prochoice_maryland | Entries tagged with late term abortion

lynn82md.livejournal.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to abortion rights advocates, striking down a Texas law imposing strict regulations on abortion doctors and facilities that its critics contended were specifically designed to shut down clinics.

The 5-3 ruling held that the Republican-backed 2013 law placed an undue burden on women exercising their constitutional right to end a pregnancy established in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The normally nine-justice court was one member short after the Feb. 13 death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who consistently opposed abortion in past rulings.

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

n Nov. 27 last year, a vicious gunman opened fire on health care providers at a Planned Parenthood community clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., killing three people, including a local law enforcement officer. It was later learned that the assailant had been motivated in part by extreme anti-abortion rhetoric related to the false allegations that Planned Parenthood has been profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. In 2009, respected physician Dr. George Tiller was gunned down during a worship service at his church in Wichita, Kan., after he was publicly cited in the media and even on the Floor of the House of Representatives as a practitioner of late-term abortions. Since 1993, there have been 11 murders and 26 attempted murders resulting from extreme anti-abortion violence, not to mention more than 200 arson attacks since the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973.

Perhaps just as tragic as these crimes is the reality that they might have been prevented had politicians and commentators refrained from crossing a very dangerous line. By combining a relentless barrage of accusatory and dehumanizing rhetoric with the release of specific identification of individuals and organizations, they bear some culpability for creating the conditions that led to these crimes.

Yet, having failed to learn from the very real and very dangerous consequences of extreme rhetoric and the publication of names and personal information of those who provide reproductive care services, House Republicans are now placing other health care practitioners, researchers, patients and first responders in danger — this time in our home state of Maryland.

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

On Friday, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the antiabortion activist group that has been releasing undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood, the practice of fetal tissue donation, and later-term abortion, has admitted that images shown its most recent video of a fetus of approximately 19 weeks gestational age was not taken at a Planned Parenthood affiliate clinic, as heavily implied in the video.

The best part from the article:

( What it is )

Honestly, who here is surprised that this anti-abortion group resorted to lying to get their point acrossed? I know I'm not. And some wonder why a lot of people don't trust the anti-abortion/pro-life movement

lynn82md.livejournal.com

The campaign, masterminded by 26-year-old anti-abortion crusader and “proud millennial” David Daleiden, is meant to let us in on the fact that abortion is disgusting.

When asked, in an interview with the National Review, what one question he would ask Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, Daleiden replied, “I would ask her if she knows abortion the way Planned Parenthood providers know abortion.” Proud millennial David Daleiden wants to make sure that 57-year-old Cecile Richards, who has given birth to three children and publicly discussed her own abortion, really understands what abortion is.

Daleiden is enacting a very old strategy, akin to standing outside a clinic with a sign informing women that their unborn babies have fingerprints at nine weeks’ gestation. This approach has taken on new life in recent years, as improving ultrasound technology has offered an ever-sharper view of fetal development, leading those in both the anti-abortion and the reproductive-rights movements to argue that a public, moral, and rhetorical reckoning with the carnal implications of abortion is necessary.

The videos are likely to have an impact: not on public opinion about abortion, which rarely changes meaningfully, but perhaps on Planned Parenthood’s funding, and almost certainly on laws made by state legislatures in the parts of America where abortion has already become so inaccessible — thanks to elaborate facility requirements, waiting periods, parental-consent-and-notification laws, earlier gestational cutoffs, and a dwindling number of providers — that it might as well be illegal.

But as a broader strategy, the notion that educating women in the grotesqueries of termination will be a game-changer is absurd. As Richards could tell Daleiden if he asked her his question, women already know what abortion is. We know more about blood, innards, fetuses, and the babies they may become — in short, about life in reproductive bodies — than anti-abortion activists seem to understand.

Disclaimer: This is a snippet from the article. It's not the beginning of the article.

lynn82md.livejournal.com

“We find that the negative emotions experienced at the time of the abortion wane/decrease significantly over 3 years afterwards. Notably, relief remains the most common emotion.”

New research has found that more than 95 percent of women who have received an abortion have no regret about it, feeling that their decision was the right thing for them. Researchers found no difference in mental health outcomes between women who had first-trimester abortions and late-term abortions.

