Abortion Heroes

Archived Posts from this Category

September 23, 2010

The Accidental Senator

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Advocates, Abortion Blog, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill | Tags: , , , , , , |
[60] Comments 

This is a story about how the abortion issue accidentally made someone a U.S. Senator.

After abortion became legal in 1973, anti-abortion forces wanted to make sure that no federal tax dollars would be used to pay for abortions.  There was a concern that women on the Medicaid program would use their Medicaid cards to terminate a pregnancy.  So, every year the anti-abortion Members of Congress would insert language into a federal spending bill saying that no federal dollars could be used for abortions unless the woman’s life was endangered.  They were always successful.  The pro-choice forces took a beating year after year.  It was downright embarrassing.

Abortion

Abortion

In the mid-1980’s, I joined the staff of Congressman Les AuCoin, a Democrat from Oregon. He was staunchly pro-choice and was intent on liberalizing those annual abortion restrictions.  One day he told me that he’d like to offer an amendment to the spending bill that would allow federal dollars to be used for victims of rape and incest in addition to those whose lives were endangered.

I immediately convened the pro-choice lobbyists and told them of my boss’ plan. There were mixed reactions.  Some were concerned that another losing vote would further depress the pro-choice movement and some were excited.  We decided to move forward.

Over the next few months, we lobbied very hard for the “AuCoin Amendment.”  Our effort became a national cause, with pro-choice voters across the country urging their Members of Congress to support the measure.   One day, after months of intense lobbying, I told AuCoin that I actually thought we had a chance of winning.  He was stunned.  He figured it would just be another losing effort.

Finally, the day of the vote arrived.  The phone rings on my desk.  It’s AuCoin.  .

“Pat, I hate to tell you this but I can’t offer the amendment.”

“What the hell do you mean?  We’ve been working on this for months.  The pro-choice groups will hang you if you don’t do this!”  He told me that a very powerful – and very pro-life – chairman of a committee told him that if offered his amendment he would never give AuCoin any money for projects back in his district.

“You need to find someone else to offer the amendment,” he said.

Abortion

Abortion

I frantically started calling other Members of Congress who were part of our strategy team.  And I kept striking out.   Most of them just said they didn’t have time on their schedule.  I reported my results back to AuCoin and then he said “Did you call Barbara Boxer?”

Barbara Boxer was a relatively unknown Member of Congress from California.  She was very pro-choice, very energetic, perhaps a little too energetic.    She attended all of the pro-choice strategy meetings but rubbed some people the wrong way, so she was not high on our list of potential replacements.  I gulped and picked up the phone.

“Barabara, my boss can’t offer the amendment and we were wondering if you were willing to do it?”

Before I could finish my sentence she said “Meet me on the floor in 30 minutes.”

I ran over to the Capitol, to the floor of the House of Representatives and there she was.  We had about 4 hours to wait before the amendment would be offered, but she was ready to go.

Eventually, she offered “her” amendment and the debate began.  Like a good staff person, I answered her constant questions about the amendment and helped her rebutting some arguments.  She was a nervous bundle of energy, constantly tapping her feet.

After an hour of debate, the vote was taken.  And we won.

When the Speaker of the House announced the final tally, the pro-choice forces erupted in applause and wild cheers.  Finally, a victory in the U.S. Congress!   We left the floor and were greeted by hundreds of supporters, some of them in tears.  That night, the victory was covered on all of the network news programs and the next day it was a front page story in the major newspapers.  The “Boxer Amendment” was national news.  Barbara Boxer was suddenly a national figure.

A few weeks later, Barbara Boxer called me.  “Pat, I want you to know that winning that vote has really energized a lot of pro-choice voters out here in California and I’m thinking of running for the Senate on this issue.”

I was stunned but managed to say “That’s great, Barbara!”

“And when I win, I want you to join my staff.”   I didn’t respond.

For the next six months, the pro-choice movement poured a crap load of money and resources into her campaign.  And in November, she became the Senator from California.

It’s funny how things work out, huh?

Related Articles
 

September 16, 2010

For Late Term Abortions: 1-800-595-3155

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Pill, Late Term Abortions | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
[98] Comments 
Late Term Abortions

Late Term Abortions

The website, www.Abortion.com, has been providing a useful service to women seeking abortions for many years.  The site is a simple directory of abortion clinics throughout the country and hundreds of thousands of women have used it to procure abortion procedures.  Recently, the owners of the website added a new feature that should be applauded.

