Jivin J’s Life Links
by JivinJ, host of the blog, JivinJehoshaphat
The death rate for male fetuses rose by 12% above the levels predicted for September of 2001, according to the findings published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. The phenomenon was attributed to what lead author Tim Bruckner, an assistant professor of public health at the University of CA Irvine, characterized as “communal bereavement.”…
The miscarriage rate was calculated among male rather than female unborn babies because males are believed to be more sensitive to stress in utero.
“The theory of ‘communal bereavement’ holds that societies may react adversely to unsettling national events, despite having no direct connection to persons involved in these events,” Bruckner said in a statement. “Our results appear to demonstrate this, as the shocks of 9/11 may have threatened the lives of male fetuses across the U.S.”
Here’s the study abstract.
This is fatuous moral reasoning. Thistlethwaite suggests that to oppose abortion on moral grounds is to “deny women the right to moral autonomy.” Rights talk, as Mary Ann Glendon has observed, has invaded every arena of American life and impoverished civic discourse.
Of course women are moral actors. But what is “moral autonomy”? Is it a new right to make immoral choices without being criticized? Does it apply in areas beyond abortion? Do laws against prostitution or baby selling compromise women’s “moral autonomy”? Do all laws?
Here are all the blog posts on Palin, abortion and feminism.
Staff members interviewed at 3 of the 7 abortion clinics in the state estimated that 30% to 70% of women chose to see ultrasound images. But they said it was uncommon for women to be dissuaded.
It had happened occasionally, they said, when a sonogram revealed a multiple pregnancy or when a woman was already deeply unsure about her choice.
But a number of women at the Birmingham clinic, which was the site of a fatal bombing in 1998, said they simply did not want to subject themselves to images that might haunt them. “You almost have to think of it as an alien,” said Carmen, 28, who was there for her 2nd abortion in 3 years.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
The NY Times article said that the human features of the baby on the ultrasound were barely detectable! What exactly are these abortionists showing these women? ultrasounds of their ovaries or what? I had ultrasounds early in my pregnancy and my son definitely looked human! You could see his face and arms and legs…my friend had an ultrasound at 11 weeks and the baby was waving at her and jumping. This is such utter nonsense. It makes me question what exactly these women are viewing.
Sydney: remember,
“You almost have to think of it as an alien,” said Carmen, 28, who was there for her 2nd abortion in 3 years.
and that’s what these women do – they think of their baby as a parasite, alien, intruder… whatever. Whatever they need to get through the abortion…
I think ultrasounds might help some women but honestly, I think once a woman makes up her mind to kill her baby, it’s what happens. Perhaps the one thing they might not be able to say is that on one very told them?
Really, I believe what we need is not more ultrasounds, facts, videos and posters. We need a conversion of hearts.
Until women decide that they are going to reject contraception and abortion as being anti-women, this will go on and on…..
Who converts hearts? God. Only God.
Sydney- I agree with Angel. My pregnancy support agency has recently purchased our own ultrasound machine and I am learning so much about the pros and cons of ultrasound scans when a woman is vulnerable to abortion.
Particularly with RU486 available at a clinic 20 mins drive from our offices, many women are having abortions before an ultrasound would be able to show them an image of their embryo/fetus. 90% of abortions in my state are performed before 12 weeks gestation (though you can see some clearly human features from about 8 weeks on, and a heartbeat as early as 6 weeks from LMP.)
Outside the walls of our agency (which is staffed by caring, non-judgmental, life-affirming volunteers) it also depends on the attitude and beliefs of the person performing the scan. We have clients who were treated very graciously at their scan, and others who report receiving patronizing and unkind treatment.
While an ultrasound image can be an extraordinarily powerful tool to help a woman considering abortion, especially one who is being pressured, or who has not been offered accurate information about the development of her child, please remember that it is only a tool, and it doesn’t help everyone, as much as I wish it could.
Some people have a much harder time picking out features on ultrasound than others. I can’t tell much from them at all, but my husband loves the ultrasound pictures. If the tech points out, “This is her leg; this is her arm,” I kind of see it, but give me the image and tell me it’s just a blob of tissue, and if I didn’t know better I’d believe it, especially the early ones. And I loved my children from the moment I knew about them (about 15 days and about 11 days).
“the state estimated that 30% to 70% of women chose to see ultrasound images.”
If the killing mills were honest this estimate could be narrowed down. My guess is it is under 30% and it isn’t even brought up to many women.
Abortion was based on lies from the get go and it still is.