Thirty-five states currently require some for of mandatory counseling for a woman before an abortion can be performed, seven of which require a woman be told of possible psychological responses to abortion, stressing negative emotional responses such as “postabortion traumatic stress disorder”, a term adopted by pro-life supporters but has not been accepted by the American Psychological Association or the American Psychiatric Association, and is basically debunked by this study

lynn82md.livejournal.com

Budding atheists wondering whether Richard Dawkins is in need of a little time away from Twitter to reflect on the past few weeks are about to have their (lack of) prayers answered.

The philosopher has managed to go one step further than his controversial comments on ‘date rape versus stranger rape’ to voice his opinions on what it would be ethical for a mother who is informed that her unborn child has Down Syndrome to do.

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Ahem, let's go back to this one:
“Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice,” he tweeted back.
Yeah...tell that to women who tried to concieve for a long time before finally getting pregnant, Hawkins. Or women who are infertile that took a lot of IVF or other forms of fertility treatment to get pregnant. Or women who have fucking miscarried. It sucks a lot to tried to concieve for a long time only to get pregnant and lose it, whether to miscarriage or grudgingly resorting to abortion because there's something wrong with the fetus. And then, who knows how long it will take a woman to get pregnant again because despite popular belief...some of us don't get pregnant that easy just from having sex.

( More of my comment )

To me, I find it personally immoral to call someone immoral for chosing to carry ANY pregnancy to term just like I do when someone is called immoral for chosing to abort ANY pregnancy.

lynn82md.livejournal.com

A "suicidal" woman has given birth by caesarean section in the Republic of Ireland after requesting a termination under the country's new abortion law.

It is understood she requested an abortion late in her second trimester.

An expert panel assessed her as having suicidal thoughts but it was decided she should have a caesarean section.

She began a hunger strike and health authorities went to court to force her to end the fast. She later agreed to a caesarean and gave birth to a child.

The baby was born at about 25 weeks and has survived. It is understood the child will be taken into the care of the state.

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

This was brought to my attention by

jem_endured_fit, who's from Wisconsin.

The pro-life movement has had a successful run in Wisconsin since a solid block of conservative Republicans took over the governor's mansion and both houses of the state Legislature in 2010.

By most estimates, the passage of abortion-restrictive bills will continue until the Legislature is no longer controlled by Republicans or a pro-life governor is no longer in office.

For the past 26 years, Sue Armacost has been at the forefront of the pro-life movement in Wisconsin as the legislative and political action committee director for Wisconsin Right to Life, one of the state’s most powerful pro-life groups.

At the end of the year, Armacost is retiring and Green Bay native Heather Weininger is taking her place. Weininger, 36, is the wife of Rep. Chad Weininger, R-Green Bay.

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

From NOW:
All women have the right to have the children they want, raise the children they have, and plan their families through safe, legal abortion, and access to contraception, and pre and post-natal care. For those rights to become a reality, women in all communities need to have the resources and the economic, social and political power to make health decisions about their bodies, their sexuality and their reproduction.

Sign the NOW Pledge to protect reproductive rights

lynn82md.livejournal.com

Since the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, access to abortion has been one of the most contentious topics in American politics. The battle has raged across the country for the last four decades, as anti-abortion and pro-choice activists have clashed in the courts, state houses, and the halls of Congress.

Last week’s referendum in Albuquerque, N.M., where voters rejected a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, underscored a new development in the fight. And it also highlighted a fundamental disconnect in the way Americans approach restrictions on terminating pregnancies — particularly when they're asked to pull the trigger on a significant change to abortion law.

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

From NOW:

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has introduced a nationwide 20-week abortion ban. Your Senators — pro-choice or not — needs to hear from you. Please join us in emailing your Senators! Please join us in emailing your Senators!

lynn82md.livejournal.com

The battleground over abortion is shifting to Tennessee, where campaigns are heating up on a referendum that is a year away.

The referendum, pushed by anti-abortion groups for years, would add an amendment to the state constitution stating, "Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion." The amendment would apply to all abortions, including those stemming from "circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother."

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Please let this referendum fail next year

lynn82md.livejournal.com

Voters in Albuquerque defeated a proposal on Tuesday that would have outlawed most late-term abortions in New Mexico's largest city in the first test of such a measure on a municipal ballot in the United States.

The measure, which would have barred doctors within city limits from performing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless a mother's life was in danger, was rejected 55 percent to 45 percent.