The vast majority of abortions are performed in the first trimester.  Sure, the anti-abortion movement likes to make it look like every abortion is performed hours before birth but that is simply not the case.  However, the Roe v Wade case did allow abortions to be performed in the third trimester for extenuating circumstances.  Generally, those abortions are performed when the pregnancy has gone terribly awry.

In this country, one in every thirty-three children is born with a birth defect.  Most of those defects are mild and can be managed surgically.  However, for some, the outlook is not so good.  Some babies will be severely challenged for life and some will simply not survive after the birth.  In some of those cases, a woman will reluctantly elect to abort that child.   As you can imagine, it is an incredibly difficult situation for everyone involved.  And before any anti-abortion folks suggest that these “defects” are very minor, I can tell you personally that I have seen what can happen to a baby in utero.  I have seen babies with two heads.  I have seen babies with their heart growing outside of their body.  It is absolutely horrible stuff.

When faced with this situation, it is very difficult to find a doctor in this country who will perform these physically and emotionally difficult abortions.  Perhaps the most well-known late term abortion doctor was Doctor George Tiller, who was murdered over a year ago by a crazed anti-abortion zealot.  In response to Doctor Tiller’s death, however, an unassuming physician from Nebraska stepped up publicly and announced that he would fill that void and perform those difficult abortions.  His name is Doctor Lee Carhart.

Therapeutic Abortion and Late Abortion

Therapeutic Abortion and Late Abortion

Doctor Carhart got his training in Pittsburgh and since 1998 he worked with Doctor Tiller at his clinic in Wichita, Kansas.  After Tiller’s death, many members of his staff moved to Nebraska to carry on the Tiller’s work.  As you can imagine, Doctor Carhart has now become a target for the anti-abortion movement and he has had to spend a considerable amount of money on personal security for him, his family and his staff.

The women who go to Doctor Carhart – women from all over the world – do not want to be there.  These are wanted pregnancies that have gone terribly awry.  They have elected to abort their child, an action that most of us (fortunately) could never comprehend.  In response, Doctor Carhart offers some very unique services for these women.  They include the availability of a chaplain, they will take hand and foot prints of the baby, they can arrange a cremation by a licensed Funeral Director and will return the ashes if so desired.  They will take pictures of the baby.  Yes, I know this is heart wrenching and it is hard to believe that these services are out there but Doctor Carhart is responding to the hundreds of women who are, in their mind, forced to undertake this very difficult step.

I want to applaud www.abortion.com because they have now put on their homepage a toll free number for women who are seeking abortions after 24 weeks.  Those phone calls will be routed directly to Doctor Carhart’s office in Nebraska.  It is easily viewed on that page but to give this number as much visibility as possible for those women in need, I’ll repeat it here:  1-800-595-3155

Therapeutic Abortion Late Abortion

Therapeutic Abortion Late Abortion

Related Articles
 

September 10, 2010

Abortion – The “Abortionist”

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Blog, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill, Abortion Rights, Abortion Terrorism, Tommy Tucker | Tags: , , , , |
[15] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

The first time I met Doctor Tommy Tucker he was sitting at a slot machine in a casino in Puerto Rico.  I had talked to Tucker over the phone a few times, knew that he performed abortions in Alabama and Mississippi and could tell he was quite the character.  We were in Puerto Rico at the invitation of a large pharmaceutical company that had flown about 100 doctors to this exotic locale to try to convince them to prescribe the company’s birth control pills.  I was invited because I represented those doctors.  Tommy and I hit it off right away and he invited me to visit him in the south when possible.

Several months later, the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue announced they would be “Marching to the Gates of Hell” to shut down Tucker’s clinic in Alabama.   So, I decided to fly down to give him and his staff moral support.

When I arrived at the clinic, there were several hundred protestors swarming all over the street, blocking traffic.  The police were clearly overwhelmed and, worse, didn’t seem to care that things had gotten out of hand.  I walked through the crowd into the clinic, which included a number of pro-choice escorts who were bringing in patients, and saw Tucker in the reception area.  We chatted for a while then at one point he got up and walked over to the cash register.  He dipped his hands into it, pulled out a stack of cash and handed it to the receptionist, telling her to “go out and buy some pizzas for the escorts.”   While it was well-intentioned, I was uncomfortable with Tucker’s actions because I knew that that income would go unreported.

