choice Act" I thought this had expired, but apparantly it is alive an well.

Here's what it entails:

* FOCA will secure the right to choose by establishing a federal law that will guarantee reproductive freedom for future generations of American women. This guarantee will protect women’s rights even if President Bush and an anti-choice Congress are successful in reversing Roe v. Wade or enacting even more restrictions on our right to choose.

* FOCA will also restore the reproductive rights recognized under the vision expressed in 1973 in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, before anti-choice legislators and courts chipped away at these rights. More than 450 anti-choice measures have been enacted in the states since 1995, essentially rolling back this fundamental right for many women.

here's the link to read the entire act Link

This must be stopped!

PP complains TX abortion laws hurt women, interesting...

I just stumbled upon planned parenthoods recent articles about Texas Abortion in Texas

Hmm, it seems to me that only 2 of these "horrid attacks on women's rights" have anything to do with women at all. I bolded everything that is an attack to only planned parenthoods pocketbook.

A woman must wait 24 hours before having an abortion after she receives so-called "counseling" regarding prenatal/neonatal care options and alleged abortion-related risks, including breast cancer (a risk disavowed by the American Cancer Society). She is encouraged to read a state-prepared booklet that features descriptions and color pictures of the fetus at two-week increments of development and a directory listing anti-choice "pregnancy care centers" Noncompliant doctors can incur fines of up to $10,000.

Individual providers and private health care institutions may refuse to provide abortion services based on their own biases.

A woman under 18 must obtain consent for abortion from a parent, and may bypass consent only if the pregnancy endangers her life, or if she successfully convinces a court that notification would result in harm.

Individuals or organizations performing more than 50 abortions per year must register as licensed abortion facilities for an annual fee of $2,500.

In addition to complying with customary professional standards, abortion providers are subject to TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws — dozens of medical, administrative, and facility regulations that micromanage everything from room setup to staffing structure. Violators face fines of up to $1,000 per day, per violation

Abortions after 16 weeks must be performed at licensed, heavily regulated "ambulatory surgical centers" or hospitals, but few of these sites will perform the procedure.

Public money is available for abortion only in cases of rape, incest, or "endangered maternal life." A pending Medicaid waiver will expand state funding for coverage of family planning and preventive health care for low-income women. But organizations providing abortion-related services or referrals are ineligible for funds, and emergency contraception (EC) counseling and provision are forbidden.

And now for the super awesome news!

# Family planning clinics have closed statewide, and at least one county health department's budget was cut 50 percent.

# Several Planned Parenthood health centers can now afford only subsidized care for Medicaid recipients.

# Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region in Austin was forced to end walk-in services, reduce hours, and limit clients to ages 24 and under at one of its health centers.

# PPCWC lost 12 staffers, closed its administrative office, and moved administrative staff into two health centers rather than curtail services.

# One Brownsville health center switched from subsidized to fee-for-service billing, with the result that it now serves 40 percent fewer women.

With Sex comes Responsibility, With Humanity comes Personhood

We've all heard the famous "pro-punishment" argument. That if a lifer says "hey, if you have sex with knowledge of reproduction, you consent to the possibility of becoming pregnant" they are somehow saying "sex is evil! Women should be punished for having sex!"

Well we all know this is ludicrous. Though most of us agree that sex is for marriage, I doubt many of us sit and wait for someone to get pregnant so we can say "AHAH it's your punishment!"

But pro-choicers by and large do not like to accept responsibility for their actions. They believe that it is somehow ok to forgo your responsibility because the object of neglect is something less than human. If we look at this argument there seem to be two glaring points of interest. However, I believe both can be addressed with one argument.

The basis of the abortion debate comes down to one issue-neglect. The pro-choice side argues it is alright to neglect or even kill outright a child that is dependent on your internal body for subsidence. The pro-life side does not.

Both sides can agree that it is most defiantly not alright to neglect your child. When arguing this point with a choicer they often assert that the act of childbirth consents to the obligations of parenting. They contend that unless parental rights are consciously severed, the birth parent has an obligation to the child.

They argue that this situation is different than pregnancy because a] there is no "safe alternative" to pregnancy as there is in parenting. A pregnant woman can not {yet} adopt out her fetus and the responsibility lies on her. This they claim is a defense for abortion because the mother has no alternatives other than "have parental rights" or "neglect child". They further contend that b] because the child is reliant on the mothers bodily domain, all bets are off.

Obviously the first bet is severely flawed. If I was to take my son out on a boat 3 days from shore and then decided I no longer wished to be his parent, I could not simply "remove him from my care" by refusing to feed him. The fact that there are no viable safe options does not give me the permission to "cut him off" but rather require me to continue to care for him until we reach shore and I can find a safe place for him where he will be free from neglect.

