I wrote a brief comment on my fbook page and apparently it was deleted and does not show up in my profile at all. Basically I said if they are going to dump abortion, then there needs to be a law forcing the man to step up financially and to help raise the child, children need 2 parents. I kept it as diplomatic as I could. It was actually my second writing, as I decided the first was too fiery and too long. I do not know if I could personally make the decision to end a pregnancy, were I to still be of childbearing age, however, I do not feel it is up to others to make the decision for people whom I do not know and have not walked a mile in their shoes. Iowa, in particular, seems to want to go back to the dark ages in many aspects including the abortion debate.
Too many stories, too many memories....a sad day, indeed. Long ago during my lobbying days (for Planned Parenthood), I had lunch with one of the anti-choice-Govenor's aides.....there had been three newborns found at various times over a fairly short period of time, in dumpsters or high school girls bathrooms. We discussed how sad that was and I asked the aide, "Do you know if any of these pregnancies was by a relative, father, brother, etc.?" He looked at me like I'd thrown water on him, shocked, "NO!" I honestly don't think it ever occurred to him that could/would happen. A few days later he sought me out and said, in effect, "I contacted one of the female relatives of one of the girls who'd had one of those babies.....it was her father who got her pregnant." Contemplate that.
Granted not all unwanted pregnancies fall into that category, but some do. I don't know if this changed that aide's mind - we never spoke of it again. But at least it made him rethink the issue. Great column, Julie, as always.
Thank you for writing this, Julie. I am pro choice, but that does not make me, or anyone else who is pro choice, pro abortion. I want abortion to be safe, legal, and rare because the decision to have an abortion has to be one of the most difficult that a woman or a couple has to make in their lifetime. It should be a decision made in consultation with her/their doctor and her/their God, not the republican party.
What is bothering me about the real possibility that the SOCTUS will overturn Roe is that the 14th Amendment was the basis for so many important life affirming, people affirming rights for citizens in our country - equal rights and protection for people of every creed and color, equal rights and protection for LGBTQ citizens, equal rights and protection for interracial marriages, equal rights and protection for gay marriage, voting rights (which will likely be the next target for these people), and more. I am sure once Roe goes down the red states will ramp up efforts to nullify all of these important steps taken to make this country more free and more fair. We need to broaden the discussion beyond what this decision means for a woman's right to choose. This decision could just be the beginning of step to nullify the rights of millions of our citizens to make choices about how they want to live their lives. Please check your voter registration status, register to vote if you have not done so, and then vote, for the sake of democracy - please vote.
Yes! It dawned on me that when the GOP in Iowa voted to let 16 year olds work in day care jobs, it begs the question: What 16-year-olds are not in school at that age…then I realized they might be moving inch by inch to not allowing girls to be educated. Women and girls make up most of the daycare workforce. This is not far fetched. I had a right wing man tell me that things started getting out of hand when women were given the right to vote.
If you pry through Scalia's hateful opinion he says pretty much the same thing - a woman's place is in the home, apparently barefoot and pregnant..........................👿
I laughed when the man I was talking to said that - he was in the CEO group I chaired, which is a respected position by members. So, I thought he was kidding. I’d even helped get his company sold for $19mm, for which he was and remains most grateful. He was not kidding about women not having the right to vote. He was not kidding. He was not kidding. Now that these things are being said - and some right wing men have said it is ok to beat ‘their’ wives, if they deserve it - I’m wondering how much of this has actually crept into our current crop of elected officials.
Too much, way too much. And way too many women put up with this kind of behavior. What disgusts me to no end is that they preach this hateful judgement of women and then hide behind some dangerous perversion of what they call “religion”.
This just in from a reader who chooses to not be identified:
‘I was in medicine before Roe. I was a Broadlawns resident physician 1971-72, and I cared for women returning from Canada with complications, not from poor care but from having to fly home too soon. Roe was enormous. In practice in {northwest Iowa}, I did not personally perform abortions—it would have been needlessly disruptive in the small hospital, and more, I could not be sure of absolute confidentiality there. And also, a doctor [nearby] was readily available for referral. And of course, I referred any women who wished and I was always receptive to whatever choice a woman chose.’