The next night, he took me downtown to some sleazy gambling joint.  As we walked in, he pulled out a stack of one hundred dollar bills wrapped tightly in a rubber band.  He pulled out a handful and gave them to me, telling me to “knock yourself out.”   I counted the money with my sweaty palms and it added up to $1,400.  I didn’t’ spend any of it and gave it back to him at the end of the night.

At about 1:00 a.m., we left to head for our hotel.  Suddenly, Tucker, who was driving and was pretty drunk, groaned that we were “being followed.”  I looked back and right behind us on a quiet dusty back road were three cars.  Tucker accelerated and got back to a four lane highway.  We were easily going 90 miles an hour at this point, but one of their cars actually pulled up beside us and a guy in the back seat rolled down his window, stuck his finger out and aimed it at us, as if he were shooting a gun.  Ultimately, we skidded into our hotel parking lot and they disappeared.

The next morning, we got into our car to leave but all of a sudden the same cars emerged and blocked us into our parking space.  We could not move.  Tucker was totally cool, while I was freaking out.  He said he had to go back to the hotel and call the police (no cell phones in those days) but before he got out he reached into his glove compartment and handed me a revolver.  “Here, use this if you need it.”   I asked if the gun was loaded and he replied “shit, yeah, what the hell would I do with an unloaded weapon?”   I put the gun back, not wanting any part of it.

The police ultimately arrived about an hour later and they were clearly not thrilled at the prospect of having to help this well known “abortionist.”  They just chatted it up with the good ole boys who were blocking us in and, after another hour, the group left.

When we got to the clinic, he had to walk through a gauntlet of hundreds of screaming, angry protestors but he was calm all the way in.  I asked him how he did this and he just shrugged.

I always had a sense that Tucker was trouble.  He was clearly a risk taker, living on the edge.  I always saw him as the “abortionist” as characterized by the anti-abortion movement.  But I couldn’t prove anything because I was not there in his clinic on a daily basis.   Also, he was the only doctor in those two states who performed abortions.  He was a “circuit rider” who went from clinic to clinic helping women.  I just decided to ignore him.

Eventually, things caught up to him.  I learned he had drug issues and possible connections to the mob.  Then, his license was restricted because of accusations of “gross malpractice or repeated malpractice in the practice of medicine.”  He was placed under voluntary restrictions when he was charged with underestimating the fetal age in two women and for perforating another woman’s uterus.  He ultimately faced charges of unprofessional and unethical conduct in Alabama and Mississippi prompted by the deaths of several patients, one of whom was 21 year old Michelle Jordan, who died after Tucker attempted to remove Norplant from her arm.

I heard that because of all the legal issues, he had gone virtually bankrupt.

Then, he just disappeared – and to this day I have no idea whatever happened to Tommy Tucker.

Related Articles
 

September 1, 2010

A New, but Bogus, Abortion Fight

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Law, Abortion Pill, Abortion Rights | Tags: , , , |
[5] Comments 
Obama Supports Pro Choice Policy

Obama Supports Pro Choice Policy

I just noticed that the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARRAL) is asking pro-choicers to sign an online petition to President Obama urging him to allow abortions for “high risk” women to be performed in the new health cooperatives that are being established under the new health care reform law.    I used to work for NARRAL.  No, check that.  I used to work for the “National Abortion Rights Action League” but sometime after I left they felt a need to add “Reproductive Rights” to the title.  Never understood that one.

Anyway, it’s clear to me that NARRAL does not have much to do these days.  Generally, things are going well for them on the national level because we have a pro-choice President.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that when things are going well, it hurts your fundraising.  And when the money stops coming in, you gotta find an issue that gets your supporters riled up.   Hence, this new and rather bogus campaign.

The bottom line is that President Obama signed an Executive Order months ago clarifying that no federal tax dollars would be used for abortions in these new programs.  If he hadn’t signed that document, we would not have had health care reform, plain and simple.  He had a gun pointed at his head.  He needed the votes of some pro-life Democrats.

