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Lighter blogging for the next little while

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I’ll be away on holiday sans computer for the next little bit. So I won’t be blogging–and I thought I’d let you know. (I also won’t be able to crack the whip on the other women. You thought they were on this site of their own free will? No, no, NO–we’re the anti-choice side, remember? This is all part of an indentured servitude plan I created. Here’s to no mutinies while I’m gone.)

And no, you don’t want to know where I’m going, in particular if you are experiencing the minus temperatures and tons of snow that we’ve gotten in Ottawa lately. Mahalo for your understanding.

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Brigitte is not at all jealous: No, I really, really like shovelling… Have fun!

Not that there are any repercussions to abortion

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This article talks about an increase in pre-term births in Canada and made me think of other studies I’ve read linking abortion to subsequent pre-term delivery. It’s a link I’m sure you won’t hear about in the mainstream media, so I thought I should mention it on this site. A couple of articles on the link between abortion and pre-term delivery for your reading pleasure, here and here.

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Patricia adds: This is not directly on the same subject as Andrea’s post, but bear with me.

An Australian hospital’s pregnancy advisory service has released an analysis of reasons why women using its service are considering abortion.

Victoria’s Royal Women’s Hospital’s Pregnancy Advisory Service is the state’s largest public “pregnancy support service”. Women with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy can contact the service about their options, including abortion and continuing the pregnancy. That said, it sounds like the greatest “service” the PAS provides is abortion referral: The Medical Journal of Australia reported recently that of the 5,462 women who contacted the service between October 2006 and October 2007, 90 per cent were seeking an abortion.

Of the 3,018 women surveyed on reasons for seeking abortion, 34 per cent listed their primary reason as “do not want children now” or “not the right time”. Another 547, or 18 per cent, said they already had enough children, 263, or 9 per cent, said they were caring for a young baby, and 339, or 11 per cent, said they were too young.

Financial, relationship or medical reasons together (together! I would have thought these were the major reasons) accounted for 19 per cent of cases. Rape accounted for 1 per cent.

Is it just me or, with the exception of the rape category (just 1 percent), do these reasons seem somewhat underwhelming? I realize that it’s hard to make statistics compelling but the rhetoric of the pro-choice movement always seemed pitched at the level of “women’s lives destroyed” if access to abortion is compromised in the slightest manner. But does it really seem to you that a woman’s life is “destroyed” if she has three children instead of two (as she had planned)? Or if she has a child a few years ahead of schedule?

I know that such an event can cause hardship and even suffering. But I’m just not sure that any of these reasons indicate that “women’s lives are at risk”.

And do any of these reasons seem compelling enough to risk the kind of repercussions associated with abortion – those mentioned in Andrea’s post and others?

Once in a blue moon…

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…something positive happens on campus–like learning and thinking. McGill University recently hosted Mary Meehan to represent the pro-life feminist view to students. Read the report here, sounds like it was a good event.

Mary Meehan, a self-proclaimed feminist, liberal author, and public speaker from Maryland, defended the pro-life movement last night as she stood before a packed Leacock 232 at Choose Life’s third official event.

Choose Life, a new interim club at McGill, invited Meehan to explain her seemingly contradictory political beliefs. “I think a moment’s reflection reveals that liberals indeed are anti-choice on many issues …the death penalty, most wars, torture, rape, racial discrimination, and many more. They should add abortion to the list,” Meehan said.

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Véronique adds: I graduated in November from McGill with a Master’s degree in law and a specialization in bioethics. I found the law faculty aggressively liberal: we were never exposed to a conservative argument except maybe to mock it. That being said, I never felt threatened or excluded at the biomedical ethics unit. It was very clear that nobody — teacher or student — had a sanctity of life approach to anything. (No good offer will be turned down!) But I could always make a good sanctity of life argument without feeling like I would be tarred and feathered out of the place. I have excellent memories of studying bioethics at McGill, pro-life feminist and all.

