Nixon's Reaction to Roe v. Wade Decision

NPR reports on the new Nixon tapes released. Richard Nixon believed legalizing abortion would lead to greater promiscuity and girls would get off the pill because abortions would cost $5.00. Nixon did support abortion in the cases of rape and to decrease mixed-raced babies. The man was a true racist.

Obama & Roe v. Wade

President Barack Obama press release on the anniversary Roe v. Wade.

Statement of President Obama on the 36th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

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.

It is a well-worded press release. The one problem is the anti-choice movement is not interested in "common ground." Anti-choicers push abstinence-only programs that increase teen pregnancy. Gov. Sarah Palin supports abstinence-only education in schools. I need not bother explaining Palin's hypocrisy.

I wish President Obama the best of luck finding common ground.

Sarah Palin Stumped On Supreme Court Decisions

Katie Couric asks Sarah Palin what other Supreme Court decisions, besides Roe v. Wade, does she disagree with. Hilarity ensues.

Couric: Can you think of any?

Palin: Well, I could think of … any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But, you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a vice president, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.

I give you a hint Gov. Palin. Republicans always cite Dred Scott v. Sandford as a decision they disagree with and link to Roe v. Wade. Couric threw a hanging fastball. Palin could have answered the question and assured anti-choicers by mentioning Dred Scott. Palin failed on both counts

Too Clueless to be Vice-President

I attempted to give Sarah Palin's inteeligence the benefit of the doubt. No more.

The Palin aide, after first noting how "infuriating" it was for CBS to purportedly leak word about the gaffe, revealed that it came in response to a question about Supreme Court decisions.

After noting Roe vs. Wade, Palin was apparently unable to discuss any major court cases.

This woman could be a heart beat away from appointing Supreme Court justices.

John McCain Vs John McCain

"I'd love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations."

John McCain, speaking on the 2000 campaign trail.

"I do not support Roe v. Wade, period. It should be overturned."

John McCain, on Feb 18, 2007.

That is some straight talk. I doubt McCain has given abortion much thought. The Maverick bills himself as a national security expert and is under the impression that Shiite Iran is aiding the Sunni al-Qaeda. One can only imagine how clueless McCain is about issues he is not passionate about. McCain goes into a frenzy talking waging new wars in the Middle East. It is no accident McCain talks about a 100 year war in Iraq and sings about bombing Iran. McCain is downright sedate when discussing reproductive rights. Project Vote Smart shows McCain's anti-abortion stance.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.
(x marks are for positions McCain supports)
a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
X d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
X e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
X f) Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion.
X g) Prohibit public funding of abortions and of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
h) Other or expanded principles

Further proof that McCain has given no thought to what overturning Roe v. Wade would do to America. His plan to stop unsafe and illegal abortions is hope.

Q: But if Roe v. Wade was overturned during a McCain presidency, and individual states chose to ban abortion, would you be concerned that, as you said, X number of women in America would undergo illegal and dangerous operations?

McCain: No, I would hope that X women in America would bring those children into birth and into life in this world.

Hopeless is a better word to describe what a McCain presidency would do to women.

Romney On Meet the Press

Willard Mitt Romney on the Issues
Uploaded by petulant

Mitt Romney discusses with Tim Russert why he is against the morning after pill and turning over Roe vs Wade. Romney wants to turn abortion laws back to the states. The man is hameless in his pandering. Romney has flip-flopped on abortion so many times.

The weakness of the anti-abortion position is they refuse to prosecute women getting illegal abortions. Anti-abortion advocates failed make abortion illegal in South Dakota. The movement understands that arresting woman would deep six their slim support.

Romney is forced to explain how he could be a member of a church that didn't allow blacks to join the Preisthood until 1978. Romney defends himself by dicussing his parents civil rights record. The Mittster lacks his own accomplishments in standing up for minorities.

Once again we are lef6t won

Maternal Mortality and Abortion

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof did a several video pieces on maternal mortality in Solalia. Many women have high risk pregnancies. Which makes the findings of the findings of the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization study.

An estimated 42 million abortions were induced in 2003, compared with 46 million in 1995. The induced abortion rate in 2003 was 29 per 1000 women aged 15–44 years, down from 35 in 1995. Abortion rates were lowest in western Europe (12 per 1000 women). Rates were 17 per 1000 women in northern Europe, 18 per 1000 women in southern Europe, and 21 per 1000 women in northern America (USA and Canada). In 2003, 48% of all abortions worldwide were unsafe, and more than 97% of all unsafe abortions were in developing countries. There were 31 abortions for every 100 livebirths worldwide in 2003, and this ratio was highest in eastern Europe (105 for every 100 livebirths).