Now, before any of you pro-choicers jump all over my butt, remember that I have put my time in with the movement and I am as strongly pro-choice as anyone.  But the fact is that since the 1970’s, there have been prohibitions on the use of federal dollars for abortions (the “Hyde Amendment”).  The Congress doesn’t even vote on the issue anymore.  We just don’t have the votes to change that policy.  So this Order was just clarifying that long standing policy.  It changed absolutely nothing.

But NARRAL is outraged!   Sign our petition DEMANDING that he change the policy.

The fact is that NARRAL knows darn well that Obama cannot rescind the order.  But, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.  So, sign this petition today!   And, by the way, now that we have your mailing address you’ll probably receive a fundraising letter by tomorrow.  Oh, and please notice in the top right hand corner of this page that we have a convenient DONATE button.

To line their own coffers, NARRAL is putting an already teetering President in more danger.  They are riling up the troops who no doubt will be disappointed when Obama does not heed their demands.  Sure, they may still vote for him but they will not doubt be less enthusiastic come election time because he has “failed” the pro-choice movement.

Abortion President Barack Obama speaks to a joint session

President Barack Obama speaks to a joint session

The pro-choice organizations sometime forget that their goal is to work their way out of a job.  They don’t’ know how to claim victory because, if they do, then they’re on the unemployment lines.  So, they are driven to come up with false issues, to try to rev up the troops who, hopefully, will send money to help their national organization fight for this “important right for women.”

This is not only shameful, but it is a dangerous effort that could hurt our PRO-CHOICE President.

 

August 30, 2010

Exclusive: Obama is Pro-Abortion!

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Blog, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Oval Office, Abortion Pill, most pro-abortion President in our history. | Tags: , , , , , , |
[12] Comments 
Obama Pro Choice

Obama Pro Choice

A short while ago, former Governor, former Mayor, former VP candidate, former beauty queen and would-be czarina Sarah Palin said something very interesting.  Not smart, mind you, but interesting.   She said that President Obama was the “most pro-abortion President in our history.”

Wow, how’s that one!

Ironically, Ms. Palin’s comments actually made me think, as opposed to her usual comments which normally make my eyes roll into the back of my head.   What did she mean by that comment?

Well, we know he’s pro-choice, that’s very clear.  But what does it mean when you have a pro-choice President sitting in the White House?

The first thing, of course, is that if he had an opportunity, it means he will appoint a Supreme Court justice who will defend Roe v Wade.  Looks like he’s done that so far.

Next, there are various bills in the Congress that are supported by the pro-choice community.  The main one is the “Freedom of Choice Act,” which basically would codify the Roe v Wade decision.   That bill, which has been around as far back to the 1980’s when I worked at the National Abortion Rights Action League, has never gotten anywhere.  If I recall correctly, it’s never even had a hearing in a committee.  Sure, at some point during the campaign Obama did say he would sign that bill if it came to his desk but he knows damn well it ain’t getting to his desk.  And, believe me, he is not on the phone every day urging Members of Congress to co-sponsor that bill or to hold a hearing on it.  He just isn’t that dumb.

Then there was the health care bill where he had to sign an Executive Order – which is a really big deal – to confirm that NO money in any of these new programs would be used to subsidize abortions.  He practically put his kids up as collateral to confirm that not one dime would be used for abortion.  Indeed, the pro-choice groups are still pissed off at him for doing that.

So, the bottom line, as far as I can see, is that he has done nothing to promote a “pro-abortion” agenda.   Then what is Sarah thinking?   I started doing some research and, in an exclusive report, will now reveal some tapes we just uncovered that prove Ms. Palin’s point:

Abortion Oval Office

Abortion Oval Office

Scene:  The Oval Office

Raum Emmanuel (Chief of Staff):   “Good morning, Mr. President.  Do you have time to discuss today’s agenda?”

The President:  “Raum, my main man!  (High fives are exchanged).  Okay, I think for the next week our message should be that we need more abortions in this country.”

Emmanuel:   “Right on, Mr. President.  Exactly how do you propose we do that?”

The President:  “Well, the first thing we gotta do is stop subsidizing any forms of birth control.  Then, let’s make it illegal to get emergency contraception over the counter.  Let’s start pushing all of that abstinence-only crap.  And, finally, let’s propose that we give a $500 tax credit to anyone who has an abortion.”

Emmanuel:   “You da man!   I’ll get on it right away.”