I wrote a brief comment on my fbook page and apparently it was deleted and does not show up in my profile at all. Basically I said if they are going to dump abortion, then there needs to be a law forcing the man to step up financially and to help raise the child, children need 2 parents. I kept it as diplomatic as I could. It was actually my second writing, as I decided the first was too fiery and too long. I do not know if I could personally make the decision to end a pregnancy, were I to still be of childbearing age, however, I do not feel it is up to others to make the decision for people whom I do not know and have not walked a mile in their shoes. Iowa, in particular, seems to want to go back to the dark ages in many aspects including the abortion debate.
Too many stories, too many memories....a sad day, indeed. Long ago during my lobbying days (for Planned Parenthood), I had lunch with one of the anti-choice-Govenor's aides.....there had been three newborns found at various times over a fairly short period of time, in dumpsters or high school girls bathrooms. We discussed how sad that was and I asked the aide, "Do you know if any of these pregnancies was by a relative, father, brother, etc.?" He looked at me like I'd thrown water on him, shocked, "NO!" I honestly don't think it ever occurred to him that could/would happen. A few days later he sought me out and said, in effect, "I contacted one of the female relatives of one of the girls who'd had one of those babies.....it was her father who got her pregnant." Contemplate that.
Granted not all unwanted pregnancies fall into that category, but some do. I don't know if this changed that aide's mind - we never spoke of it again. But at least it made him rethink the issue. Great column, Julie, as always.
Thank you for writing this, Julie. I am pro choice, but that does not make me, or anyone else who is pro choice, pro abortion. I want abortion to be safe, legal, and rare because the decision to have an abortion has to be one of the most difficult that a woman or a couple has to make in their lifetime. It should be a decision made in consultation with her/their doctor and her/their God, not the republican party.
Absolutely! Thanks, Kathi
What is bothering me about the real possibility that the SOCTUS will overturn Roe is that the 14th Amendment was the basis for so many important life affirming, people affirming rights for citizens in our country - equal rights and protection for people of every creed and color, equal rights and protection for LGBTQ citizens, equal rights and protection for interracial marriages, equal rights and protection for gay marriage, voting rights (which will likely be the next target for these people), and more. I am sure once Roe goes down the red states will ramp up efforts to nullify all of these important steps taken to make this country more free and more fair. We need to broaden the discussion beyond what this decision means for a woman's right to choose. This decision could just be the beginning of step to nullify the rights of millions of our citizens to make choices about how they want to live their lives. Please check your voter registration status, register to vote if you have not done so, and then vote, for the sake of democracy - please vote.
Yes! It dawned on me that when the GOP in Iowa voted to let 16 year olds work in day care jobs, it begs the question: What 16-year-olds are not in school at that age…then I realized they might be moving inch by inch to not allowing girls to be educated. Women and girls make up most of the daycare workforce. This is not far fetched. I had a right wing man tell me that things started getting out of hand when women were given the right to vote.
I am dumbfounded by how in many aspects we seem to be stepping back in time, and NOT in a good way.
If you pry through Scalia's hateful opinion he says pretty much the same thing - a woman's place is in the home, apparently barefoot and pregnant..........................👿
I laughed when the man I was talking to said that - he was in the CEO group I chaired, which is a respected position by members. So, I thought he was kidding. I’d even helped get his company sold for $19mm, for which he was and remains most grateful. He was not kidding about women not having the right to vote. He was not kidding. He was not kidding. Now that these things are being said - and some right wing men have said it is ok to beat ‘their’ wives, if they deserve it - I’m wondering how much of this has actually crept into our current crop of elected officials.
Too much, way too much. And way too many women put up with this kind of behavior. What disgusts me to no end is that they preach this hateful judgement of women and then hide behind some dangerous perversion of what they call “religion”.
Scalia-gees! Alito - six of one, half dozen of another 🙄
This is not about abortion. It is about power and control over women. Full stop.
This just in from a reader who chooses to not be identified:
‘I was in medicine before Roe. I was a Broadlawns resident physician 1971-72, and I cared for women returning from Canada with complications, not from poor care but from having to fly home too soon. Roe was enormous. In practice in {northwest Iowa}, I did not personally perform abortions—it would have been needlessly disruptive in the small hospital, and more, I could not be sure of absolute confidentiality there. And also, a doctor [nearby] was readily available for referral. And of course, I referred any women who wished and I was always receptive to whatever choice a woman chose.’