21st anniversary of the Morgentaler decision

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PWPL got started just over a year ago to remember today’s anniversary and to say clearly that Morgentaler is no champion of women’s rights. Here’s a short YouTube clip to get you better acquianted with the man himself.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCuQhKIgasg&eurl=]

Look, it’s not, in my opinion, particulary great poetry. So I’m not going to spend tons of time delving into inner meanings. But given what Morgentaler has spent his life doing–I think it’s worth noting that he himself seems pretty conflicted over the whole business of who women are, and his relationship to them. Still want to read the book Morgentaler, A Difficult Hero–we disagree on the “hero” part; it’s the “difficult” part I’m interested in.

h/t Flaggman’s Canada

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Brigitte is shocked, shocked: The clip ends with the host starting to explain that the book is self-published. With a straight face… The guy deserves an award.

America’s Next Top Model=Not Me

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Yesterday, as the city of Ottawa frantically studied the economy on Budget Day 2009, I worried about what to wear. No really.

I had my first ever “photo shoot.” Everyone has strengths, everyone has weaknesses; I’m here to tell you that my strength does not lie in modeling. (I feel sure that short of this admission, America’s Top Model would have come calling… but no, it’s writing and policy analysis for me.)

Never is one more acutely aware of what one is wearing and whether a hair is out of place then when one is being photographed, standing awkwardly in a studio in front of a large white backdrop—furthermore as a representative of ProWomanProLife. Do hairs out of place mean I am unorganized, unruly? Does hair too much in place mean I am wound too tight? Shirt—too stylish, too staid? Colours. Make-up. You get my point. It’s all pretty self-centered. Except that ultimately I am not worried about how I look, per se, but rather how being pro-life is portrayed. (And sure, I’d rather not look terrible, if I had a choice.)

The editor advised that this is not the moment for big broad smiles. And fair enough, abortion is not funny. But how am I to pose for photos without smiling? I’ve been told to please laugh less loudly in no less than three bars over the course of my life. And the unfortunate thing is that the photographer and his assistant were actually quite funny. After each joke, however, I’d have to become serious, and thoughtful. Nothing funny here. So is this now to say pro-lifers just don’t know how to have a good time?

Serious and thoughtful, by the way, with my Slavic heritage, quickly morphs into a KGB operative look. The cheekbones—the intensity—yes, I work for Vladimir Putin, actually, and “policy analyst” is my cover. And if I told you any more, I’d have to kill you.

So. There you have it. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, I will keep the day job—since modeling apparently isn’t an option.

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Brigitte would like to add a somewhat semi-related thought: Ah, Andrea. If only more people worried half as much as you do… I have been struggling over the last few days to watch 4 months, 3 weeks & 2 days, the movie about a girl having an illegal abortion in Ceausescu’s Romania that won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and boy, is it bad. It’s so dreadful in fact that I’m about to give up on it. It’s not like I’m not interested in the story. But these blasted European movies are so focused on displaying all the bad aspects of emotional turmoil that the result is invariably messy, dishevelled, and unbearably grim.

Prime Minister Harper–you listening?

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Cuz I know tomorrow is budget day, and apparently, funding birth control is actually economic stimulus. Can’t make this stuff up, better watch Nancy Pelosi yourselves:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFU_jE9WasM]

Fewer people, er, does indeed mean lower costs. I assume we’re all willing to get rid of one or two family members. After all, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Tough economic times, and all.

Seriously people. I don’t know whether Obama is behind this or not but that has to be one of the dumber statements I’ve heard from a top level leader in a long while. And they made fun of Sarah Palin. Yeesh.

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Brigitte is scratching her head: We have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy, she says. So the federal government helps fund contraception. Because the downturn in the economy led to too much unprotected sex? Or not enough? Is the subsidized contraception meant to encourage more Americans to engage in the activity? They need encouraging?

Gosh. These nice sophisticated and educated folks are too subtle for me.