The President:  “Cool.   This will definitely turn things around for us.  Okay, now I gotta pack for another vacation…”

Related Articles
 

August 12, 2010

Guaranteeing Access to Abortion Clinics – The Time the Government Helped

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Blog, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill, Abortion Rates, Abortion Rights, Community Development Block Grant, Cranston, Late Term Abortion | Tags: , , , , , |
[29] Comments 
Cranston Abortion

Cranston Abortion

This past weekend, I got a great treat.  I was alone in my house.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love my family.  But I have to admit it was fun to just putter around the house, drinking wine at 1:00 in the afternoon, taking a nap, drinking wine at 5:00.  At one point, however, I found some old newspaper clippings and noticed an article about something I was involved in when I worked for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers.

In the 1990’s the anti-abortion movement would hold massive demonstrations in front of abortion clinics.  It seemed like they could get hundreds of people at the drop of a hat to converge on a local facility.  They would march to the front door and sit down, preventing women from entering the clinic.  Of course, the clinic staff would immediately call the police but in conservative cities like Fort Wayne, Indiana or Birmingham, Alabama the police would just watch the demonstration.  That’s right – they would do absolutely nothing.  Hundreds of protestors were clearly trespassing but the police would just sit on their hands and let the demonstrators do their thing.  It was totally outrageous.

One day I was talking to a friend of mine who worked for Senator Alan Cranston of California and I told her about this problem we were having.  We started to think about how we could get local police to enforce the trespassing laws in those cities.  We came up with a brilliant idea.

In those days, just about every city in the country received “Community Development Block Grant” (CDBG) funds from the federal government.   These CDBG dollars were used for all kinds of projects:  to build affordable housing, construct new sewer lines, repair roads, etc.  Cities got millions and millions of these dollars (I know, those were the good ole days).

So, one night, when the U.S. Senate was in session Senator Cranston proposed an amendment to a bill saying in so many words that if the police did not do their job and arrest the trespassers, then that city would lose its CDBG funds.  Before the anti-abortion Senators knew what was going on, the amendment passed and ultimately became law.

The first thing we did was write a letter to every mayor of every major city in the country to tell them about this new law, just to put them on notice.  Our announcement caused an explosion around the country.  For example, within two days of the letter going out, I got a call from the Mayor of Philadelphia asking me about the new law.  No, that’s not entirely accurate.  What he actually said was “What the *%$)(#*@&% is this new law all about?   What the *#%()@#*%$# are you doing?”

After picking myself off the floor, I politely told him that he just had to make sure the police did their job and he would have nothing to worry about.  “*$()@*@(#%$,” he concluded and hung up the phone.  We never had a problem in Philadelphia again with protestors.

Also, whenever we heard about a demonstration that might take place, just to make sure I would call the Mayor of that city and warn him or her that they stood to lose a crap-load of money if the police ignored the protestors.  All of a sudden, police started making arrests in the most conservative of cities.

A lot of people are down on government.  They say there’s too much of it, it’s broken, keep it out of my face.  I get the argument.  But there are times like this one when government actually helped us guarantee that women would be able to exercise their constitutional right to have an abortion.

Is this a great country, or what?

 

August 9, 2010

The Anti-Abortion Strategy

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Advocates, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill, Abortion RU486, Late Term Abortion, morning after pill | Tags: , |
[59] Comments 
Abortion

73% of America is Pro Choice

For years, there has been a raging debate within the anti-abortion movement about whether to take an incremental approach to restricting access to abortion versus going for the whole enchilada, i.e., banning abortion outright in the Congress or through the courts.  Fortunately, they’ve taken the wrong approach.

For years after Roe v Wade was decided in 1973, the anti-abortion movement focused most of its energies on trying to pass the “Human Life Amendment” and/or the “Hatch Constitutional Amendment.”    The HLA was a non-starter from the beginning.  That legislation, introduced by the late Senator Jesse Helms, simply declared that “life begins at conception” and that the fetus was a “person” from the moment of conception.  That one was laughed out of the room.  The more serious effort was the Hatch (as in Senator Orrin Hatch) Amendment which basically overruled Roe v Wade, thus sending the issue of the legality of abortion back to the individual states.  After years and years of furious lobbying, however, that measure was handily defeated in 1981.

