The republican War On Women

[jfish26]

Thank you for sharing. Hope you guys find your way through to the other side without too much more trauma.

[KUTradition]

rough thing to go through for sure - sincerely sorry you all had to (and will continue to) endure it

[zsn]

It’s the human element that the anti-choice** political cabal misses when they act. It’s a very sad and difficult situation for the families involved. I don’t think anyone takes these kinds of actions lightly. Hope you and your family make peace with the decisions you were forced into making, and that your wife is healthy after the ordeal.

**The opposite of “pro-choice” is NOT “pro-life”. It’s “anti-choice”. One can be pro-choice and anti-abortion simultaneously.

[jfish26]

**The opposite of “pro-choice” is NOT “pro-life”. It’s “anti-choice”. One can be pro-choice and anti-abortion simultaneously.

I hadn't previously seen it framed quite like that, and I think it's pretty accurate.

[KUTradition]

One can be pro-choice and anti-abortion simultaneously.

^^^^^^^^^^^

this is where i am

[jhawks99]

So many of these issues are cut and dried no-brainers until you find yourself having firsthand experience with them.

I was raised in a super-conservative Christian culture, and along with that came the unequivocal "no abortion unless the mother's life is in danger" stance based on the assumption that women would just use abortion as a form of birth control. We were fed stories of miracles that happened when women chose not to abort and the idea that sometimes God's will is just for people to raise profoundly disabled children.

Although I moved more toward a stance that government shouldn't regulate healthcare decisions like that as I grew older, I still felt like abortion was not a right, but an option that people abused for their convenience.

When my wife and I sat and watched the ultrasound of our daughter who was five months along a month ago, I had to start thinking about things in real terms. She had no cerebellum and no corpus callosum, which meant that she would probably never walk or talk and could be blind. She had no nose, which meant that she would deformed for life. Her heart had a serious defect, which meant she would need expensive surgery in order to survive.

The doctors were reluctant to give me the numbers I wanted, but the upshot was that she might die in childbirth or she could survive for years. Forget being able to go to daycare with her older sister. Either my wife or I would have to give up our careers to stay home and care for her full-time. Forget saving for the future. Our income would be spent on in-home nursing, surgeries, and medical equipment. Forget a normal life for my older daughter. You can't take a kid like that on vacations or even go out to dinner, for that matter.

It became clear that abortion was the most merciful option for all involved. We spared our daughter a lifetime - however long that might have been - of pain and suffering on all levels. We gave our older daughter a better chance of having a full, normal life. We spared ourselves the pain of getting attached to a child that we knew could die at any time.

I am thankful that we live in a state where it was relatively easy to get in and have the procedure done. Unlike the propaganda I was fed growing up, the child did not suffer. My wife got an injection on a Tuesday that stopped the baby's heart, and the next day we went in and the fetus was removed.

Was it easy? No. We spent a lot of time crying together both before and since. We grieve the loss of the life we had planned for our daughter. We grieve the pain she may have experienced prior to birth. We grieve the unfairness that we see people all around us who don't want the children they have while we are reluctant to try again. We grieve the fact that our ten month-old may grow up an only child - I have three grown children, but she will rarely see them. We grieve because the loss is real and terrible no matter what the alternative outcomes might be.

My wife spent two hours in pre-op with eight other women waiting to terminate their pregnancies, and she described it as the saddest place she had ever been. Nobody was happy to be there. Nobody was going to walk away unscathed. Nobody should have had the right to make that decision other than them because nobody else will have to live with that experience - an experience that I would not wish on my worst enemy.

I'm sorry, I have no words. That is a horrible ordeal for everyone. Thankfully you and your wife could put a merciful end to the pregnancy.

[Shirley]

Yay! Easier access should prevent unwanted pregnancies and serve to free women significantly. Let's hope pharmaceutical co.s don't decide to price-gouge like we expect them to.

What's the over/under Clarance Thomas is already conspiring with one of his rich "conservative" republican benefactors to bring a challenge to the SCOTUS to strike it down?

[Shirley]

[Shirley]

From the Washington Post:

[Shirley]

[twocoach]

Well said by that young woman. My heart goes out to all the women and those that they love who have to relive their trauma over and over and over to fight against this ridiculous and unnecessary attempt to strip them of their rights.

[Shirley]

Sure, Laura:

[Shirley]

[jfish26]

What in the FUCK is wrong with this guy.

Abortion pill ruling sets up Supreme Court showdown

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/1 ... s-00111499

In his concurrent opinion, [5th Circuit Judge James] Ho wrote that the doctors will also suffer an “aesthetic injury” if the pills remain on the market.

“Unborn babies are a source of profound joy for those who view them,” he wrote. “Expectant parents eagerly share ultrasound photos with loved ones. Friends and family cheer at the sight of an unborn child. Doctors delight in working with their unborn patients — and experience an aesthetic injury when they are aborted.”

[Shirley]

What in the FUCK is wrong with this guy.

Abortion pill ruling sets up Supreme Court showdown

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/1 ... s-00111499

In his concurrent opinion, [5th Circuit Judge James] Ho wrote that the doctors will also suffer an “aesthetic injury” if the pills remain on the market.

“Unborn babies are a source of profound joy for those who view them,” he wrote. “Expectant parents eagerly share ultrasound photos with loved ones. Friends and family cheer at the sight of an unborn child. Doctors delight in working with their unborn patients — and experience an aesthetic injury when they are aborted.”

How woke.

Meanwhile, an actual person's wishes, health, et al, be damned.

Does anyone think men would put up with this, even for a second?

[jfish26]

What in the FUCK is wrong with this guy.

Abortion pill ruling sets up Supreme Court showdown

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/1 ... s-00111499

In his concurrent opinion, [5th Circuit Judge James] Ho wrote that the doctors will also suffer an “aesthetic injury” if the pills remain on the market.

“Unborn babies are a source of profound joy for those who view them,” he wrote. “Expectant parents eagerly share ultrasound photos with loved ones. Friends and family cheer at the sight of an unborn child. Doctors delight in working with their unborn patients — and experience an aesthetic injury when they are aborted.”

How woke.

Meanwhile, an actual person's wishes, health, et al, be damned.

Does anyone think men would put up with this, even for a second?

I just love the arrogance. Not even going for the (still silly, but at least less ridiculous) economic argument. Coming damn close to enshrining men’s Constitutional right to control women. Because doing so is aesthetically pleasing.

[Shirley]

[zsn]

F R E E D U M B !!!!!!!!

Of course the Libertarians are too busy handwringing over drag shows.

[jhawks99]

I'm assuming it's still ok to transport AK-15s.

[KUTradition]

What in the FUCK is wrong with this guy.

Abortion pill ruling sets up Supreme Court showdown

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/1 ... s-00111499

How woke.

Meanwhile, an actual person's wishes, health, et al, be damned.

Does anyone think men would put up with this, even for a second?

I just love the arrogance. Not even going for the (still silly, but at least less ridiculous) economic argument. Coming damn close to enshrining men’s Constitutional right to control women. Because doing so is aesthetically pleasing.

hey, as long as she’s got access to a fainting couch…