Partial Birth Abortion Ban

Is anyone else watching this? Bush claims this is "important legistlation" to prevent "violence against children." But then again, he did just say "Senator Santorum," so at least I got a chuckle out of this whole affair.

Sort of a reactionary post against a controversial issue. I myself want partial-birth abortions illegal.

[Edited on Nov 05, 2003 by Jeff_Fries]

I'm sick of how the anti-abortion movement's name for this procedure, "partial birth" abortion, has come to be the most commonly used name for it. (So much so that I actually had to look up the real name, dilation and extraction, because it was slipping my mind.) It's an emotionally loaded term that implies a baby is being killed, when, in fact, the procedure is used to terminate pregnancies in which the fetus has died or cannot live outside the womb, and continuing the pregnancy risks the health of the mother.

Bingo.

I'd like to thank Congress for letting women die in order to save a fetus. Bravo.

Exactly what was reactionary about it?

Bush signed the bill today. A judge in Nebraska has already taken action against it.

Read more.

Whether this particular kind of abortion makes you squeamish or not, keep in mind that this bill is merely a first step.

Imagine what comes next.

I don't like it.

weird. the guy i was talking to in one of those threads got zotted. now it looks like i'm talking to myself....

Well if Rick Santorum says they're unnecessary...well then it MUST be true...

I for one think having an abortion is a really tragic, difficult choice for a woman to have to make...and I think the government should stay the fuck out of it.

So...

If you have freinds who are apathetic and don't vote, start working on them so we can get rid of 'Lil Shrubbie and his cronies

We Hates Them...We Hates Them Forever

I would say this going to go all the way to the Supreme Court where far-right crackpots like Rehnquist, Scalia and Thomas will probably not only rule in favor of the abortion ban, they may even try to require women to give birth to minimum number of children...and be barefoot while doing it.

I suspect the bill won't survive a SC challenge, even with Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas on the bench. The SC already ruled (please, please, don't make me go find a case cite! Nooooo!) that any such ban needs exceptions both for life (which this one has) and health (which it lacks). I doubt they'll reverse... unless we see a liberal or swing justice replaced before the case comes up.

Yeah, but I think that's part of the political calculation in this. It will be struck down as unconsitutional, and Karl Rove will send out his little blast faxes to fundamentalist groups saying "We need your money to help Bush get re-elected to help us put judges who love Jesus in."

Oh, I don't doubt it Jake_Lex. The Republican strategy has long had more to do with galvanizing their core over abortion issues than actually mounting a full assault on Roe v. Wade. I was just responding to Souljacker's prediction - unless the next justice to retire is O'Connor rather than Rehnquist (or, heavens forfend, Stevens bites it - but, G-d bless him, they're going to have to take him off the court feet first).

It's such a tricky issue that to infer that it is nothing but conservative bullshit is bullshit. When is a human being a human being? is a real question. Maybe that question is easier to answer when you're only looking for material to use in the case of Humanity v. the Republicans, but it's a lot harder when you're not. It's hypocritical to call conservative reactions against abortion fundamentalist nonsense, when reactionary reactions against the reactions of Republicans are every bit as fundamentalist and nonsensical. And I hope you're too busy untangling that godawful sentence I just wrote to notice I didn't actually answer your question.

[Edited on Nov 07, 2003 by Jeff_Fries]

Bush signs the Partial Birth Ban Act - See anything missing from this picture?

edit: I know better

[Edited on Nov 07, 2003 by robinbanks]

I just found a photoshopped picture of the above with senators holding coat-hangers in their hand.. decided it was too grotesque to post.

In any case, I can't figure out if it's grotesque due to the fact that 1) those senators are smiling despite the fact that women will be dying because of this legislation 2) the thought of women being forced into "back-alley" abortions is just insane in this day-and-age. 3) or both.

In any case, I decided to edit it out.. hence the above post.

[Edited on Nov 07, 2003 by robinbanks]