Badly beaten, the anti-abortion movement started coming up with ways to make it more difficult to obtain an abortion in this country.   They were successful early on in restricting the use of federal funds for abortions.  Then they started looking to the state legislatures for help.  They came up proposals imposing 24 hour waiting periods, requiring minors to get the permission of their parents to get an abortion, mandating that clinics show women pictures of fetal development and others.  Then there was the famous “partial birth abortion” campaign that took place on both the national and state level.

In many states, these efforts were successful.  Or I should say they were successfully enacted into law.  But if the goal of the anti-abortion movement is to “save babies,” well, these laws hardly had an impact.

The fact is that the desire to have an abortion can be so strong that most women will walk over burning coals to get one.  So, having to jump through some additional hoops and fires is not the deciding factor for most women.  And before you pro-choicers start jumping all over me, I will say that, yes, having to wait 24 hours when you’ve traveled across the state will mean an extra expense.  And the minor who feels she cannot talk to her parents might wind up going to an adjoining state that doesn’t have any restrictions.  These are very unfortunate situations, but while it’s impossible to prove a negative, my gut tells me that the number of abortions has not dropped dramatically because of these laws.   Babies have not been saved, folks.

Then there’s the “partial birth” abortion law.  That one is the biggest joke and biggest scam.  I can tell you for a fact that this law has had no effect whatsoever.   That’s because abortion doctors have other procedures at their disposal to do late term abortions.  Yes, the pro-choice groups argued that the “partial birth” abortion procedure as defined in the legislation was so vague that it could apply to most abortion procedures but, guess what, not one doctor has been prosecuted under this law.  Geez, were our friends hyping things a little?

The fact is that the number of abortions has been decreasing every year, but lemme tell you honey, it ain’t because of these pesky little laws.  It’s because young people are getting smarter, pure and simple.  Just sit in on an 8th grade sex education class in your local high school and you’ll see what I mean.

If I were running some anti-abortion organization, I’d be looking at the Supreme Court.  I’d be anticipating a one-term Obama presidency and I’d be trying to pass some outrageous anti-abortion legislation, just outlawing it outright, in the hopes that 10 years from now it would reach a possibly more conservative Court.  But if the anti-abortion movement wants to waste their time on 24 hour waiting periods, I say go for it…..

 

July 25, 2010

My Son and Abortion

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion & Religion, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Doctors that Have Lost Their Medical License, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Medical
[64] Comments 

My twenty year old son is an amazing kid.   He graduated number three in his high school class, he is an accomplished musician (he has played with the National Symphony Orchestra) and he is a great golfer (shoots in the 70’s).  In his first two years of college, he made the Dean’s List every semester.   Knock on wood, has never gotten into any serious trouble.    And, having said all of that, I feel a need to add that he is not a nerd!   Indeed, he is 6’4” tall, blond hair and blue eyes.  The girls love him.  This fall he will be attending the University of Virginia where he is majoring in political science.

For the last few months, my son has been dating a woman his age who attends the University of Maryland.  She is majoring in music (she plays the harp).  She is a carbon copy of my son, just another kid who has an incredible future.

Although they don’t want to admit it, come this fall they will probably start to go their separate ways.  Despite the future (or perhaps because of it), it is obvious that things are heating up for them sexually.   Indeed, my son has told me as much.  It’s his first real serious affair.  Several weeks ago, when she visited our house overnight, they slept in the same room.  Yes, it made me feel very weird.   No, check that.  I was FREAKED OUT.   But, I told myself that they are both twenty years old and I gotta just get used to the idea that they are going to have some kind of sex.   So, I didn’t say anything.

Okay, I can hear you born again types screaming:  “They should not be having sex!  What kind of parent are you?”    Well, until you are in my shoes, don’t give me any crap.  Maybe in your day it was normal to not have sex until you married that person but get real, folks.

Actually, my son learned a lot about sex in high school, certainly more than I ever did.  Because they taught him so much, my spouse and I never really had “the talk” with him because he is light years ahead of where I was at his age.  Yes, I have told him that if he ever gets his girlfriend pregnant I will absolutely kill him and he just laughs, as if to suggest that it’s something that would never happen.

The other night he informed us that he was going to her house and that he had to buy some condoms.  I almost lost my lunch, but I kept my cool, being the 21st century hip parent, and just mumbled something like “well, go to the pharmacy.”   He hesitated and asked how did he actually buy the condom, that is, was it on the shelves or did he have to ask the pharmacist?  We told him he could just pick them off the shelves and he left to get them.  I had a quick gin and tonic.

