Archives for 2011

…and this is one of them:

Abortion ‘increases risk of premature birth’ Abortion appears to increase the chance of giving birth prematurely in a subsequent wanted pregnancy by a third, according to a British study.

So you’ll recall the heartwarming tale of my being complimented on the way to beach volleyball. I follow that up with something, er, less heartwarming. Similar story: walking down a road with a friend, having gotten off the bus this time, also on the way to play volleyball. This time we’re in the burbs though, and as we pass by what I think was a Lebanese restaurant a guy, way off in the shadowy distance, shouts “sluts.” Yes, at us. We keep walking. We are further away now, and he comes closer, but still remains hidden behind the restaurant’s wall. He hollers again. At this point, I shout, “Show yourself, you loser!!” (Perhaps a bit high school, but that’s what I did on the spur of the moment.) He runs away.

One man’s pretty girl is another man’s slut? (A variation on what our high school politics teacher taught us: “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”) This was likely some sort of minor cultural clash (if you can call it that). Hard not to see the Arabic on the restaurant’s sign, is all I’m saying, and I didn’t have a clean burka to put on this morning.

To conclude: We didn’t go there for food after the game.

The Real Housewives of the Bible. Coming soon on DVD.

I have only read the article I’m linking to here, but I think this could be interesting. Sometimes I feel hopeless that our culture is trapped in this 1970s time warp, teaching ridiculous notions on sex and relationships as if it was the wisdom of the ages. Goes without saying that part and parcel of this attitude is castigating religious values as misogynistic and backwards. But something tells me that a woman living in the Negev in exile was probably a whole heck of a lot stronger than any of us are today, whether or not we call ourselves “feminists.”

I found parts of this funny, other parts, not so much. But I think it’s worth posting anyway.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AGaufgGzC8&feature=player_embedded”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AGaufgGzC8&feature=player_embedded]

I plan on getting the scoop from my Polish cousin, but for now, we’ll rely on this web site for the news from Poland:

[L]awmakers in Poland have cast an initial vote in favor of legislation that would ban all abortions in that country…

In an open letter to the country’s lawmakers, a group of Polish “women journalists” said that the measure would help to restore moral order to the nation, adding that a vote for the bill “would be a vote for the protection of women, and the protection of their relationship with their children. It would also be a vote for the restoration of dignity and respect for motherhood. It would be in the interest not only of women and children, but also of fathers, families, and all of society.”

“More education and more contraception” has long been the rally cry of abortion advocates. In turn, they blame pro-lifers for increasing abortion numbers, as most pro-lifers disagree with contraception as a solution to ending abortion. Turns out that’s for good reason.

More than a thousand girls a year aged under 15 have an abortion [in the UK], figures revealed.

Terminations are being carried out on youngsters aged just 12 or 13 who have only just started secondary school. […]

Norman Wells, director of  the Family Education Trust charity, said: ‘Every abortion involves a personal tragedy for a mother and a child, and none more so than where the mother herself is a child.

‘But these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. For every child who has had an abortion under the age of 16, there will be many more who are engaging in illegal sexual activity and suffering physical and emotional harm as a result.’

Mr Wells pointed to research  showing it was not ignorance of contraception that leads to high rates of teenage abortions, and said instead the ‘contraceptive culture’ was to blame.

‘Those who imagine the answer lies in more sex education and more contraceptive schemes are sadly mistaken,’ he said. ‘As a result of the contraceptive culture we have tended to separate sexual activity from childbearing in our minds. There is always the possibility intimacy will result in the creation of a new life – that is not something to be done lightly.’

The Rev Joanna Jepson, who campaigned against terminations for minor deformities, warned abortions were being offered without any concern for the gravity of the procedure. She said: ‘The figures for underage girls suggests we have to have a debate about the kind of society we’re creating that leads to so many abortions on demand.

I can testify that there is something “different” about me during ovulation, and this is no individual quirk. Evolution has crafted women to desire intercourse more during this fertile period, and a new study suggests that women might even be able to detect which man is most likely to desire her as well.

They buy sexier clothing, are more likely to stare at attractive men and — if they are strippers — they get better tips.

