If you’re a pregnant woman faced with the difficult decision of aborting your child, Gov. Rick Perry has a few words for you:

“When you consider the magnitude of the decision to have an abortion, ensuring that the patient understands what’s truly at stake seems a small step to take,” Gov. Perry said. “When someone has all the information, the right choice – the choice of life – becomes clear. Now our legislature can take fast action on this important bill because we all know when it comes to saving lives, every second counts.”

This was his speech during a “Rally for Life” where he declared his efforts to pass through legislation that would make it mandatory for women seeking an abortion to have a sonogram.

It’s pretty obvious what he’s trying to do here: he wants to discourage abortion, and he figures having to look your baby “in the face” will change more than a few minds. Ignoring the fact this kind of thing completely violates their rights as a patient, I find it more than a little ironic a state that executes more criminals than almost every other state combined would pride itself on “choosing life”. I guess life only counts when it’s in amniotic fluid, cuz once it’s out of the womb, it better not ask for any financial assistance, am I right?

The Hitchens/Blair debate has been over for a while, but for some Catholics, the fact Tony was utterly tooled is still a bit of a sore spot. With all those weeks passed since the debate, a few theists are still trying to figure out what Blair could have said to hold his own.

During the debate, Hitchens made the point religion has done no favor to women, and only by emancipating them from the slavery of their reproductive cycles can they hope to truly be free. Sounds reasonable, and we definitely have some proof to back up that claim. Not so, according to Francis Phillips at the Catholic Herald:

I thought there was one point where Blair could have got underneath his opponent’s hard carapace: when Hitchens attacked religion for doing nothing for women’s dignity. The way to bring about “the empowerment of women” was to take them off “the animal cycle of reproduction”, he stated. He also mentioned “clerics” who stood in the way of women bettering themselves. Blair had a golden opportunity here to go on the attack: what had atheism to offer women but ever easier “reproductive rights” – i.e., ever easier access to contraception and abortion? What had the most atheistic society in the world, China, done for women’s dignity in enforcing their “one-child” policy?

In thinking of the arguments that Blair didn’t make here, I was reminded of the testimony of Steven Mosher, one-time student of social anthropology at Stanford University and an unthinking atheist and supporter of “women’s liberation” like everyone else around him. As part of his research he went to China in the 1980s where he got on well with the local Communist committee and was invited to witness a forced late-term abortion. I won’t describe what he saw, merely the electric effect it had on him: in the space of a few minutes he went from an insouciant attitude of “abortion is a women’s right” to being profoundly and unhesitatingly pro-life. (His atheism began to fall apart later, when he got to know pro-life workers in the US who were almost all Christians; now a devout Catholic and father of eight, he works full time for Human Life International.)

So her argument is China, being a state that “officially” doesn’t believe in God, somehow makes them the representative for atheists everywhere? I’m not sure the cable has come out yet to Franny, but non-belief isn’t some weird club where everyone has to swear allegiance to Mao Zedong.

In any case, if your argument is the Church would never have allowed forced horrible abortions on women, I suppose I can’t argue with you on that point. While it’s true they would certainly have prevented EVERY conceivable abortion from taking place (even the ones that would save the mother’s life), we already know so much about how much “freedom and dignity” women have enjoyed under religious rule. If you’re unfamiliar with the history of misogyny within the context of your own religion, then you can simply look at all the modern examples of this as well. The country of Saudi Arabia comes to mind.

Hitchens argued religion was not a force for good in the world, and if Blair had tried to bring China up as an example of “runaway atheism”, he would have been buried alive. In any case, if you think a forced abortion even comes close to the history of violence, torture, slavery, murder and subjugation the majority of women have had to face at the hands of religion, than you need to educate yourself. The estimated 50-100,000 women burned at the stake for witchcraft is a testament to the fact Catholicism and Christianity in general has a long history of perverse hatred and derision against the fairer sex. Although we can safely say not believing in God may not help anyone’s dignity (the same way non-belief has no bearing on morality), it doesn’t set your ass on fire either.

Is it ironic Franny is defending a religion that still thinks women have no business talking about religion to begin with? First Timothy has a few word to say about that shit:

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence

A few days ago, Carisa and I recorded a podcast about a rather disturbing law being proposed in Utah that would make “recklessness” during pregnancy a criminal offense, with a possibility of life imprisonment for feticide. Imagine my surprise to find these kinds of laws actually exist in 35 different states in the US.