Now, I don’t know if anything happened that night.   And I didn’t ask.  I remember him telling me that his girlfriend was on birth control pills, so I was proud of him that he would be using “double protection.”  But then I started thinking….

What if 7 weeks later, he came to me and said that his girlfriend was pregnant?   For one thing, I know he would be in tears while he told me the news.  But, as we know, accidents do happen.  And, yes, I know, I know, I know – they probably should not be having sex to begin with but these are two amazing kids who, like so many others, are merely acting on their urges and who took extraordinary precautions.  They actually felt they were being responsible.

And the anti-abortion movement would have me look into my son’s eyes and tell him that he is going to be a father and so he better start thinking  about leaving school and finding some kind of job?    Of course, the decision would ultimately be up to his girlfriend, but what if her parents had the same opinion?  It would mean that these two young children who, yes, took a risk, but also took extraordinary precautions would now have their lives changed forever.    And that would happen because some people out there think that a 7 week fetus is worth “saving?”

Are you folks out of your friggin minds?

 

July 20, 2010

This is what a Dunkle looks like on FaceBook.

Posted by Elena Carvin under Abortion Advocates, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Documentary, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Cannot Support Opinion, Cartoon, Catholic, Dr. Tiller, Dunkle, history, Jesus Camps, Lies, Paul Hill, Stupid, Uneducated, Vote | Tags: , , , , , |
[9] Comments 
Abortion Dunkle

Abortion Dunkle with a sign, he burned an American flag he said to honor a convicted murderer.

This is what a Dunkle looks like on FaceBook.

John, get with the program and Join!!

 

July 19, 2010

The Number of Abortion Doctors

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Documentary, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information | Tags: , , |
[36] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion NYT

This Sunday’s New York Times featured a story about the next generation of abortion doctors.  Generally speaking, it was a rather positive report on how more doctors are incorporating abortion services into their regular practice.  Good stuff.

I always found the discussion of the declining number of abortion doctors very interesting.  We all know that for many years, pro-choice groups were very concerned about the “graying” of the abortion doctors, i.e., how so many of them were getting up there in years.  Working in the field, I was aware of those doctors and, frankly, sometimes it almost scared me to see how old some of them were.

Some of those doctors were hanging in there because they knew that if they left, the clinic would close.  Or at least they thought that’s what would happen.  But other doctors kept performing abortions because that was all they knew and it just kept them busy.  Like so many American workers, they did not want to retire and fade into the distance.  And, yes, some abortion doctors still wanted or needed to make money, so they kept putting off retirement.

Now, when a doctor did retire it may have resulted in a clinic closing.  But, that doctor may have retired because the number of patients going to that clinic kept decreasing and it was getting hard to make ends meet.   That clinic may have soon closed anyway.  And in my experience it was very rare that a doctor retired and the clinic wound up closing because they could not find a replacement.

Indeed, there was the other side of the coin – cities where there were too many abortion doctors.  I can recall vividly getting calls from doctors who were looking for work in abortion facilities in cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.  In those parts of the country, there was a surplus of doctors.  At times, I was able to convince those doctors to take a position on some more isolated area and fly in for two or three days work.  But others just couldn’t find work.

One interesting thing to me regarding this whole debate was the statistic put out by the pro-choice groups which said something like “87% of the counties in the country do not have an abortion provider.”    Well, that was probably true, but abortion is such a specialized field and it should come as no surprise that you’re not going to find a doctor or a clinic in every Podunk town in America.  After all, think about other specialties.  Do you think there are retinal surgeons in every town or even a dermatologist?

To me, the issue was always access.  If a woman wanted an abortion, could she get one?  Of course it is hard to prove how many women did not get an abortion because there wasn’t a doctor nearby but my educated guess is that most women who wanted an abortion got one.  Yes, they may have had to travel a few hours to a clinic, like in states like North Dakota, but my sense also is that these women also often had to travel great distances for other services.  That is just the nature of the beast in rural parts of the country.

So, I’m certainly encouraged that there may be more abortion doctors coming up the chain but I also have the sense that they might wind up gravitating to where the patients are.  Meanwhile, we will still have issues in Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, but for the most part women who are looking for abortion services will be able to get them.

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »