Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Abortion

It is important to remember that people who are pro-choice are not pro-abortion. Pro-choice refers to the belief that women should be able to choose what happens to them, control what comes out of their body and when they want to completely change their lives. Having a child is a huge commitment and lifechanging event. I ran accross this letter to the editor from a delaware based online newspaper. It is a good description of Obama and the pro-choice stance on abortion. Below is a link to the letter and the subsequent discussion board that is quite interesting.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090425/OPINION10/90424060/1004/OPINION

Latest Abortion Legislation

In Kansas a bill had been up to make it more difficult to get late term abortions. The Governor of the state Kathleen Sebelius vetoed the bill after state legislators passed it. Sebelius' track record has been consistent on abortion related bills, she has been a firm pro-choice advocate. She has been nominated by president Obama to lead the Department of Health and Human Services which helps to advice on health legislation and medical legislation. If Sebelius' nomination is upheld by the US Senate it will be a great step for abortion rights if a decidedly pro-choice woman is the leader of the Department of HHS.

Here is an article which outlines Kansas' vetoed bill and Sebelius' past abortion record.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/24/kathleen-sebelius-vetoes-abortion-legislation

GRIMLI!

I don't know where he is filming this, but I think it is great. This guy is great! Very entertaining and animated. It is interesting to hear such a pro-choice stance coming from a guy who is obviously somewhat religious.



Here is a PSA from 1991 that was never shown on any networks. It is an interesting commercial, you never see things like this on TV.

Clarification

I wanted to comment on my choice of slide background for my presentation. I chose the image below because I wanted to say that women ought to be able to get an abortion and not have to resort to using dangerous, scary, unsanitary and gross methods of abortion like a clothes hanger. People made noises like I was doing something wrong when in fact I was making a statement against the fact that people have to resort to 'homemade' abortions. I am decidedly pro-choice and part of the pro-choice platform deals with safety and health of women. If a woman has to resort to a clotheshanger for an abortion they are putting their health and safety in jeopardy, and their lives are being risked because the state they live in does not allow abortions for how far along they are in their pregnancy or because they have mandatory reporting laws which make it impossible for some girls to get abortions because they will be disowned by their families.

Policy Presentation

This is the video that I wanted to show to the class during my presentation. It is not a perfectly appropriate clip, but it shows how difficult and neverending the debate about abortion is and will be.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Abortion
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Gay Marriage Commercial

Forms of Abortion

There are two main forms of abortion. There is the pill form, Mifepristone, and there is a surgical, usually aspiration based, form of abortion.


Mifepristone is a synthetic steroid used to induce abortion of a fetus in women who are in the first two months of their pregnancy. RU-486 was developed in the 1980's in France for use as a medical abortion pill. RU-486 was not legalized in the United States in September of 2000, at the end of President Clinton's time in office. Mifepristone is about 97% effective and costs anywhere from $350-$650. It is available in all 50 states and if you visit a place like planned parenthood you can either get it there or be referred to somewhere you can get it. Mifepristone is a form of abortion that many women say they prefer because it feels more natural and less invasive than the aspiration methods and feels more like a normal miscarriage.

Surgical abortions are advised when a woman wishes to end her pregnancy after 7 weeks have gone by, and aspiration, or vacuum, abortions can be done up to 16 weeks into the pregnancy. Suction aspiration was first used in 1958 in China and later in 1967 in the UK and in the 1970s suction aspiration became used and refined in the United States. The procedure involves a small vacuum tube being inserted through the cervix and suck out the contents of the uterus. It is nearly 100% effective in terminating the pregnancy. It costs between $350-$900 during the first trimester and after that the cost increases the longer the pregnancy lasts. Women are anesthetized either locally or generally for the procedure, but the risk of complications is minimal and if the entire contents of the uterus is not gotten the first time, the procedure may be done again to ensure the desired effect.

Agenda

On Whitehouse.gov under the agenda, President Obama's stance on abortion is clearly stated. He is in support of a woman's right to choose on the topic of abortion. His support is instrumental to the further progress of abortion rights. The agenda says that Obama respects those that do not agree with him, but cannot in any way imaginable see a constitutional amendment to overturn roe vs. wade. The agenda addresses the fact that abortion is a very divisive issue and a hot topic.

Under the same heading of "Reproductive Choice" on the agenda is the issue of Preventing unintentional pregnancy. It says that Obama is a proponent of easily accessible contraception. His Prevention First Act is to fund sex education and family planning throughout the US. In addition to these primary things, "the Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims."

Abortion cartoons are funny. HAHA, people are stupid!