and the beat goes on...
one of the issues that i continue to hear about throughout this election process is abortion. i have always taken the stance that it isn't right for me but that doesn't mean i can tell someone else that it isn't right for them. i also don't believe that the government should be able to tell women what they should do with their bodies. or that religious groups should press their views on an ever diversifying country. i feel that this decision is up to the individual. educating women on their options for birth control and other non-abortion options, awesome, telling women that they will go to hell for having an abortion or force feeding them religious ideals that they may care nothing about or have grappled intensely with on a person level before making such a difficult decision, not awesome. i have never quite understood why people think that forcing religious ideals on someone is a good way to make them think about their actions as it relates to God's wishes. in my experience it simply pushes them farther away from God and religion. but that is beside the point. i went online today to find the freedom of choice act since it seems this is the main point of contention. obama says he will sign the bill first thing when he gets into office. what surprises me is that people seem to forget that this needs to be passed by the house and the senate before it gets to the president's desk. i can't really see this ever getting to the oval office but i guess anything is possible. i have recorded some of my thoughts...
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(4) The Roe v. Wade decision carefully balances the rights of women to make important reproductive decisions with the State's interest in potential life. Under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the right to privacy protects a woman's decision to choose to terminate her pregnancy prior to fetal viability, with the State permitted to ban abortion after fetal viability except when necessary to protect a woman's life or health.
++++ i have heard in several cases that this bill allows for partial birth abortions and cares nothing for the human life. viability is defined in section 3 of the bill as the 'stage of pregnancy when, in the best medical judgment of the attending physician based on the particular medical facts of the case before the physician, there is a reasonable likelihood of the sustained life of the fetus outside of the woman.' doesn't this say no partial birth abortions? i do feel that 'health' should be more defined in the last sentence.
(5) These decisions have protected the health and lives of women in the United States. Prior to the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, an estimated 1,200,000 women each year were forced to resort to illegal abortions, despite the risk of unsanitary conditions, incompetent treatment, infection, hemorrhage, disfiguration, and death. Before Roe, it is estimated that thousands of women died annually in the United States as a result of illegal abortions.
(6) In countries in which abortion remains illegal, the risk of maternal mortality is high. According to the World Health Organization, of the approximately 600,000 pregnancy-related deaths occurring annually around the world, 80,000 are associated with unsafe abortions.
+++ this is one of those things...do and say what you might, women are still going to find ways to have abortions. period. i would rather have women safe and making an informed decision about what is best for them and their body, not killing themselves out of desperation.
(11) While abortion should remain safe and legal, women should also have more meaningful access to family planning services that prevent unintended pregnancies, thereby reducing the need for abortion.
+++ i agree with this. women should be educated on prevention and other non-abortion alternatives. i think it is a smarter decision than sending women into a tailspin of unneeded deaths out of desperation to end a pregnancy with no help. the question is, how do they get this education and where and from whom?
SEC. 4. INTERFERENCE WITH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROHIBITED.
(a) Statement of Policy- It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.
(b) Prohibition of Interference- A government may not--
(1) deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose--
(A) to bear a child;
(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or
(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or
(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.
(c) Civil Action- An individual aggrieved by a violation of this section may obtain appropriate relief (including relief against a government) in a civil action.
+++ pretty heavy. this is what i have most trouble with in this bill. i think some sort of requirements of finding 11 should be included in this. it leaves things pretty open for an angry woman to go postal.
anyway...i'm not truly sure how i feel about the bill itself and will have to do some more research on it. i do know that my sister teaches 7th grade in a small kansas town and has 8 pregnant middle schoolers. these are 12/13 year old girls that are pregnant. would education have prevented this? (i remember having sex ed in 7th grade and deciding that i would NEVER have sex b/c a baby would NEVER come out of me like THAT...obviously, it didn't do much for these kids) would preaching abstinence have prevented this? (didn't do much for one of it's most fervent advocate's daughter's, bristol palin, did it?) who knows. a friend of mine told me today that "we allow racy tv/movies/music and then hand out condoms...i don't think we'll be able to completely reverse the cycle, but i think we can "stop the bleeding" with a little common sense. we're always trying to solve the result instead of work on the initial problem." i think he's terribly correct. would time spent battling networks and media outlets make more of an impact than terrorizing young women who want to make a choice about their own bodies? i don't know, it's a TOUGH issue. all i know is that i refuse to tell a woman that her body is not hers to decide upon or judge her because she chooses something that i personally would not. i feel that women who choose the path of abortion deal with their own hell and decision without our help. i just want women to be safe if that is the decision that they feel is best for them. i don't want to see abortion turned into something that women are dying of in alleys b/c it is illegal. is it worth it? abortion is not going to go away. how do republicans think things will turn out if they make it illegal? everyone will say 'oh, duh, that is a bad idea, thank goodness they told me so!'. nope, they are just going to go about it in unsafe ways. so how do we go about rectifying the initial problem that leads women to abortions? so many questions, so little solutions, so much food for thought.
blech, enough of that. makes my stomach hurt. our country is in quite a place right now. i am hoping that we choose a president who can make some good decisions and work for the country as a whole. i guess we are all along for the ride at this point. i imagine that we are all thinking about so many of the issues so thoroughly at this point b/c we are all reaching that age where it actually starts to affect us and what families we may have already or wish to have in the future. yippee...getting older rules, sigh.
in other news...i'm exhausted and a bit depressed. i'm not sure why at this point. all i know is that i'm not in the mood. for anything. i know that adam knows something is wrong but i can't explain it to him. i find myself terrified that is he is going to pack up and leave me one day soon. i don't feel insecure and he never does anything to make me question his care for me. i guess it is just baggage that is pulling me down. i'm looking forward to having a lot of time with him this weekend in the car to and from kansas. i'm also looking forward to spending some time with katie in her classroom so that my flickering passion can be kindled again...this miserable class and the mess at work are strating to mess with my head a bit. erg. at least i can identify most of the things that send me on these little depressive jags these days. i just wish i could pull myself out of them quicker!!
blah blah...what a debbie downer post! sorry! i'm going to finish out the last two hours of my day here then head home to pick up mom. we're headed over to mary's for some election night festivities. i'm planning on a glass of wine...or TWO!