The second issue hinges on the concept of bodily domain. So often the case of Mcfall Vs.Shimp is cited as an example of why one person can not be forced to give up an organ for another. This would make sense if not for the very nature of pregnancy and how it relates to parenting. Children are allowed to usurp some parental rights to prevent neglect. My privacy is invaded by allowing my child in my house-if I put him on the balcony he would freeze to death. My rights only go to the point of keeping him from neglect(hopefully most parents would be far more generous but we are going for the least common denominator). Likewise, my son has a claim to my autonomy by forcing me to use my money to pay for his wellbeing. Again, I can not simply refuse to feed my child, this is neglect.

That said, a pregnancy differs from the conditions of McFall Vs. Shimp because their is nothing "wrong" with the fetus' body. McFall V.Shimp would be more applicable to a situation where a child needs a blood transfusion and the parents refuse. Though I would question the morality of such parents, they are not obligated to use their body to save the child's failing body-this goes outside of the general terms of care. However, to sever a fetus' tie to the mother is far more akin to simply cutting off the food or shelter of a child. The fetus needs only basic care to thrive, his body is merely growing, not defective. Just as it is neglect to refuse to feed a born child, so should it be to refuse to feed a preborn child. The conditions are the same. The fact that the preborn child happens to reside within the mother does not change the intrinsic fact that the preborn has the same right as the born to not be neglected.

Of course, the issue then becomes the question over the "personhood" of the fetus. If we are to assigning personhood based on an arbitrary set of credentials, I am positive we can wipe a wide array of "people" off the planet. Most certainly infants who have no concept of self awareness, or even the brain development for the potential of self awareness would be quickly eradicated. Of course, we can then take the twists and turns of the "person enough" road down to the weak, the feableminded, the tall, the short- anyone we decide does not fit the "criteria"

There must be a better way to describe personhood. We gain personhood not by our individual achievements(for one man raised alone in the wilderness would certainly not be a "person" by the pro-choice standard) but rather our collective species unique capacity to better itself. This definition must then include all in our species regardless of their individual talent. By nature of conception a human is human no matter what stage of development. Thus, regardless of an individual fetus' capacity for anything they are "persons" because they belong to our collective society.

*this arguement was the collective effort of my husband and I, I nearly forgot to give him credit!

Prochoice arguments from the horses mouth.

I'd like to offer some examples of the pro-choice mindset. These are all quotes taken off an online youth community. These people are memebers of the "pro-choice guild"

On men having a say in the abortion of their child:

No dice, Frodo. Asking to have a man decide if a woman can abort because she concieved during consentual sex is to turn her into a slave to her biology. He's not the one pregnant. He's not carrying it. He's not at risk for all the dangers of pregnancy. He's not doing the work, and it's been shown that it's not a half and half deal since some DNA is purely maternal. If he wants his DNA that badly, he can have half of the abortion products in a baby food jar. Offering to care for it after coming out means a woman pregnant against her will, which is all kinds of f**ked up.

It sucks, yes it does. But it also sucks that people seem to think that a woman's uterus is up for public debate.
"Nethilia"

On quality vs. quantity of life:

But don't you know? A miserable life where you're starved, tortured, sickly, and are beaten and broken and have no will to live is better than no life at all!

Remember folks, its quanity that counts, not quality.
"Talon-Chan"

On Liberal Persecution:

It takes guts in today's political climate to openly support a "liberal" political position.

If you oppose bush, as the dixie chicks did a few years ago, you're ostracised.

If you support gay rights people assault you.

With the exceptionally large christian movement that's been going on, defending any liberal position is becoming a hazardous occupation.

It makes me wonder where that whole "christian persecution" complex comes from where they think there's a war on christianity, when day in and day out their morals are becoming law, they're being catered to by politicians, etc.
"Talon-Chan"

On disabled or premature children:

My paper argued for limiting aggressive treatment to infants born after 23 weeks gestation. However, I did say that exceptions should be made for younger infants who are particularly hardy and/or more developed. Another argument that I covered was respect for the wishes of parents. The parents are the ones who will ultimately live with whatever decisions are made and thus should choose the options that they feel they can deal with. Many, many children who are born with low birthweights go on to develop several problems that can make caring for them extremely taxing both financially and emotionally. There have been several documented cases in which the strains placed on a couple from rearing a severely damaged child caused an eventual divorce.