Women need abortion when their pregnancy endangers their lives. Most third world abortions are performed by people lacking medical training. These abortions often prove fatal.

The study makes clear that people need accurate information on what does or doesn't constitute a safe abortion. Christian conservative give inaccurate information about the risks of abortions performed by medical professionals. It is imperative women are educated about contraception and high-risk pregnancies.

I was troubled by Matt Yglesias's post on the study.

What's more, I'm not really sure why one would think that the case for reproductive freedom hinges crucially on the idea that making abortions safer, more affordable, and more convenient to obtain has no impact on the number of abortions people get. After all, if nothing else the very dangerous nature of the abortion procedure in the abortion-banning countries constitutes a sound consideration against getting an abortion in those places. Legal abortions not only allow women determined to terminate their pregnancies do so safely, but they allow women determined to manage their pregnancies safely do so by terminating them. Meanwhile, it seems that legal abortion helps promote relatively more permissive attitudes about sex.

I live on the border of a rough area in Tampa. Women I have seen get pregnant repeatedly are not properly educated about contraceptives. They are also don’t get abortions. The state usually takes the kids because they have financial and personal problems parenting. I have no idea whether or not they are having more or less sex than women whom have abortions. Neither can Matt.

Making abortion illegal would not stop people from having sex. I’m curious how can Matt know how much sex women were having before Roe v Wade? I have been googling and haven’t found an actual study (not counting Christian Right b.s.) that backs up Matt’s claim.

Matt also states as fact that abortions went up after Roe v Wade. Statistical data wasn't kept on abortions before then. So he makes a claim without being able to back it up. I got nothing personal against him. It does prove Matt didn't read the study he is dissing.

Prior to the nationwide legalization of abortion, information on the number and rate of abortions was not gathered, and estimates of illegal and self-induced abortions varied widely. In the years immediately following the Roe v. Wade decision, the number of LEGAL abortions grew rapidly for several reasons. The number of physicians trained and experienced in the procedure increased, and a nationwide network of outpatient abortion clinics developed that enabled women who would previously have had an illegal abortion, or would not have been able to obtain one at all, to do so legally in a medical facility.

Opps.

Jill Filipovic gets credit for taking Matt to task for that.

Update: Ross Douthat continues the myth that abortion rates went up after Roe v Wade.

Whereas we know that when abortion was legalized in America in the early 1970s, the abortion rate went up dramatically; we also know that Western Europe, which has lower abortion rates than the U.S., also has (somewhat) more restrictive abortion laws. Which suggests if you're serious about reducing the abortion rate in America (as opposed to taking the "more abortion is a good thing" line that Matt espouses), the Edelstein-Saletan answer is something of a cop-out; if some kind of restriction isn't on the table, you probably aren't going to get very far.

I feel like banging my head against a wall. Just because people have been saying that for years doesn't make it true. That thinking is how everyone took Bush's claims about Saddam Hussein's WMDs at face value. People, do research.

Support Choice

NARAL is asking voters to sign a petition to keep women's reproductive rights in the 2008 debate. Republicans found that even a conservative state such as South Dakota will not support banning abortion. Citizens do not support the Christian Right's agenda. Republican candidates will trip over each other to please James Dobson. They can't campaign on increasing the tax burden on the middle and lower classes.I want to see Republican presidential candidates constantly explain their position on Roe v. Wade.

The media has been running Christian Right talking points and has shown great ignorance into reporting late-term abortions. Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting noted how the media dropped the ball in reporting how the Gonzales v. Carhart Supreme Court ruling endangers the lives of poor women.

Those circumstances, according to the ACOG’s amicus brief, include the woman having certain chronic medical conditions (like bleeding disorders or heart disease) or pregnancy complications, or the fetus having certain abnormalities (such as severe hydrocephalus, a greatly enlarged head).

What Ginsburg also made clear in her scathing dissent, though it went virtually unmentioned in the media, was that young women and poor women are more likely than others to need intact D&E, because they’re less likely to be able to access abortions in a timely manner. Adolescents often don’t realize they’re pregnant or fear their parents’ reaction, and poor women may have trouble getting together sufficient money for the procedure.

The court has ruled, in effect, that all of these women will now still be able to terminate their pregnancy, but they may be compelled by the state to do so in a way that puts their health in jeopardy, against the best judgment of their doctor. That lack of health exception both endangers real women’s lives now and opens the door for further erosion of women’s reproductive rights and health in the future, whether the court reverses Roe v. Wade or not. But that reality was too often missing from media’s reporting on the subject.

Sign the petition.