Texas State Representative Jodie Laubenberg is promoting legislation that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks and shut down all but five of her state's abortion clinics. In floor debate Sunday night, this Republican legislator faced hard questions about whether it was fair to force rape victims to travel as far as 500 miles to access abortion services. Rep. Laubenberg responded thus:
“If a woman is raped… We have hospital emergency rooms,” Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R) insisted. “We have funded what’s called rape kits that will help the woman, basically clean her out. And then hopefully that will alleviate that.”
...She refused to entertain any further amendments following her comments about rape kits. Instead of standing to defend her bill, Laubenberg left the House floor and informed the speaker that she respectfully disagreed with everything that might follow, even though many of the pending amendments were based on the medical community’s substantive concerns about her bill [Stephen C. Webster, "Watch: Sponsor of Texas Anti-Abortion Bill Claims Rape Kits ‘Clean Out’ Pregnancy," The Raw Story, 2013.06.24].
Rep. Laubenberg's equation of rape kits with the dilation and curettage abortion procedure is a pants-on-fire lie. How a politician (with lady parts, no less!) can respectfully disagree with that medical fact escapes me.
Rep. Laubenberg's counterfactuality did not stop her Republican colleagues from passing the abortion ban. Texas Senate Democrats are filibustering to stop the bill.
This Republican foolishness comes to my attention via a Facebook comment submitted to is-she-or-isn't-she U.S. Senate candidate Annette Bosworth, who faces the challenge of reconciling her professed Janklovian Republicanism with the commitment to science demanded by her medical profession:
I sincerely hope your medical training means you know the difference between a rape kit and a D&C. Unfortunately, Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Texas, doesn't know the difference (or was willing to lie about it), announced early Monday morning, on the floor of the Texas statehouse, that they are one and the same, and managed to use her misinformation to help pass a bill that will effectively end doctor's abilities to provide abortions under almost any circumstances, including in cases of rape or incest, in the state of Texas. And you wonder why I'm a Democrat [Nichole Colsch, comment to Annete Bosworth, Facebook, 2013.06.25].
Nichole Colsch was the incorporating agent of Annette Bosworth's non-profit Preventive Health Strategies. She served as the organization's board secretary last year. According to a Statement of Change filed yesterday with South Dakota Secretary of State Jason Gant, Colsch has been replaced as agent by Bosworth's husband Chad Haber. The PHS annual report filed yesterday indicates Colsch is no longer board secretary, either.
Colsch's status with PHS is non-profit trivia. Colsch's comment to candidate Bosworth is important. Let's hope that whatever debates Bosworth, M. Michael Rounds, Rick Weiland, and other Senate candidates have on abortion will be based on facts and science, not the lies behind the Texas abortion ban.
Cory,
The correct term is "dilation and curettage."
Thanks for the edit, Jessie!
GOP re-branding at its finest! Aren't we girls so lucky to have such smart people taking care of our bodies!
The handful of women who will get pregnant from rape and want an abortion in Texas in the next year can drive 500 miles. As a South Dakotan I commonly drive that far.
It's one thing to drive that far because you want to get furniture at Ikea or hike the Big Horns. It's another to have to drive that far because of a burden placed upon you by a horrible crime.
It's a one time drive. Pushing your foot down on a gas pedal and keeping your hands on a steering wheel for a day isn't a terrible burden to bear. It's a minor inconvenience.
And I would never buy furniture at Ikea. Blech.
What is worse, Republican male politicians dictating laws regarding a woman's reproductive rights, or a Republican female politician who thinks a rape kit is the same thing as a D & C? That kind of stupidity ranks right up there with Todd Akin and "legitimate rape". The GOP should give up their pro-life mantra and just call themselves pro-birth since they believe a fetus has more rights than a child once it is born. Personally, I am sick to death of all this legislation aimed at rolling back Roe v. Wade. I am pro-choice. That does not mean I am pro-abortion. It just means that I understand what another woman chooses to do with her body is none of my damn business.
And I think I should be able to shoot whomever I feel like. All these laws against murder trample my freedom to choose which humans get to live or die.
Abortion is not murder. It is a constitutionally protected, legal medical procedure. Choosing to shoot someone is illegal. You are comparing apples to oranges, Bree. Please explain how a woman's private decision between her doctor and her family is trampling on your individual freedom?
Semantics. You can call such "private decisions" to kill a living child with fingers, toes, and a heart beat a "legal medical procedure" but I find the word murder to be a more accurate description.
It's a bad time for the U.S.A. when politicians blatantly lie and are not immediately laughed out of the chamber. I am certain any democracy will crumble when based on the lies in power. You know, it would be much less grim and frightening if legislators who engaged in such dishonesty were overwhelmingly voted out of office at the next election, or even recalled immediately.
Lastly, unless the male's reproduction is under government control, neither should the woman's be.
You are entitled to use any description you wish, Bree.
You are not entitled to dictate what is best for every woman based on your own personal beliefs.
Incidentally, you never answered my question.
Civilized societies don't allow people to kill other people, especially children. I certainly hope we leave these Dark Ages behind and enter a more civilized and enlightened time where mothers at least love their offspring enough that they would accord them the right to live - even if raised by someone else.
SDBlue, the fact that I would have to explain to you that the murder of children is not a freedom to be protected nor a civil right demonstrates a dearth of moral comprehension on your part.
Bree, you really do not see the big picture, do you? You really think this is about whether or not a woman loves her offspring? Let's play hypothetical for a moment. A 19 year old girl is raped. Rather than have an abortion, you would subject that girl to 9 months of carrying a reminder of the violence and trauma that put her in that situation in the first place. You would prefer she keep that child and look into the eyes of her rapist every day for the rest of her life. What you would do in that situation is not indicative of what another woman would do in the same situation. It is no more your business what that 19 year old chooses to do than it is the government's.
You still haven't answered my original question.
(Don't forget, everyone: the main point of the post is that Texas Rep. Laubenberg is grossly misinformed/misinforming about rape kits, and that such ignorance should not be permitted to form policy.)
Bree, we may have covered this previously, but I need to ask: if I accept the equivalence of abortion and murder that you and Iowa State Senator and GOP candidate for Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds propose, must I then advocate that women murdering their fetuses face the same punishment as other murderers?
SDBlue, time to turn on the emotional argument? Very few abortions are due to rape, and I would support a rape exclusion to save 99% of unborn children. And I specifically didn't say she had to keep the child - there are plenty of couples out there hoping to adopt.
Liberals use the same tired excuse of the sad story of the rare woman who gets raped, gets pregnant, and wants an abortion. That sad story makes up 1% of all abortions. What's the excuse of the other 99%? I forgot my birth control? I think I have the right to kill my unborn child because I don't want to be inconvenienced by pregnany and adoption?
I will always maintain that at the stage most abortions are performed there is no baby, it is merely a cluster of cells that is a parasite living off the woman. If the woman doesn't want this parasite inside her why should she keep it? Bree until you have walked a mile in somebody's shoes, you shouldn't judge. I get so tired of these politicians trying to convince people that they know everything there is to know about what goes on in pregnancy, rape, etc. Now some moron says a rape kit will prevent pregnancy. The sad thing is there other morons that will believe her.
Ending civil rights for half of US citizens is the kind of red state collapse Stace Nelson is joyful to embrace.
I don't know Cory. I think Roe vs. Wade should be overturned. And then perhaps individual states would decide the legality of abortion as well as appropriate statutory charges if made illegal. Or perhaps a federal law would be passed making abortion illegal. I'm also perfectly happy with pro-life efforts requiring a woman to see a sonogram first etc. I don't really care as long as the lives of children are saved.
No fetus enjoys civil rights until the third trimester.
Joan, a fetus has fingers and toes at 8 weeks, and when someone calls a living child a "parasite" I judge them. When I read your posts in the future I will remember that you believe innocent children are parasitic clusters of cells.
Once again Corey, I apologize for getting off topic. I am extremely passionate about women's reproductive rights. When I listen to these policymakers spewing their ignorant talking points in front of god and everybody, it makes my blood boil. It is bad enough we have to listen to these halfwitted right-wing men who believe in different degrees of rape and believe a male fetus masturbates. Then this idiot woman from Texas says something so incredibly stupid it makes your jaw drop. I find their ignorance and arrogance morally reprehensible.
Who needs forced sterilization to control a population Larry when their women will willingly kill the next generation.
Hyperbole, BS.
Imagine a society where all children are conceived through forced intercourse: think war zone
Bree, only a small minded person would believe 99% of women get an abortion because they forgot their birth control or do not want to be inconvenienced by a pregnancy or adoption. I would love to see the proof you are using to support that argument. The bottom line is Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. If you do not believe in abortion, do not have one. If you are concerned about what decisions other women in America are making, my advice is MYOB.
You still haven't answered my original question.
Larry, where are your first born if not in the grave?
Hyperbole?
SDBlue:
Please explain how a woman's private decision between her doctor and her family is trampling on your individual freedom?
Bree S.:
SDBlue, the fact that I would have to explain to you that the murder of children is not a freedom to be protected nor a civil right demonstrates a dearth of moral comprehension on your part.
Your opinion is not the rule of law, Bree.
Yes, it is unlikely that birth control was forgotten 50 million times. I'm sure there are other equally dumb reasons to kill a child when adoption is always an option.
That's why immoral laws should be changed, Larry.
So some ineffectual blog in a red state is the beat venue for that?
Ag chemicals are responsible for millions of miscarriages among families that have not chosen to terminate pregnancy: are you for prosecuting the companies that manufacture those poisons?
Sorry Bree, questioning my moral comprehension and explaining that you are not going to explain, does not answer the question of how a woman's private decision between her doctor and her family is somehow trampling on your individual freedom. Gotta hand it to you Republicans. You have misdirection down to a science.
Republicans are legion for baiting Dems with fools errands that is a fact.
(Just because you're mad at Cory doesn't make his blog ineffectual.)
And I wasn't thinking "spread the word." Just I'm strongly pro-life and when people start talking about how abortion is some kind of right or freedom it gets under my skin. And the "I'm not pro-abortion, I'm pro-choice" argument. Ugh. Yeah, I don't want to kill anyone, but I fully support your murderous rampage.
It just gets under my skin when the bully starts crying.
Not a big fan of the overuse of ag chemicals, Larry. I am not against the use of some chemicals in agriculture - just think they could be used more sparingly and carefully.
Don't know about your claim regarding "millions of miscarriages" however if someone has evidence of such regarding a particular chemical they should sue.
live evil.
(No need to apologize, SDB! It's nothing personal. :-) )
Bree, I think you avoided the question. If abortion really is murder, would you really be o.k. with 50 states passing 50 different murder statutes, some giving murderers the death penalty, some giving murderers a year in jail, some only prosecuting hitmen but not those who hire them, and some saying, "Wait! Murder is a personal choice. We will allow organizations like Planned Murderhood to open clinics and provide murder counseling and services"? (I'm still testing equivalence here.)
SDBlue, as regards people harming other people I fully support laws against such - laws against murder and abortion for example. You are miscategorizing abortion as a freedom or a right. People have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That does not include killing children - which is why we have laws against murder. We have had laws against one person physically harming another person since the beginning of recorded history. This is the norm in society - and a basic requirement of government and civilization.
I would be happier if abortion was illegal at a federal level. But if the government decided that the legality of abortion should be worked out at a state level I would okay with that. I would of course entirely disagree with any states that decided abortion should be legal, but I would assume enlightened civilization would catch up in such a backwards state eventually.
Abortion is not the right or the freedom. Having the ability to choose is the right and the freedom.
Being pro-choice supports that right to choose. Being pro-choice means we believe it is the individual woman's right to choose abortion, birth or adoption.
Who made you judge and jury over every woman in America, Bree?
If that is the case SDBlue then I have the right to choose to kill my neighbor and no one should try to stop me - because I have the "right to choose" to kill him, and it is my freedom or right to do so. It would be "morally reprehensible" to try to stifle my freedom to kill other people.
Abortion is not murder or morally wrong in the eyes of the law. It may be murder and morally wrong in the eyes of your church, but that is the beautiful thing about Separation of Church and State. Your religion does not get to dictate what is best for every woman in America.
Cory is right in the point of the post being how (willfully) misinformed the GOP is about rape and women's reproduction. I fear for many, they think this is about sex, when for them, it's actually about control and power.
Morality is not a matter owned by organized religion. Harming other people is wrong as a matter of natural or universal law. The golden rule is an accepted moral reality of numerous religions and philosophies. And the fact that abortion isn't wrong in the eyes of the law puts current law at odds with moral reality. And that is why current immoral law must change.
I'm not in favor of abortion, but in my opinion it's about as a personal decision a person can make. To me nobody should be able to tell me or my wife what to do. If my wife's life was in danger then the decision to abort should be left to us and nobody else. If a woman is raped and becomes pregnant it should be HER choice to carry the baby to term.
A bunch of old men shouldn't choose for her.
Republicans are obsessed with "children" when they're in the womb. After they are born, they cry at any tax that goes toward any kind of social program, be it welfare/food stamps. This is what throws me into indignation when it comes to these so called pro-life republicans.
Yeah, killing other people is always a "personal decision."
Republicans are not pro-life, Jenny, they are pro-birth. Their concern with the child begins at conception and ends at birth.
And Owen, I could not agree more. Again, being a pro-choice person does not mean I am an advocate for abortion. It means I am an advocate for women making their own choices regarding their reproductive health without interference from religious zealots and old, white, male politicians who think they know more than a woman, her family and her doctor.
Yeah, that's why Republicans are generally such strong supporters of parental rights - because we don't care what happens to children.
If you want to get down to personal ethics, which is worse, cutting social programs that starving children depend on or abortion?
Cut taxes and cut welfare.
If Republicans really cared about children, education funding would be a top priority, but it is not. If Republicans really cared about children, healthcare would be a top priority, but it is not. If Republicans really cared about children, funding for food stamps and programs like head start and school lunches would be a priority, but it is not. If Republicans really cared about children, they would be willing to raise the minimum wage to bring families out of poverty. Once again, not a priority. So yes Bree, please tell me how much Republicans actually give a damn about that child once it has been brought into this world.
Bree keeps arguing that there are plenty of people out there willing to adopt.
Here are some unbiased facts:
http://www.ccainstitute.org/why-we-do-it-/facts-and-statistics.html
There are currently 405,000 children in the US waiting for adoption right now. There were 9,000 that were adopted last year (including adoptions from other countries). 25,000 children are aged-out each year (meaning that they turned 18 and are kicked out of the of the foster care system usually without any support system).
SDBlue is right in that most people don't advocate for people getting an abortion, but instead for the opportunity to make a choice. There are much better ways to reduce the abortions: Increase sex education in our schools to help prevent conception in the first place, increase access to contraception, and reduce poverty to name a few.
You complain about democrats falling back to cliche statements, but the end abortion because every kid will get adopted line is simply not true.
SDBlue, you belong in the throw-money-at-the-government-to-solve-problems crowd. If the problem doesn't get solved, just keep throwing money at it! All we need is bigger and more government programs, that will solve all our problems! Never mind the lessons of history or reality, anyone who doesn't want bloated corrupt government programs hates children. lol. How much do I care about my child? I will homeschool her myself because the education of my children is a personal responsibility. As a mother I will not rely on the opinions of "medical experts" but will take personal responsibility for her health. My next child I will give birth to at home with a midwife and minimal interference as I did with my first child - I will not be poked and prodded by men in labcoats because giving birth to and raising my children is a personal responsibility. I am a parent and fully responsible for rearing my children - I do not need nor want government interference in my life or my children's lives.
And helping poor starving children in third world countries is also a personal responsibility of mine. I do not need government interference in my personal financial decisions in order to choose to care for those children. While the government is busy funding overdoses among druggies Republicans like me are feeding the actual poor - not college students in America who qualify for food stamps. I'd say go ahead and keep throwing money at problems liberal - except its not your money you're throwing down the drain its the paychecks of all those Republicans you disparage. Apparently you supposedly care about children by spending other peoples' money on programs that don't actually work. Good for you.
A Texas legislator is filibustering the anti civil rights bill.
Bree why do the Republicans want to get rid of all the Planned Parenthoods? They do very, very few abortions. How many of the clinics that they want to get rid of provide a variety of services which help many woman including treatment for STDs and BC? Birth control except for an aspirin between the knees and no sex ed because it will make kids want to have sex is the Republicans agenda. It is a FACT that if there is GOOD sex ed and available BC there are fewer abortions. And let me add in sex ed classes there needs to be vivid reality lessons on what your life will be like if you are a young single mother in this country.
Look at the stats of who is getting abortions and why. Most of the abortions are done within 12 wks. They are done on women under 29 years old, and have not used BC consistently or at all. Most are living under the poverty level and many already have one or two.
I believe you mentioned they could have the baby and give it up for adoption. Have you looked at the stats of how many new mothers can do that after they have seen that baby?
So.... who will take care of those young girls/women when they have that baby? Are there any laws that say the guy, who was half of the equation, will have to support that child? Ya...but are they effective? No.
So...who is it that gets "stuck" with raising that kid? Who is going to support them? You and I are, especially if the Republicans have their way. They want to cut Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, housing assistance, school lunch and breakfast programs, child care assistance... and the list goes on. They do not want to raise minimum wage, make sure employers do not have to provide insurance and by god...heaven forbid "socialize medicine".
I am old enough to know about back street abortions and I am happy to have fewer women die because of it. It is going to happen regardless if you want no abortions. For pete's sake read some history.
You want to talk about a moral society? Then let me have the right to end my life with dignity with assisted suicide when my quality of life is poor for me, Do not send my children off to wars for profit of a few and come back maimed for life or in a box and are not taken care of, let me have medical care without losing my home.... This is not a moral society...is any?
This is only one of the 1st rights that are taken away from women, which many of us fought for.
SDBlue thank you for the voice of reason. I have become too angry to be reasonable.
I contend that one of the biggest dangers facing our democracy is widespread, unrepentant lying. Many euphemisms are employed to distort this fact: misspoke, misheard, misquoted, misunderestimated, etc. The fact is these are deliberate lies.
Millions of dollars are spent to support and promote these deliberate lies. We can look at deliberate lies about Obamacare, all variety of taxes, personal slander of opponents, educators, etc. At the top of my list of dangerous liars are the "pseudo-scientists" lying about global warming, polluters, fossil fuels, clean energy, medicine, and more.
In my opinion according to my observations, Republicans are more frequent offenders, but Democrats are catching up. This huge problem is truly bipartisan.
We take our eyes off these issues at the peril of our families, neighbors, and all fellow human beings.
Hello Prairie Lady Gayle, I'm old enough to remember the back alley abortions as well. I also remember the wealthy who could afford the personal physician who would make "sure" that the abortion was a medical necessity for the health of the mother.
Oh, I omitted the big lies that are the topic here. Biology, medicine, social, economic, legal and psychological issues as they apply to human reproduction are systematically lied about.
Thanks for the excellent topic Cory.
Oh my...even the "experts" on women and reproduction either don't get it or are lying scum. Check this one out and then ask yourself why these crisis centers or counselors should ever be trusted again.
http://www.salon.com/2013/06/25/caught_on_tape_crisis_pregnancy_centers_false_dangerous_advice/
Jana: It would be nice if a young woman in SD would go into the Alpha Center and see what they have to say.
Cory: Sorry did we hijack the thread?
Deb G:"In my opinion according to my observations, Republicans are more frequent offenders, but Democrats are catching up. This huge problem is truly bipartisan."
You are right. The Dems ideology is not too far from the Republicans any more either. (IMO)
"If that is the case SDBlue then I have the right to choose to kill my neighbor and no one should try to stop me - because I have the "right to choose" to kill him, and it is my freedom or right to do so. It would be "morally reprehensible" to try to stifle my freedom to kill other people."
Bree, if you are actually a female rather than one of those daring males posting under a female name, anytime you can stuff your neighbor twisting and screaming up your vulva into your uterus, I suspect there will be few objections to your act of killing your neighbor.
Oh Doug! That is one of the most priceless responses I've ever heard! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
Douglas Wiken showing his maturity as usual.
Deb Geelsdottir - why don't you point out to me what I have specifically lied about in this thread.
I wish my maturity wasn't quite so obvious these days. As my hair gets whiter and sparser, I keep growing less and less tolerant of fools.
Also, in the context of nonsense, remember the GOP candidate who said women don't get pregnant when they are raped?
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/todd-akin-legitimate-rape.php
These clowns must crawl out from under a really big rock or a really small car.
You are growing closer and closer to death while your thoughts grow no farther than the sides of your skull.
Bree, Bree, Bree. Why don't you point out to me one place I have accused you of lying in this thread? You are not that important to me and I see no point in trying to discuss with you. This lying problem is so much bigger than you.
You might be much more effective in arguing your point of view if you can get yourself out of the middle of it. Sigh.
So you aren't accusing me lying? Good to know. I like to clarify the vague statements of hateful activists.
