President Obama’s Statement On Abortion
The thing that struck me as I read the statement from President Obama on abortion, is the idea of the broader judicial principle that government should not intrude into private matters.
As it should be.
Now it is time for international family planning agencies that use federal funds to again have the ability to deal honestly with these matters. An Executive Order should be forthcoming soon to remedy the “Mexico City Policy’, with swift Congressional action in the next few months to insure that these funds, and their uses, are not political footballs every time a new President takes office.
On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.
While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.
On this anniversary, we must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education; to have fulfilling careers in any industry; to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work; and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere.
I agree with Jill.
I also wonder why the ‘pro-life’ movement does not also advocate prison terms/death penalty for women who have abortions, since in the eyes of the movement it is murder. I dare one of the leaders in the movement to start a national dialouge on this aspect of the issue.
I wonder why the movement is not ouraged at the GOP who had the White House for the past eight years, and Congress for much of that time, and did not enact laws to restrict abortion? Could it be that the GOP has just used the movement for political motives, and cares not about the issue so much as the politics of the issue?
Just wondering.
Well, a teenage girl who lacks access to contraception or ignorantly believes she can’t get pregnant (the first time/while standing up/if he pulls out) has not necessarily chosen not to protect herself. Nor has a woman who has been raped. And what about a woman who welcomed the pregnancy but then developed dangerous complications from diabetes or high blood pressure? Yes, many women would choose to try to bring the child to term even at the risk of her own health, but I do not believe any woman should be legally forced to make that choice. If a child needs a bone marrow, kidney or liver transplant, should a parent be legally forced to be a donor? Why isn’t the pro-life movement lobbying for such a law? Could it be because it would affect men as well as women?
Ordinary Jill: How is it punishment when they made the choice not to protect themselves? There is an alternative, adoption. There are many more families that would love to adopt a child then children available. I do have a daughter and a son, they are toddlers, we are raising them in a Christian, loving household with God first. If one of them does get into trouble we will be there to love and support them regardless of the type of bad choice that they made. Just as choices come with consequences, if you make bad choices at work you lose your job. Would the police look any different at me because I robbed a store to feed my family? No, I would be off to jail and I would suffer the same consequences as any other person who robbed regardless of motive. The choices we make come with consequences and killing an unborn child should NOT be a consequence of a bad choice.
I think jenny makes some very good points when she emphasizes the need for pregnancy prevention and support for women who become pregnant unexpectedly.
If Operation Rescue and Wisconsin Right to Life would focus their energies on making the alternatives to abortion more attractive rather than on making abortion more onerous and less available, there would be little controversy and abortions would be greatly reduced.
Unfortunately, the pro-life movement is run largely by people who want to punish women for having sex outside of marriage. I wonder if bballbob believes that unwed mothers deserve poverty and shame. I wonder if he would have his daughters (if he has any) vaccinated against HPV. What could be more pro-life than preventing a deadly cancer? And yet many so-called pro-life Christians refuse to have their daughters vaccinated, because they want sex to be dangerous so they can use fear to control their children’s behavior.
Abortion is always a heavy topic. I have endured (I use this word because I suffered morning sickness to such an extreme I was put on medication for it and gained an average of 1 lb during the entire first half of each pregnancy) pregnancy twice. Those of us who have carried children have a difficult time seeing an unborn baby as anything less than human. Science has come a long way since Roe v. Wade. During my first doctor visit after learning I was pregnant, I was treated to hearing the heartbeat of my tiny baby. As time progressed, I could feel kicks and hiccups. I saw my son suck his thumb during my 20 week (“oh no, she isn’t gaining weight, is the baby ok?”) emergency ultrasound…he still sucks it today.
Knowing a baby is a baby is the issue many of us have with abortion. However, being pro-life also means for many (if not most) of us that we wish to see greater pregnancy PREVENTION (please note that abortion is a pregnancy REACTION). Most pro-lifers are aware of the social, economic, ethnic and ethical issues surrounding abortion and desire greater focus on those issues. What can be done to SUPPORT people who become pregnant and are faced with these issues which pressure one into a decision? How can social stigmatism be reduced or eliminated for unwed mothers, young mothers, unplanned pregnancy mothers? Even I was asked to resign from employment by a supervisor when she found out I was pregnant(yes, in this decade we live in!). “You have so much stress in your life right now with an unplanned pregnancy and all…” These are the real issues often ignored in the debates.
The idea that “abortion is a private matter” reminds me that domestic abuse used to be labeled as a private matter as well…
It is interesting sir, how you cry for the poor victims at Gitmo and yet you say that the unborn have no rights. Defend the men who would kill us in a New York minute if given the opportunity but not the unborn who have no say whatsoever.
It is often said that you can gauge a society by how well it treats it’s animals. That is the philosophy that keeps organizations like PETA around. But it seems in this world of moral relativism nothing is ever gauged or said by how we treat the unborn.
Maybe to you a fetus is a random shot of a sperm hitting an egg cell. To me and other pro-life advocates it is gift from God of a life that will bring their gifts into the world unless it is terminated.
To me this is just the first step for the Obama administraion to bringing in the Freedom of Choice Act which will bring unfettered abortion available to any woman of any age and not have to tell anyone about it. It will also force medical personnel who object to the abortion procedure to perform it or use their funding.
That would be a true tragedy and one that can never, ever come to pass…