USVI-On-Line

I wasn't even going to touch the abortion issue, because I truly believe that is a private and personal decision for any person involved in it, and that it never need to be discussed by anyone but a woman, her partner and her physician. That's it. I don't tell you what I do with my reproductive organs; and you don't tell me what I can or can't do with them. But our lack of privacy in modern day America is a whole 'nother therapy session.

I had an aunt who had a baby without a brain because my uncle didn't believe in abortion. Her baby lived four hours, and to this day more than 20 years ago, she's emotionally disturbed. She was never right after that day the doctor told her that her baby was going to die if she carried it to term, and my uncle told the doctor they would just go home and pray that it would grow a brain.

No woman in her right mind carries a baby for months and then decides to have a late-term abortion as a form of birth control. People who have that medical procedure have very valid reasons for doing it. And, either decision affects you emotionally. It's not the easy way out by any stretch of the imgination.

Why is it that we would never debate whether or not people should have diabetes treatments or colonoscopies or heart transplants, but when it comes to women's reproductive rights, everyone thinks they have to weigh in on what's right and what's wrong. I don't care what any politician has to say about any medical procedure. I'll leave that to physicians.

I thought Gromit's original post asked that we not get into the "why's" of whom we're voting for.

The point was to not let this evolve into an emotion-laden, name-calling, pissing contest, which most political (and/or religious) discussions almost always do...

<sigh>

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Without getting into a pissing contest on issues, I'll just say that the "main stream media" is doing whatever it takes to select our next president. I have no trust in any of them, nor do I have any for Congress. It seems our country is about to become a Socialist society. I fear our best days are behind us.

Here in the fishbowl it's not nice to talk about our idiot neighbor W:idea: , and it seems a bit early to congratulate the winner and trash the loser. What causes bitteress and mistrust is the trend towards statements that are absolutely false and presenting them as fact...this misdirects and misinforms decision making. Madison Ave. politics.

Do your homework, discuss the issues that are important and relevant, and vote. Vote early and vote often!

Flip flop-

Thank you for taking the time to explain and the courage to share your experience.

My sister-in-law was so sick during her second pregnancy that the doctor actually had to mention late-term abortion as an option to save her life if she continued to go down-hill.

Is there anyone on this forum who really thinks that they have the right to enter their opinion into my brother and sister-in-law's living room as to what they should do?

Really?

SJfromNJ wrote:I think from a legal POV, the baby has rights also.

From a moral POV, I think it is wrong.

From a taxpayer POV, I don't want my tax money spent paying for it.

Not to inflame, but in the interest of sharing fact. As a taxpayer your money would not have been spent for an abortion should one have been necessary to save my life or should I have simply chosen one because my child was going to die in utero.

Furthermore, it is highly debatable whether my insurance company would have either. They didn't want to pay for the 2nd sonogram to confirm the diagnosis because it took place on the same day.

I like to hear what everyone says. It's always interesting even if I don't agree. There are always two sides to every story. And some issues aren't even on my radar screen, and they're huge issues for other people. For example, stem-cell research is high on my list of priorities because I am the carrier for a degenerative eye disease that is only going to be cured with stem cells. But most people I know don't really care about stem cells because their 401k is empty, and they haven't been warned that if they have sons, they'll be blind.

Everyone's different. And that's good, because the world would be boring if we were all the same.

As a mom myself, I can't imagine what you went through during your pregnancy with Belly Flop. You've written an eloquent and profound reply to an extremely emotionally charged topic.

Gromit wrote:I'm just taking an informal poll here.

Oh my goodness you didn't...
Was a busy day here at the world HQ and I am just seeing this. I think I added your undecided field. Good luck with this -

Flip Flop, I appreciate what you went through obviously you did everything you could to save your son.

flip-flop wrote: The VAST majority of late term abortions are not the result of someone deciding "hey, I don't want to have this baby after all!" The misrepresentation of the facts and the ASSUMPTIONS about women facing what is probably the most brutal decision of their entire lives infuriate me. In these cases the situation is one of two - the baby is NOT viable outside the womb & will likely die soon after birth either way from severe abnormalities OR the baby is threatening the physical health of the mother. In either case, really, do we need to legislate the options available to her?

In the cases you are citing where he "voted for someone who approved killing babies born alive that were suppose to be abortions." I guarantee you these were procedures where babies were being delivered due to severe and life ending (not life threatening) complications. These babies what were born "alive" were only technically alive.

This is the reality. Not visions of fully formed healthy babies with 10 fingers and 10 toes. We are talking babies whose heads are so misshapen you don't even recognize them. Babies so bloated with infection and lack of blood flow that they are dark purple. Babies missing 3 of 4 chambers of their hearts. Horrific things that most people thankfully never ever have to face.

Unfortunately I do not agree with the picture you paint. Perhaps the most heart-wrenching thing I’ve ever come across regarding the late-term abortion debate is the high number of parents who choose to abort their children once they learn that they have Down syndrome. A study a few years ago found that 91% of 93% of women who get a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome abort their babies. Other sources have reported the number to be 80%, and nearly 100% in some countries. Regardless of what the number actually is, it is safe to say that the vast majority of unborn babies found Down syndrome will be aborted.

So we aren’t just talking about the situations you mentioned above. We are talking about babies whose parents deem them not good enough to deserve life, so they are sentenced to the possibility of dying in garbage cans, and Obama is ok with that according to the way he has voted.

There are waiting lists for people who want to adopt children with Down syndrome. So for parents who aren’t able to see past their child’s disability, there are other people who will.

Where do you draw the line? If it is ok to abort babies with Down syndrome, then is it ok to abort babies with red hair if you prefer blonde? Is it ok to abort girl babies like they do in China?

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Flip Flop,

Thank you for your courage in speaking out and sharing your experience with us. To see the pics of Baby Flip, his chubby legs and sweet smile makes it hard to beleive all you went through to bring him into this world. I too get infuritated when I hear people speak about "choice" in this off hand way as if the person faced with the decision views it as a kin to deciding what to order for diner. Only if you have been faced with gut wrenching "choice" can you know how completly life altering it is. If young Bristol Palin gets to make her "choice" then so do the rest of us. Funny how her Mom would deprive the rest of the world of the right her daughter enjoys.

Ok, I'm stepping down from my soap box now... See what you started Gromit!

I'm for less government in our lives, for any reason.