While I understand the original intent of this post was not to instigate yet another debate on abortion, since it has gone down that path, I guess I would offer another perspective on this matter.
Twenty five years ago, I was a high school senior. I came from a good family, was head-over-heels in love with my boyfriend, and academically near the top of my class. I had the respect of my classmates, my teachers and was blessed to have colleges lining up to convince me to pick them.
You cannot imagine the emotional shock I felt on being told I was pregnant. But, there I was. To face what was to be the biggest decision of my life (which was NOT to have an abortion), I was able to turn to all of the resources at my disposal in making that choice: my good family who promised and delivered their unwavering support, both emotionally and financially; my first and only boyfriend, whose shoulder was there to cry on then as it always has been since, and whose commitment and responsibility are still something I admire after 25 years of marriage to him; and my own wits – I knew full well that the odds were stacked against us in terms of keeping our relationship/marriage together, our ability to pursue higher education and our income earning potential.
My point in this is to provide insight that most people don’t have. I am a best case scenario – I had a support system that could not have been any better. But that support system can only go so far when walking down the hall at school and hearing those snickers behind your back. It only goes so far when your “friends” no longer want to be around you. It only goes so far when you give the father’s name to the nurse at a doctor’s appointment and she asks, “Are you sure?” It only goes so far when the guidance counselor suggests you drop out of school and come back after the baby is born. It only goes so far when your pastor tells you that unwed teenagers are unwelcome in church and shows up at the hospital hours after giving birth to tell you that you that you could never be the mother this child deserves and you should give him up for adoption. No matter how rationally I could reason with myself to tune out the narrow-minded, judgmental, self-righteous people in the world, emotionally, it was almost more than I could take.
I understand why some would choose abortion, especially with no support, few resources and maybe not the best track record of good judgment. True, there are non-profit groups and other organizations that provide services to help these girls in need, but when you already feel like the world is against you - and for some, that world includes the baby’s father and family- it is very difficult to seek out help from strangers. With all the help in the world, there were some things I could only deal with alone. In my personal experience, I was continually surprised by wonderful encouragements from people I would have least expected and horrible behavior by those who should have been more compassionate.
What frustrates me in all of this debate is the debate itself. Just look at how long this thread is – seriously, scroll up (keep scrolling and scrolling…). Has anybody’s mind been changed? Of course not. Most people have their mind firmly made. Yes, I know the woman at the center of Roe v. Wade is now on the other side of the fence. Don’t get me started on her.
I have little time for people who go on about morality, religion or do-as-I-say-and-not-what-I-do hypocrisy. Smugness is not an attractive personal quality and I don’t know what practical purpose it serves. None of these debates really ever get down to the root of it all, which is also the cause of so many of the issues in our society: not taking our family relationships seriously, failure to truly respect others and to take responsibility for our own actions. We are all guilty of this from time to time. Applying the same old conservative-liberal, Republican-Democrat, religious-nonreligious banter isn’t helping. No one group or side of any issue is always right or always wrong. I made the decision to bring my child into the world, raise him and be responsible for him because my parents did the same for me, setting the example by way of personal conduct and deeds toward others.
Proper debate is a healthy thing when it brings new information to the table or includes thoughtful consideration of the other’s point of view. But when it dissolves into taking pot shots and trading verbal vomit, that time could be better spent strengthening our own personal relationships, which usually involve talking less and listening more. Isn’t that something we can all agree on?
For someone who has little time for "people who go on about morality," you sure spent a lot of time on that post.
Perhaps you don't know the definition of the word "smug."
smug - adjective - Having or showing excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.
You aren't the only teenage female to ever get pregnant, get snickered at, and have a jerk for a pastor. Your life experience and the opinions you have developed from it don't negate the moral reality of "do no harm to others" accepted by thousands of years of philosophy and religious thought.
I for one will continue to debate my "smug" views on parents murdering their children in public forum, regardless of your humble opinions.
“June Baby”: Courtney’s Story
I'm a product of a failed abortion.
Fifty-five million other babies were not as fortunate as me. My name is Courtney. I'm sixteen years young. When I was 14, I was told that I am adopted.
When I was 14, I also learned that there was much more to the story of my life. Not only am I adopted, but I am an abortion survivor. When my birthmother was somewhere around 7 weeks pregnant, she had an abortion. Five weeks or so later, she went for a post-op checkup, and it was discovered that I was there in the womb. She didn't know that she was pregnant with twins when she had the abortion.