Recently, a woman named Christine Taylor was arrested in Iowa for falling down a flight of stairs in her own home, and during her hospital visit, she confiding with her doctor that she had serious reservations about keeping the child. This sent alarm bells for the medical staff, who contacted the authorities.

Prosecutors chose not to go to trial because the fetus was still in the second trimester, and the draconian feticide law applies only in the final stages of pregnancy. If you don’t think this is outrageous, I don’t know what to tell you.

You can thank religious wackos for enacting these kinds of insane laws. The recognition of a fetus as a living entity entitled to the same rights as a sentient human being is a pretty spurious idea; how can an abortion be legal, but an illegal one be considered murder? These laws were originally intended to prosecute offenders (typically men who had no desire to become fathers) who would attempt to terminate pregnancies by assaulting women, but it’s now being used against women themselves. The religious right is working diligently to make all abortion illegal, but in the meantime, overzealous religious prosecutors (for these people are always motivated by their ridiculous religious convictions) with a distaste for abortion are using feticide laws to punish women who wish to terminate their pregnancies or have serious reservations about78jm being pregnant. This whole thing feels a lot like 1984, and any American even slightly interested in their personal freedom should be concerned.

(Update: Luckily the state did not pursue legal action)

It never ceases to amaze me the kind of tactics anti-abortionist groups will use to pressure people into not having abortions. Apart from picketing at clinics, airing ads during the Super Bowl, and even actively encouraging psycho vigilantes to take the law into their own hands, they’ll put this up: a billboard that tries to make it look like the “white man” is out to abort all black babies.

Statistically, African American teenagers actually have a higher teen pregnancy rate, and since the demographic is on average poorer than their light skinned counterparts, it’s true they are getting more abortions. But to suddenly paint this as a whitey conspiracy is both irresponsible and offensive; it ignores the fact many families in black neighborhoods are simply too poor to afford having another child, and in some cases, terminating their pregnancy is the only thing that allows them to break the vicious cycle of poverty.

I’m not expecting any honesty from anti-abortionists, but I’m not the only one who finds this ad offensive:

Loretta Ross, the executive director of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective in Atlanta, said the billboards painted black women as either monsters intent on destroying their own race or victims of whites who control abortion clinics.

When will these douchebags stop? Probably when they stop thinking a lump of cells has the same rights as a fully formed human being, which is to say never.

I hate football. I know that’s not a popular opinion to have, especially when about 70% of my visitors are Americans, but considering the average 3 hour game only has a total of about 11 minutes of actual play time, I find it both incredibly dull and utterly pointless. I can’t, however, deny there is something about the way it’s put together. They’ve even managed to make showing commercials something people look forward to (which in an average game accounts for 60 minutes of ads; no wonder it’s “America’s sport”), although CBS’s recent decision to air an anti-abortion commercial starring Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother Pam may change that.

Focus on the Family, the nutjob institution that thinks gays are trying to ruin “traditional marriage”, is going to air the pair in a 30 second advert. You see, back in 1987, Pam Tebow became pregnant, but severe complications threatened both her life and that of the baby, so doctors recommended she terminate the pregnancy. She refused, and later fell into a coma for a while; the pregnancy was so hard she was completely bedridden almost the entire time. She decided to take a huge risk and keep the child, and that baby was Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. Now, you can imagine how they want to spin this fucking yarn.

Of course, the fact both Pam and Tim survived and are both healthy is a bit of a rarity, and it definitely sends the wrong message concerning the real risks some women face during difficult pregnancies. The fact that they are both alive is a testament to the power of medical science, not God. I doubt very much that the ad will put much focus on just how serious her medical problems were in the 30 seconds they have to play with. Besides, it’s like trying to prove smoking isn’t harmful by finding a 90 year old who smokes three packs a day. Yes, We EXPECT there will always be a few exceptions out there, but flaunting them is both dishonest and dangerous (read a great summary of the arguments here).

CBS used to have a policy of neutrality when it came to advertising during the Super Bowl, but inexplicably they’ve decided to break this rule. Are they going to leave out the fact Pam had the OPTION not to terminate her pregnancy? I don’t know what the ad will say, but people should be aware Focus on the Family’s real agenda is to make ALL abortions illegal, regardless of the consequences to the mother. When is America finally going to stand by the idea of freedom of choice when it comes to abortion? The fact this is still an issue is an embarrassment to a country that prides itself on being free.