And another interesting tidbit that I stumbled across in my research: I had always thought that Downs wasn't quite such a big deal and that it only caused mental retardation. Ho-boy was I wrong. Many victims of the disorder die before their 10th birthday and hardly any make it past 50. The disease is also accompanied by a whole host of physical defects such as heart disease, esophageal atresia, and tracheoesophageal fistula. Some of the physical ailments can be corrected with surgery, but oftentimes the child will require additional surgeries over the years which will lead to more pain and hardship, but no real improvement in the quality of life. From what I read, the Downs individuals that you see smiling and having a fulfilling existance are in the minority.
"Munkers"

On choosing only genetically superior children:

And if these advances can wipe out genetic disease then why the hell not?"Munkers"

There are about a billion others but those are just from clicking at random topics. Do these people seem "caring" to you?

Gaia Online Pro-Choice Guild Posting in said guild is forbidden as it is on an applicant basis, however it is publically viewable.

Citizens hope to launch Grand Jury investigation into Tiller

article

apparently there is a Kansas law that allows citizens to ask for a grand jury indictment if they feel law enforcement has not done its job. 7000 people have signed a petition regarding the death of a mentally retarded Texas teen.

If this is sex education, what is pornography?

From the ever helpful "brainwash our children" site I posted recently, I stumbled upon the coalition for positive sexuality. I am appalled at this "teen focused" website and its horrific content. There is a difference between explaining sexuality and using crude terms and animated gifs for the body and sexuality. I am linking to the site but only with a sever warning. This should NOT be views by anyone under 18 and is very offensive.

Just say "Yes!"

After reading this I am appalled that this smut could be passed off as education. I suppose when they're teaching 5 year olds about the wonders of AIDS I shouldn't be too surprised.

Pro-choice propaganda for our youth

I just stumbled upon perhaps the most disturbing site I've seen in a while. It is a site dedicated to "educating our youth" which of course translates into "brainwashing for Planned Parenthood".

protection

As you roll over the various links flyers come up with pictures of alleys with signs saying "abortion clinic" and random nonsense about women being required to take sewing 101. Oh I get it! They're trying to say that without the right to kill our child we will suddenly have to learn to sew! Well gosh I already know how to do that! Oh, wait I get it...They're trying to say that without the right to kill our children we will become relegated to second class citizens and be forced to paint our rooms pink!

I wish I were kidding, but that's honestly what one of the signs states. What I've learned from this site is that I do not want them influencing my son. If this is the direction of the pro-choice movement, I think it's time I started looking into homeschool-hey he's only 11 months, but with quacks like this it's never too early to start.

Prayer is a Pro-life act of TERROR!

I am also grateful for the support of our local police officers, who do their duties in a challenging environment. They showed up promptly when I found myself escorting alone as an unexpected prayer vigil was staged in front of the Boro Hall Center a few years ago. A local church's congregation marched down the street, then stood in front of the clinic for about 20 minutes, singing, chanting, and crossing themselves — staring directly at me all the while. Police flanked me in front of the clinic, and staff came outside periodically to make sure I was safe, keeping a stressful situation in check.

In spite of incidents like these, we escorts find our volunteer efforts tremendously rewarding. Being on the frontlines isn't easy, yet we continue to volunteer because we recognize the crucial need for safe, legal abortion, especially in today's highly conservative political atmosphere. I am reminded of this every time I see a very young woman approaching the clinic.

tells from an escort

I believe this quote speaks for itself. This woman would probably die from terror if she set foot in a pentecostal church!

Darn Prolifers and how they dehumanize abortionists!

I just read an article that literally made me laugh out loud. Apparently the abortonists are quite the persecuted bunch. This doctor asks "what other medical professional faces these kinds of issues?" To which I reply "what other medical professional kills half of his patients?"

Perhaps the best quote of the bunch was this "These terrorists use the basic elements of evil — violence and terror — to try to reach their political goals. I find that where there is violence, there is also cowardice. Anti-choice groups have worked hard to dehumanize abortion providers by portraying us as evil. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth; I am a board-certified ob/gyn and I work within the parameters of the legitimate medical community."
Whiny prochoice article
So we're the terrorists eh? Yes, yes I know there have been a few crazies who have made the rest of us look bad but I've never seen someone with such persecutionon complex!

Abby

I met with Jacque (Blog) at chic-fil-a yesterday to talk about volunteering for (I don't even know what to call it...Super wonderful awesome woman's services and baby saving extrodinare) Abby. I'm so excited she updates with lots of information about Abby here.

I can't wait to start work and get to know her more:) I had a great time and she is a great person! Defiantly check out the second link as it gives some great info about her organization.