And now science has identified yet another characteristic of the elusive ovulating woman: she is better at picking out straight men from the gays.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Toronto suggests that ovulation significantly improves a woman’s ability to judge a man’s sexual orientation.

[…]

A slew of strange ovulation phenomena have been uncovered in recent years as scientists track how the female cycle impacts mating practices. Other research has suggested that ovulating women emit a scent that is more attractive to men, get better tips as lap dancers andbuy sexier clothing in an unconscious attempt to outdo rivals.

[…]

“That suggests they’re not hyper attentive to everything, just men and sex essentially,” Rule says.

In terms of practical application of the findings, Rule says it may be useful for women to know that they appear to be better at picking partners — at least sexual partners — when they are ovulating.

FYI, if you’re on birth control, you can’t ovulate.

_____________________

Andrea adds: Splitting hairs, perhaps, and I know this wasn’t the point of this post, but if you are on birth control, you most likely don’t ovulate. (I believe the Pill first and foremost attempts to stop ovulation, but if that fails, it makes the womb inhospitable to a fertilized egg.)

I’ll be on Ezra Levant’s show tonight discussing Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the general decline of sexual mores in our society and Brian Lilley’s show to discuss gendercide.

Don’t know whether that makes me a sunshine girl, but I can assure you I remain appropriately attired in a business suit! You can watch online, here, if you feel so inclined.

…doesn’t mean it’s good for you, or society, or your unborn baby. I’ve written before about how a lack of remorse isn’t necessarily a sign that something is “healthy”. This is as true for abortion as it is for other acts of violence.

Now those who commit abortion don’t yet see it as a crime, and because it’s legal, the rest of us are told we ought not view it that way either. But I can only hope, for this woman’s sake, that one day she will better understand that a feeling of “euphoria” is not an indicator of whether or not something is inhumane:

Though I was raised in a Catholic family and apparently encouraged to participate in a “Right to Life” poster contest as a child, I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t pro-choice.  I remember thinking and even saying aloud that I would abort if I got pregnant as a teenager.  Then, as a young twenty-something, I became eager to have children – and I welcomed two very wanted, well-loved babies into the world.  Once things began to deteriorate between their father and I, I knew without a doubt that any future pregnancy we faced would be terminated.

In October of last year, I made good on that promise to myself…

I felt momentarily guilty when one of the other patients in recovery asked me if I ever stopped smiling, but I quickly reminded myself that it was senseless guilt.  After all, smiling is a natural reaction to happiness, and I was happy sitting there.  When they released me to go home fifteen minutes later, I was gladder still.

Keep in mind this woman had an abortion “to do good on a promise to herself.” If the tone sounds calculating and cold, maybe that’s because what she did and how she experienced it is just that. We as a culture recognize the lack of remorse in other acts as “cold-blooded” and contradictory to humanity. Take for example this article,

“How long do I have to live in prison?”

45-year-old Kim Su-cheol, arrested for brutally sexually assaulting a second-grader, asked that question at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on the 10th. He spoke calmly without inquiry about the condition of his victim. It was a moment that showed he is truly an animal with a human face.

According to a member of the Yeongdeungpo Police Sation, he had spent three days in prison since being arrested on the 7th and had slept well and not missed a single meal.

Kim congratulated the investigators on a job well done and made a full confession but while confined he has shown no signs of a remorseful attitude, caring only about the punishment he is to receive.

An employee of the prison said, “Kim asked us how long he has to stay in prison, thinking only about himself, and doesn’t care at all about the victim or show any sense of guilt.”

Kim, who had jus sexually assaulted an eight-year old-girl, told investigators “I feel good, I slept really well” and made other dumbfounding statements which show what a cold-blooded person he is.

On sex selection abortion, from one Mark Steyn:

Indeed, given the decline in sex ratios in Asia and elsewhere, if daughters had feathers or four legs, they’d be on the endangered species list.

His title is “Killing her softly,” which does nicely as a description of abortion in general. Abortion is a kind of quiet, soft killing, not quite a killing at all, really, or so we are told. When pressed those who actually believe this immediately become unsure as to when it does become a killing, it’s all so very confusing. But until they figure it out, they certainly aren’t working on the precautionary principle, are they.

(h/t)