Roe v. Wade Anniversary: 3 Changes Obama Could Make

*sigh*
And here we go...

this is going to be interesting.

Keep it legal. We shouldn't tell women what they can do with their reproductive system.

I'm against abortion but I'm not about to tell someone that they should have a child that they don't want or can not raise. Because a) it's not fair to the parent, and b) it's not fair to the child.

I would like to see the "Mexico City Policy" not rescinded. I don't think it's a good idea to send US taxpayer money to foreign countries so their women can have abortions. I'm against sending money to any country for things that they should be taking care of themselves.

"Because a) it's not fair to the parent, and b) it's not fair to the child."

Is it fair to the child to kill the child instead?

I can't judge people who get an abortion because I've never been in that situtation. (Except for those who use it as constant birth control... that gets under my skin.) I know there are extreme cases where it is necessary. I'm afraid if abortion isn't legal, then we'll have women going to extreme measures to get abortions and getting botched abortions. If a woman needs an abortion, she should at least be able to get it in a sterile clinic with a certified person or physician doing the procedure.

Sounds good to me.

Dave, is it fair to the child to be brought into a world with parents who can not care for it? Or is a fair the child to be left in the dumpster? Or be put in social care with the odds of him being adopted are slim to none? No it's not fair. I rather a child not be born then to be so and go through those things.

Ok, so you would rather we kill children, than inconvenience the mother and father. That is all abortion is, an end to an inconvenience. IMO, abortion should only be performed if the mother is willing to be spade as well.

*Again, I'm only referring to abortion that is not for he health of the woman.

I don't agree with abortion. I would presume though to tell ANYONE else what they can or cannot do, any more than I would have them tell ME that I HAVE to get an abortion.

Why is it OK for people to tell one person NOT to, yet not OK for people to tell someone else they SHOULD?

Either way you look at it, it's us policing each other, and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the person we answer to God? Women that have abortions will have to face him one day. It's enough that they live with that day to day. I'm not going to tell them what to do.

I WOULDN'T presume though.... Not I would.

just to add. I don't think Roe Vs Wade should be a legal issue as well. We shouldn't have a law to say whether a not a woman can have an abortion or not. It's a personal choice and a personal matter matter. I'm also against sending aid to foreign countries for this as well, as it should be dealt with by their own government, not ours.

C'mon Dave! Mexico City thing is a great thing to retract. I mean what better method of controlling the population in third world countries than mass genocide??

Thats cool with us in the USA right??

I'm ok with these actions, though I hope they are only the start. I'm very interested in seeing more support for sex education.

"I'm very interested in seeing more support for sex education."

Amen. If we had more sex education (not abstence education) in schools, we may not even have to talk about the abortion issue. (Doubtful, but a girl can hope!)

I dont understand what the point of repealing what little measures we have to control abortions had in this country actually is.

I mean, do people who support this think that if abortions are easier to get that the number of them had will go down? Because that seems pretty silly.

Are we just trying to get birth rates down?

So No to Torture, and a Yes to foreign assistance for murder..check and check.

I agree with you clarabelle

"So No to Torture, and a Yes to foreign assistance for murder..check and check."

You got it Homes, that's how we Libs roll!!!

Ok, so you would rather we kill children, than inconvenience the mother and father. That is all abortion is, an end to an inconvenience. IMO, abortion should only be performed if the mother is willing to be spade as well.

Dave, its not about that. I'm a big believer in personal responsibility. To me, if you laid down and made it, then you should take care of it. However I know damn well that is not the case for many. There are women who were raped, molested, abused, as well as some women and men who should have no business having children period. The amount of children under in the age of 5 who were given up at birth and in and out of foster care and will probably never be adopted is outstanding. So why bring in someone to experience that. Why force a woman to go through a pregnancy and raise a child that she did not want. So should a child have to suffer for the actions of an irresponsible adult? Not in my book.

As I said before, I'm personally against it. Never would do, but I would never tell someone what they can do with their own body.

I think the issue with the Mexico City policy is funding. Its not like Planned Parenthood only does abortions, most of the work they provide is women's health check ups and cheaper access to birth control. But Planned Parenthood would not be allowed to get federal funding because of the Mexico City policy.

And I don't think there are groups out there promoting abortions and telling pregnant women they should get them. Making it seem like this is the case, and adding words like genocide and murder, isn't going to get moderates to agree with you.

fetuses are NOT children. Zygotes are NOT chilren. Did you guys skip biology.

fetuses are NOT children. Zygotes are NOT chilren. Did you guys skip biology.

Ahh damn double post.

I just noticed the genocide and mass murder words.

Yet while you have innocents who were actually alive and being killed off by actions not of their own choice, they are "collateral damage".

I'm with you Mydiam.. not the way to get moderates to go with you.

Hey its just my opinion. It doesn't really matter if moderates agree with me because chances are my view won't prevail under the new admin.

But it would be kind of nice if someone was upfront about it and just said we'd like to control the populations of developing nations by killing off their babies. Because I must imagine its far, FAR cheaper to just provide those people with birth control than abortions.

And I am perfectly happy not having any of my money go to Planned Parenthood. They seem to be doing just fine.

Here are some interesting statistics for the people who roll out the rape/incest cases: Actual percentage of U.S. abortions in are estimated as follows:
in cases of rape or incest, 0.3%;
in cases of risk to maternal health or life, 1%;
and in cases of fetal abnormality, 0.5%.

About 98% of abortions in the United States are elective, including socio-economic reasons or for birth control. This includes perhaps 30% for primarily economic reasons.

johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/abreasons.html

Happy Anniversary Roe v. Wade, I'm glad you're still going strong!!