Are you not tired of people refusing to believe in reason? I know I am. Scientists keeps finding shit out, and morons keep ignoring what they say. The latest in a series of major studies no one will listen to is on whether or not restricting legal abortion reduces the number of women trying to end their pregnancies. The result, unsurprisingly, is that it doesn’t do jack-shit.

I want to speak directly to any pro-lifer who may have stumbled upon this site right now. While you might be naïve enough to think that by making a stupid law, you’d somehow “make the world safe for babies”, the only thing you would do is create more problems. Laws invariably creates scofflaws (are you seriously going to jail women for getting abortions?), and since women seek abortions even when they aren’t legal, they would be taking huge health risks terminating their pregnancies. Same amount of abortions, just a lot more deaths and jail sentences. Great job.

So here’s the thing, boys and girls. Abortions aren’t pleasant, but they happen. You have to deal with the fact life isn’t some Disney bullshit, and by trying so hard to ignore reality, you’re just making everything worse. It might be hard for you to accept, but the rest of the world grew up and realized the best way to avoid human suffering and misery was by being smart, not indignant.

How cruel can life be? I don’t think most of us are willing to really fathom the depth of pain, suffering and death that goes on in the world on any given day. Luckily, as human beings we are mostly isolated from the horrors and cruelty of nature. Well, most of the time, anyways.

A few months ago, a friend of mine (who will obviously remain nameless) who was pregnant with a baby girl was told the fetus suffered from a rare disorder called anencephaly, and an abortion would be needed (if you are faint of heart, I don’t suggest reading up on it). Anencephaly is a developmental disorder that occurs during day 23 to 26 of pregnancy; the time when the neural tube (a kind of precursor to the brain) fails to properly “close”. The result is a baby without a brain.

Any infant born with this condition will live only a few hours, and it’s normally recommended the pregnancy be terminated at this point, both to avoid any undo risks for the mother, and avoid the actual horrors of bringing such a child to term (they are often terribly disfigured, sometimes missing the entire top of the head).

Of course if it was up to a pro-lifer, my friend would not have been allowed to terminate the pregnancy. It was not an easy decision for her, but in the end she had to concede the pregnancy had been a failure. It was difficult for her to accept, but life moves on.

So here is a video about clever legislation that is being tabled in a number of conservative states in the US. These bills are intended to completely remove the rights women have over their bodies in favor of a very childish notion of the ‘sanctity’ of life. These government officials obviously have no real understanding of medicine, but what they do know is how to get votes, and there are enough pro-lifers to ensure their re-election if they claim to have saved hundreds of babies from termination.

Look guys, life is cruel and weird, and we cannot start giving full blown rights to organisms that have only yet begun to develop. There are many instances when abortions are unwanted but still necessary. That’s the thing most pro-lifers will never admit to, even when they themselves are faced with an unpleasant reality (after all, religious conservatives are more likely to get abortions than secular women). We can’t create laws that take reality for granted. Although I can appreciate their zeal in trying to preserve life, abortions are still needed even if they aren’t very well liked.

If you’ve ever wondered just why the religious right hates abortion so much, maybe this new study published in LiveScience can shed some light. According to the June issue of The Journal of Health and Social Behavior, young unmarried women graduating from private religious schools are actually more likely to get abortions than their secular counterparts.

This study isn’t really all that surprising. Women going to religious private schools are more likely to engage in risky sex, having lacked the proper sexual education needed to make adult decisions about contraception. Rather than learning about condoms, the pill, or the myriad products available that allow humans the opportunity to carefully control their reproductive systems, these girls get the laughable ‘education’ that waiting until marriage is the best way to avoid pregnancies.  Because the religious right basically absconds from their duty of teaching women about all of their options, a large number of them will have no other choice than to terminate their unwanted pregnancies. If you hate abortion so much guys, you might want to take another look at your sexual education policy. Clearly, it’s making the problem worse.

I suspect this study will simply be ignored; after all, it’s not as though religions have a good track record of listening to reality. They would much rather live in their little insular bubbles where good Christians girls still have virtue, still wait until marriage to have sex, and spend their lives barefoot and preggers. It doesn’t matter that this is an obvious lie. It’s a comforting one, and that’s all they need.