Abortion rights advocates hailed the outcome as a victory against out-of-state anti-abortion activists seen as spear-heading an initiative.

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Voters in New Mexico's largest city Tuesday were deciding whether to ban late-term abortions in a first-of-its-kind municipal election that was being closely watched as a possible new front in the abortion wars.

Albuquerque vote targets late-term abortion clinic Associated Press

The special election was expected to draw more voters than last month's mayoral contest. But the outcome was anyone's guess following an emotional and graphic campaign that included national groups and hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising.

Police were stationed near polling places around the city as protesters from both sides tried to persuade voters who were lining up before the polls closed. One school reported an hour wait.

Michelle Halfacre said she cast her ballot in favor of the proposal, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks except to save the mother's life.

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis galvanized abortion-rights supporters--and even the White House--with a dramatic filibuster of a bill that would have outlawed all abortions after 20 weeks. But the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll shows that a plurality of Americans supports a ban on late abortions.

Americans favor such a bill by 48 percent to 44 percent.

Support was greatest among Republicans, 59 percent in support, but 53 percent of Americans not affiliated with either major party sided with the GOP. A majority of Democrats, 59 percent, were opposed while only 33 percent were in favor.

The results come a day after Davis, the state senator, captured the imagination of liberals nationwide as she stood for 11 hours to block a Texas measure that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks and placed new restrictions on abortion clinics. In Washington, Democrats have lampooned House Republicans for passing a similar ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy as the latest shot fired in the “war on women.”

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lynn82md.livejournal.com

Texas Governor Rick Perry called the state legislature back into session July 1 to give lawmakers another chance to pass a measure that may close most of the state’s abortion clinics.

The legislation died in a special session that ended late June 25 after a Democratic senator filibustered. Republican backers forced a vote approving the measure that was later ruled invalid because it came after the midnight conclusion of the session.

“Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn,” Perry, a Republican, said in a statement yesterday.

The measure that failed would ban abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy and require that they be performed in ambulatory surgical centers by doctors with admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles (50 kilometers). Most clinics would have to alter facilities to meet the requirements, which abortion-rights advocates say they can’t afford. Doctors at other clinics may struggle to win privileges.

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“Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn,” Perry, a Republican, said in a statement yesterday.
Want to protect women, my cream colored ass. Some lifers seem like they want to punish women for having sex. If they really want to protect women, they would support abortion when a woman's life is threatened

lynn82md.livejournal.com

House Republicans on Tuesday make their most concerted effort of the year to change federal abortion law with legislation that would ban almost all abortions after a fetus reaches the age of 20 weeks.

The "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," expected to pass by a comfortable margin late Tuesday, would be a direct challenge to the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions up to the time a fetus becomes viable. Fetal viability is generally considered to be at least 24 weeks into the pregnancy.

The measure will be ignored by the Democratic-led Senate and the White House, saying the bill is "an assault on a woman's right to choose," has issued a veto threat.

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If you guys didn't see it, there's a petition to tell your representives to vote against this bill in the last entry I made. Sign it even if the senate won't pass it, Obama will veto it, and your representive is pro-choice.

lynn82md.livejournal.com

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Republican who oppose abortion promoted legislation Wednesday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

These Republicans want to move ahead despite recent court decisions that have struck down similar state laws. The GOP lawmakers also are taking on their own leadership, which has shown little desire to hold votes on contentious social issues.

Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, joined by 10 other Republicans and anti-abortion advocates at a news conference, said there was a "good chance" that his bill would see action in the full House this year.

Franks and others said the legislation would gain momentum from the recent conviction of a Philadelphia abortion provider, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, for killing three babies born alive at his clinic.

In the four decades that abortion has been legal in the United States "many, until Gosnell, somehow construed abortion as victimless. That has changed," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.

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Franks and others said the legislation would gain momentum from the recent conviction of a Philadelphia abortion provider, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, for killing three babies born alive at his clinic.

In the four decades that abortion has been legal in the United States "many, until Gosnell, somehow construed abortion as victimless. That has changed," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J
I doubt that Mr. Smith since abortion and infantside are two whole completely different things. You see, what Dr. Gosnell did was murder three born babies while abortion is terminating a pregnancy that results in the death of a fetus, which is non-viable in most abortions.