Why are fetuses not children? How do you know when life begins?

I don't know for sure either. No one does. But I'd rather err on the safe side.

Children are humans fetuses are fetuses.

Haus, I rather go to the CDC to get my statistic thank you very much.
The only thing abortion wise I hope Obama keeps from Bush is to continue to the ban on Partial-Birth abortion. Now that is just something that I can not excuse as to me that IS actually murder. If a fetus is old enough to be viable outside of the womb then an abortion should not be allowed.

Myst you can go to the CDC and it will say the same thing. Less than 1% of abortions are because of rape or incest.

Myst I like where your head is at. 5 months is viable, past that abortion should not be allowed.

I agree that partial-birth abortions should not be legal. When a fetus can live outside the womb, then it's a child.

What I don't understand is that since the mid 90s to today abortions have consistently gone on a downward trend.

All through the Bush years the number, rate, and ratios of abortions have all gone down.

So why should we beleive that what we're doing isn't working? Why should we beleive that loosening standards on abortions is going to result in fewer abortions? What facts do we have to support that?

Because it seems we have facts to support that what we're doing now is working just fine.

Thanks Franky and Haus, we can agree on some things

I watch a documentary on partial-birth abortion and it was just sickening to know the process and how it's done. I read one woman's book and her decision to do it and even though I understood her reasoning I still felt that there are other routes that she could've taken .

I don't know how you watched that Myst.

shudder, i don't know how you watched it either but kudos to you for making it through.

i've heard of the documentary ring of fire, was that the same one? i've never watched it though.

Isn't that because what we are doing now is subjugating women? THey didn't have a choice in this matter. The men completely hoodwinked them and confused them until they didn't know what they were doing...

Do we really know how many women are raped in this country? Or how many people (male and female) are the victims of incest or molestation?

"However I know damn well that is not the case for many. There are women who were raped, molested, abused, as well as some women and men who should have no business having children period. "
Again, I'm not talking about those extreme cases, and those are extreme cases. I also agree that there are women who have no business having children, and that is why I feel the spade clause should be put in

We know how many people cited it as a reason for their abortion.

First of all, I think Barack should handle more important things right now, NOT abortion issues. And much later he's still going to have a lot of other important matters to take care of.

I think it should be a woman's choice to have an abortion or not. Each situation is different. What woman wants to have a rapist child? She may not be able to mentally handle carrying the child and then giving the child away to an adoption agency either...so what. The mother could physically harm herself during the pregnancy because she can't mentally carry the child of her rapist for 9 months.

Again, each situation is different and it should be the woman's choice. I don't feel that each female should have to explain her decision either.

franky than what are zygotes and fetuses? a group of cells? a lump of fleshy tumors? what?

I don't think anyone is saying here a rape victim should have to carry that baby. We also haven't said anything about victims of incest, or any other sexual abuse. Can we focus on what the majority of abortions are, which is birth control. For those who decide they can't handle the result of their actions, they should be given the option of putting it up for adoption, or be fixed, so they don't ever have to have another abortion.

Instead of focusing on abortion, I think we would all be better off focusing on preventing abortion. In third world countries I think this needs to include focus on birth control. I recall early in Bush's administration the criticism that was poured on Colin Powel when he suggested that condoms could help prevent many cases of AIDS. In most cases, we will be most successful if we help people help themselves. If we're focused on elevating the people of the world, giving them the tools to improve their lives will lead to them feeling like they are improving their own life and that's an important mentality when people in third world countries feel hopeless.

#3 is a great idea. I can understand how a young girl who made a mistake may feel like abortion is her only way out.

I still don't know how I watched it, but it was class. Haus..it's called Lake of Fire. It's on abortion period and they show you the procedures. The partial-birth one is pretty grotesque. It's a very good source of information that's unbiased and give viewpoints from both Pro-Choices and Pro-Lifers. There's another one called A Distant Thunder, which really isn't an documentary but it's very detailed information.

I would be surprised if Obama messes with Roe vs. Wade at this point. He needs the support of the American people right now more than he needs to open that can of worms. If he does anything, I doubt it will be in this term of his Presidency.

Hausfrau ~ those were interesting statistics Comment [23]. I had a niece who was raped at 14 and got pregnant. She wasn't into killing for any reason, and enjoyed picking out the parents for her unborn child. They sent her photos for two years and the little girl was so cute and looked a lot like her. She later married and has had a very happy and healthy life in spite of the incident.

I obviously don't believe women should get a permit to kill the child growing within them, for any reason; but I do think the President has more pressing issues at the moment.

If you really want to see a decrease in abortions, support comprehensive sex ed and support for struggling families.

I'll drink to that liliblu. Educate the students and people properly. Abortion shouldn't have to be the solution. There needs to be more comprehensive measures to preventing it. At least that's my ultimate take on it.

"If you really want to see a decrease in abortions, support comprehensive sex ed and support for struggling families."

What statistics or facts support this? It seems that everyone wants to fault Bush but as I mentioned before the statistics show that the trend has been on a decline from mid90s to today.

So why should we assume that anything done in the last 8 years has been detremental when the facts point otherwise?

# 2 scares the crap out of me.
"The Freedom of Choice Act would classify women's rights under Roe v. Wade and prohibit any interference with the right to have an abortion." That can be interpreted to have some serious consequences. Basically saying that a women should have the right to abort a baby up until the day it is born, can't sell that one to me and I pray and pray Obama doesn't pass that one. OH please, please, please!
# 3 is awesome.