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As seen on several places on my flist, it's apparently an arrestable offense to even be thinking about protesting the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. I won't bother to express my disgust at that, because I know I'm preaching to the choir here.
But there is something that's been bothering me today. You know what always annoys me about anti-abortion folk? They seem to think that being pro-choice means one supports having abortions at every possible opportunity. You know, for fun.
And so today I've heard these clips of delegates over and over, talking about how wonderful it is that Sarah Palin elected to have her 5th child, "even though" he had Down's Syndrome. And how wonderful it is that her 17-year-old pregnant teenage daughter will be having (and keeping) her baby. The clear implication in all of these comments is that these are the morally superior choices, and that only a "pro-life" person would make them. Clearly a godless, feminist liberal like me would choose to have an abortion under those circumstances.
And that utterly, completely misses the point of being pro-choice. Being pro-choice means recognizing that the only person who should make such a decision is the pregnant woman herself. It's none of my business what she chooses, and it's certainly not my place to judge her for her choice. I trust that women are capable of deciding for themselves under what circumstances to give birth to a baby.
Because let me tell you, pregnancy is not all sunshine and puppy dogs. Everybody knows that, but seriously -- being pregnant almost killed me. I mean that literally; I came very close to dying and am still here today by only a stroke of luck. That experience only reinforced my conviction that no woman should be forced to go through a pregnancy she doesn't want, even though the majority of cases turn out fine.
So yay for Sarah Palin and her baby. She made her choice, and I totally respect that. As an aside, initial tests during my pregnancy indicated my son had an increased chance of having DS, and I would not have terminated if it had been confirmed. But I recognize that others might make a different decision based on their life circumstances, and I respect that. Because I'm pro-choice.
And assuming she actually got to make her own choice and wasn't bullied into it because of her mother's political career, yay for Palin's pregnant teenage daughter. I'm sure she'll love that baby and not have any regrets.
But Ms. Palin, isn't it painfully clear to you now that abstinence-only sex "education" doesn't work? I'm just sayin'.
But there is something that's been bothering me today. You know what always annoys me about anti-abortion folk? They seem to think that being pro-choice means one supports having abortions at every possible opportunity. You know, for fun.
And so today I've heard these clips of delegates over and over, talking about how wonderful it is that Sarah Palin elected to have her 5th child, "even though" he had Down's Syndrome. And how wonderful it is that her 17-year-old pregnant teenage daughter will be having (and keeping) her baby. The clear implication in all of these comments is that these are the morally superior choices, and that only a "pro-life" person would make them. Clearly a godless, feminist liberal like me would choose to have an abortion under those circumstances.
And that utterly, completely misses the point of being pro-choice. Being pro-choice means recognizing that the only person who should make such a decision is the pregnant woman herself. It's none of my business what she chooses, and it's certainly not my place to judge her for her choice. I trust that women are capable of deciding for themselves under what circumstances to give birth to a baby.
Because let me tell you, pregnancy is not all sunshine and puppy dogs. Everybody knows that, but seriously -- being pregnant almost killed me. I mean that literally; I came very close to dying and am still here today by only a stroke of luck. That experience only reinforced my conviction that no woman should be forced to go through a pregnancy she doesn't want, even though the majority of cases turn out fine.
So yay for Sarah Palin and her baby. She made her choice, and I totally respect that. As an aside, initial tests during my pregnancy indicated my son had an increased chance of having DS, and I would not have terminated if it had been confirmed. But I recognize that others might make a different decision based on their life circumstances, and I respect that. Because I'm pro-choice.
And assuming she actually got to make her own choice and wasn't bullied into it because of her mother's political career, yay for Palin's pregnant teenage daughter. I'm sure she'll love that baby and not have any regrets.
But Ms. Palin, isn't it painfully clear to you now that abstinence-only sex "education" doesn't work? I'm just sayin'.
