Holly, perhaps you could briefly summarize P.J. O'Rourke's book for me. I am so far behind on my reading, I am sure I am not in reality going to read it anytime soon.
I'm not sure "U.S. News and World Report" is very much interested in garnering ratings and bringing in advertising dollars. Compared to the other news magazines, they are quite stodgy and academic. They were reporting on a study, and I think some of the confusion may be that we are trying to discuss apples and oranges. They are referring, I believe, to all abortions after the first trimester as late-term abortions. They are not saying that most partial birth abortions are being performed on young girls in denial. I'm not sure it's really fair to decide this study is misinformation without actually reading it, rather than deciding based on my brief description of it.
The partial birth abortion issue is very heated, and extremely polarized. I just looked around on the web, and here are a few urls, in case anyone is interested. Everyone is citing different statistics, but one which seemed generally reliable is that 3,000 - 4,000 partial birth abortions are performed annually in the United States, and most of them are definitely NOT to save the life of the mother, but for a wide variety of non-emergency reasons.
tidalweb.com
religioustolerance.org
nrlc.org
My own personal feeling is that I hate the whole idea of abortions, and would never have one, but the world is not a perfect, idealized place, and it is not my decision to make for women who are in other circumstances, because unwanted children often become abused and neglected children, and that is an even bigger tragedy. So from a children's rights point of view primarily, I reluctantly support first trimester abortions. I think if we are going to allow partial birth abortions, which are most definitely infanticide, it should only be to save the life of the mother, or if the fetus is already dead.
Holly, I don't know what to say in response to your views on birth control pills. I think we would have the same difference of opinion we did about nicotine patches. For the twenty percent of smokers who stop smoking successfully with patches, they work very well, and are certainly much safer than continuing to smoke cigarettes. For most other people who try them, even if they do not work, there will be no disastrous side effects. For most women, birth control pills are generally considered safe, and of course should be taken only as long as absolutely necessary, as should any medication. For me, they are a far better choice, looking at the whole picture, than aborting multiple fetuses during a woman's reproductive life, as is the case in many countries. The doses of hormones are quite low now, comparatively speaking.
Interestingly enough, I watched the ABC national news tonight, which had a long segment about abortions in America. It seems that 60% of all doctors who perform abortions are over sixty-five years of age now, and because that population is diminishing, in many states women have to travel considerable distances to get them. Only eleven percent of medical schools train doctors specifically to do abortions, and the percentage of the U.S. population who, when asked "Do you support the right of a woman to have an abortion for any reason whatsoever" has dropped from 64% of the population in 1988, to 50% now. Additionally, thirty-five states have enacted legislation that makes abortions harder to get. |
