Quote of the Day 9-6-10
But closing abortion clinics doesn’t protect vulnerable women. And under LA’s new law, once a clinic is shut down by the health department, its owners and managers are prohibited from ever operating another clinic, ensuring one less provider for the women of LA and making it that much harder for them to obtain an abortion in that state….
Consider the challenges a woman in MO now faces….
At the clinic, she is told about the physical and psychological risks of abortion. It doesn’t matter that there really aren’t any. The procedure is perfectly safe….
She will have to decide whether to have an ultrasound so she can see a picture of her fetus, and whether to listen to its heartbeat. It doesn’t matter that there probably is no heartbeat yet. ….
And then she will have to wait at least 24 hours. A whole day. She has to go think about her decision….
~Kaili Joy Gray, Daily Kos, September 5



Let’s see, where to begin? First, why would an abortion clinic be closed by the health department if it were perfectly safe, and why on EARTH would you want another substandard clinic opened by the same operators?? But I guess in the land of lollipops and unicorns, no woman is ever harmed by an abortion and no abortion clinic owner would ever repeat the same grievous offense, risking women’s lives. Right?
The fact that Kaili states there are no physical or psychological risks involved in abortion makes me wonder if she is simply ignorant or just sitting in her writing corner with her hands over her ears and eyes, singing, “la la la, I can’t hear you!” Abortion is a medical procedure, and therefore, there ARE risks. Period. If Kaili had any common sense, she’d recognize that, but I realize I’m asking far too much of the pro-abort’s mindset.
Heartbeat actually begins at 18-21 days, btw, Kaili. But thank you for writing such a scientific article. (restraining my laughter)
God forbid any woman should have to wait “a WHOLE DAY” before killing her offspring. Oh, the horrors.
Kaili’s little gem of an article is a perfect example of how pro-aborts don’t actually want women to make INFORMED decisions, they expect them to follow the pro-choice mantra, blindfolded and ignorant.
I would have posted but Kel said precisely EVERYTHING I was thinking, and probably better than I could have…
Just wanted it not to appear as if there were not others in agreement…. I am wholeheartedly in agreement with Kel’s statement.
Haha, Elisabeth! No, you probably would have said it far better. I got a little too snarky for my own good. :D
The fact that Kaili states there are no physical or psychological risks involved in abortion makes me wonder if she is simply ignorant or just sitting in her writing corner with her hands over her ears and eyes, singing, “la la la, I can’t hear you!”
My money is on the latter.
When I was younger I thought that women could create this really protective sisterly society. What developed is worse than dog eat dog. Women like Kaili think it’s ok to let women rush into the most traumatic and often regretted decision of their lives. They are willing to throw their fellow women under the bus just in case they panic themselves sometime and want to destroy their own inconvenient unborn child. I am appalled at how little compassion pro-choice women feel for those who have been traumatized, sometimes physically maimed, and sometimes killed in the name of abortion.
Well, it doesn’t seem very pro-woman to use drugs and violence to destroy a crisis pregnancy.
At the clinic, she is told about the physical and psychological risks of abortion. It doesn’t matter that there really aren’t any. The procedure is perfectly safe….
Kaili,
Call me. I have a lot to chat with you about.
No one wants substandard clinics of any sort.
As far as the rest of it… just more bully tactics. Get over here and look at these pictures… now go to your room for 24 hours and think about it…. yes we are all 12 year olds in the eyes of the Anti-Choice movement.
You guys do realize that MOST women who have an abortion do not have regrets, emotional problems, or physical problems connected to the procedure. You guys work on the outside edge of the statistics. The emotional issues are the same or less than they would be for a miscarriage, and most women go on about their lives within a few days. For every story of a tragic abortion you can list I can list one that isn’t tragic and was “in the patience’s view” a good decision. There are even women who stand up and shout about their abortion and advocate choice for everyone else. You might also note that abortions have come a long way medically since the 60’s and most do not require the use of surgical instruments. Most can be done chemically causing the body to reject the pregnancy. It’s simply not as bad as you guys make it out to be if you don’t have any religion based morals screwing with your head. Just because you think something is wrong does not give you the right to push your beliefs on the rest of us. That’s fascism!
1. Nearly all abortions take place in the first trimester, when a fetus cannot exist independent of the mother. As it is attached by the placenta and umbilical cord, its health is dependent on her health, and cannot be regarded as a separate entity as it cannot exist outside her womb.
2. The concept of personhood is different from the concept of human life. Human life occurs at conception, but fertilized eggs used for in vitro fertilization are also human lives and those not implanted are routinely thrown away. Is this murder, and if not, then how is abortion murder?
3. Adoption is not an alternative to abortion, because it remains the woman’s choice whether or not to give her child up for adoption. Statistics show that very few women who give birth choose to give up their babies – less than 3% of white unmarried women and less than 2% of black unmarried women.
4. Abortion is a safe medical procedure. The vast majority of women – 88% – who have an abortion do so in their first trimester. Medical abortions have less than 0.5% risk of serious complications and do not affect a woman’s health or future ability to become pregnant or give birth.
5. In the case of rape or incest, forcing a woman made pregnant by this violent act would cause further psychological harm to the victim. Often a woman is too afraid to speak up or is unaware she is pregnant, thus the morning after pill is ineffective in these situations.
6. Abortion is not used as a form of contraception. Pregnancy can occur even with responsible contraceptive use. Only 8% of women who have abortions do not use any form of birth control, and that is due more to individual carelessness than to the availability of abortion.
7. The ability of a woman to have control of her body is critical to civil rights. Take away her reproductive choice and you step onto a slippery slope. If the government can force a woman to continue a pregnancy, what about forcing a woman to use contraception or undergo sterilization?
8. Taxpayer dollars are used to enable poor women to access the same medical services as rich women, and abortion is one of these services. Funding abortion is no different from funding a war in the Mideast. For those who are opposed, the place to express outrage is in the voting booth.
9. Teenagers who become mothers have grim prospects for the future. They are much more likely to leave of school; receive inadequate prenatal care; rely on public assistance to raise a child; develop health problems; or end up divorced.
10. Like any other difficult situation, abortion creates stress. Yet the American Psychological Association found that stress was greatest prior to an abortion, and that there was no evidence of post-abortion syndrome.
It is not treating someone like a 12 year old to insist that they be told the full risks of a medical procedure. I have to tell patients regularly about the risks of all sorts of medical procedures. I have to list off ALL of the risks, no matter how rare they might be. I have to point out to them that every procedure carries risks of infection, hemorrhage and possibly even death. It doesn’t matter how remote the possibilities of these risks are…. it can be less than 1% of 1%…. I still have to inform the patient of them.
And any ethical healthcare provider will give the patient and/or family adequate time to consider their decision (barring life or death procedures). In elective surgery, which is what we are discussing here, it is standard practice to send the patient home with information and schedule a second appointment after the patient has had adequate time to come to an informed decision.
Why is it only with abortion that suddenly there are no risks and no reason to consider thinking about the decision?
Yes Elisabeth, but how many procedures are you state mandated to turn a patient away for 24 hours of thinking and reflection? It’s a matter of the government putting unnecessary restrictions on a specific medical procedure for political purposes. Also it’s prolonging a situation that is already stressful to the patient. Lastly, don’t forget about the slippery slope, any power you give to the government will be placed up for auction to the highest bidder once the republicans get back in control. Do you really want the insurance companies deciding how long you legally have to wait before any specific procedure? Does medicine need thinking time?