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UPDATE: President Obama may deprive the world of a good joke…

Obama’s doing it

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It didn’t pass me by that Obama is re-instating American dollars to international groups that support abortion. I just didn’t post about it because it was what he promised, furthermore, the Clintons also supported this. So it’s not surprising.

But here at home on the family front, Obama recognizes that fatherlessness is a problem and that marriage is a benefit:

Strengthen Fatherhood and Families: Barack Obama has re-introduced the Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act to remove some of the government penalties on married families, crack down on men avoiding child support payments, ensure that support payments go to families instead of state bureaucracies, fund support services for fathers and their families, and support domestic violence prevention efforts. President Obama will sign this bill into law and continue to implement innovative measures to strengthen families.

And there, he is right–and I get the feeling these days that when Obama does something–people listen. So I just thought I’d highlight that.

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Rebecca adds: I haven’t read either of his autobiographies, and I don’t plan to. But I gather from those who have, whose judgement I respect, that fatherlessness was a big factor in shaping Obama’s character, values, and to a certain extent even his politics. Also, while the effects of an absent father, a flakey mother and an unreliable stepfather were hugely mitigated by Obama’s grandparents, who provided him with a stable home and an excellent education, he’s well aware that the vast majority of fatherless kids lack this kind of safety net. I look forward to the changes he will make to the American discussion about fatherhood.

Needless to say, the demographic that suffers most acutely from fatherlessness, both numerically and in the malignancy of its effects, are African Americans. Phenomenally high rates of delinquency, petty and serious crime, and dropping out of high school, as well as risk of imprisonment for boys and early pregnancy for girls, are closely connected to rampant fatherlessness in America’s black communities, as Kay Hymowitz and many others have documented.

“Feminist nonsense” versus “women’s rights”

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I do think it’s important to understand what pro-choicers are thinking. Incidentally, I use the term “pro-choice” to be conciliatory, though I think that term–all terms in the abortion debate, in fact–fall quite short of what is really going on. Or perhaps better put, they are themselves clichés that create tension and raise up stereotypical images. Ie. Not Helpful. 

Anyhoo, so I read blogs like this with interest. Not to make fun, which admittedly would be easy enough, but with an acceptance that this view is out there–and it makes sense to some women. And I really do wonder why. Because it makes no sense at all to me.  

Anti-choicers like to defend themselves against the charge of misogyny by saying they simply believe that life begins at conception.  What they fail to understand is that “life begins at conception” is a misogynist statement. It’s the erasure of a woman’s role in making new people, and a claim that the only effort that counts is the effort a man put into ejaculating. 

I’ve been invited to talk at a university campus in the fall about why abortion is an injustice for women–will be a sceptical, if not outright hostile audience. But that’s what I believe–not only is abortion not a right, but rather marks a grave injustice in particular for women. So I plan on putting a lot of effort into that paper–it’s months away but I’ll post it when I’m done.

Doing the Lord’s work

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doingthelordswork

Tee hee. These atheists are going to get all kinds of busy people thinking about God where they would not have before. It’s that niggly little word “probably” that will leave just enough room to ponder the reality of God rather than the opposite.

“God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.” –Francis Bacon

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Brigitte wonders: I’m not religious, yet I worry. I know plenty of religious people who don’t (some who do, too). Most of the time I enjoy my life. So do many religious people I know (some who don’t, too). I guess my question is: What the heck are you trying to say, and why can’t you say it better, you silly bunny?

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Tanya adds: They’re trying to counter what seems like such a morbid message with brightly coloured lettering. Not enough can be said for Helvetica BOLD in hot pink.

Late term abortions just never happen…

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…except when they do. From the UK:

Almost 3,000 were carried out on women who were at least 20 weeks pregnant, according to the latest annual figures in England and Wales, representing a 44 per cent increase in less than a decade. The vast majority were for “lifestyle” reasons; less than a quarter were because of a risk that the child would be born handicapped. 

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