Yes, sadly, my twin was aborted. And when it was discovered that I was still in the womb, I know that my birthmother had the option then to have another abortion. By then, she had seen my face and heard my heart beating. By the love of God, she said no to that abortion. She had a choice. She could let me go, and live life with that regret. Or she could let me live and give me to a loving family.
She chose the best for me. On June 19th, 1996, my adoptive got a phone call saying that my birth mom was having pains and didn't thinkthat I was going to live. Shortly later, I was born at approximately 27 weeks. The doctors had no faith that I would continue to live.
After three months of being in the hospital, they sent me home. Weighing only one pound, two ounces, they didn't even bother to send home a sleep apnea machine with me, as they didn’t think that I would live through the winter. Well, how about that doctors?! I'm sixteen years old, and still 'a kickin'!
All kidding aside, though, it has been a long journey for me. When I was seven years old, I had many trips to the hospital. I was later diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and Right Hydronephrosis. I treat them now with a strict diet (as strict as a 16-year-old like me can).
In the summer of 2011, I had my first foot surgery. Over the past three years, I’ve now had four surgeries altogether. And I'm still 'a kickin'. Honestly, I’m alive and well today not just because of my own strength, but because my mother chose life for me over an abortion and because of the love and help of my loving family and friends.
I started slowly opening up to close friends over the past couple of years about everything that I’ve gone through, and in January 2013, I started speaking publicly about it. I have now spoken to groups ranging from 5 to a little over 100 people, and I'm hoping that one day I can change the lives of people when it comes to abortion. It’s a choice--a choice between life and death for a child. A baby is a gift from God and NEVER a mistake.
I am a miracle and I believe God put me here for many reasons. I think two of them are to change lives, and to help people who need it.
http://www.theabortionsurvivors.com/survivor-testimonies/
Cory, maybe you can give the 'dishonesty of elected officials and prominent people' another shot via a different topic. I think it is a critical subject, but this thread seems to have been hijacked for anti- rants.
Perhaps a topic to consider is climate change, or a variety of immigrant or economic issues. Evolution. The outright lies about proven facts is what I'm talking about, not laws made or not made in regard to facts or pseudo-facts.
BTW Cory, isn't that what you had in mind for this post?
Bree, I agree with you - my life experience does not negate my moral reality. Life experience SHAPES moral reality. You are obviously very passionate about how you feel, but I hope you are using some of that energy to do more than just cruise blogsites to call people murderers and tell people of an opposing viewpoint that they are wrong. At the end of the day, that doesn't save any babies. Kudos to Courtney as she speaks to groups about changing lives. She has a special message worth listening to and makes a far bigger impact talking to people than at them. I would listen to what she has to say any day. You're right - I'm not the only teenager that ever got pregnant. I'm not patting myself on the back either. You can only do that when a job is well done and being a parent means that job never ends. She says it best - "my mother chose life for me over an abortion and because of the love and help of my loving family and friends". We need to get back to that. It makes more of a difference than anything else including blogs, debate and legislation.
Cory - my apologies for being a hijacker of this thread. I promise I will go about my business and continue to be a reader of and not a contributer to.
You want me to be PC. I'm not. "Pro-choicers" would probably be happier if Pro-lifers such as myself would shut up and stop speaking the truth. We're talking about the future of innocent children, about taking everything they ever will be away from them, stealing from them their chance at life on this world. I can't be silent in the face of that horrifying wrong.
No, life experience does not shape moral reality. You can choose reality or delusion, to survive or to die. You can choose to be morally real or to be an empty walking shell. Everything is not true, all answers are not right, squares are not circles.
Undeveloped man cannot reach inside woman's womb and rip the fetus out of her body. The fact that technology has made this possible does not make it right in the eyes of natural law or the true morality of civilized man.
Thanks Bree. You have done a good job here.
I enjoyed reading your personal story, Yada Yada Yada. I appreciate your insight and understanding on why some women choose abortion over having their baby. I have a cousin whose priest wouldn't perform the marriage to her and her boyfriend (the father) b/c they had a baby out of wedlock. Society makes it awfully hard sometimes for mothers that want to do right.
If a woman has an abortion and regrets it that is most definitely a moral life changing experience, Bree.
I agree Jenny. I would save womankind from such regret.