The Quiet Campaign Against Birth Control
At National Right to Life’s conference this year, Mitt Romney set out to convince anti-abortion leaders he was their candidate. At the podium, he rattled off his qualifications. To a layman’s ears, it sounded pretty standard for abortion politics. He wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. He supports teaching only abstinence to teens.
But for those trained to hear the subtleties, Mr. Romney was acknowledging something more. He implied an opposition to the birth control pill and a willingness to join in their efforts to scale back access to contraception. There are code phrases to listen for - and for those keeping score, Mr. Romney nailed each one.
One code phrase is: “I fought to define life as beginning at conception rather than at the time of implantation.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines pregnancy as starting at implantation, the first moment a pregnancy can be known. Anti-abortion advocates want pregnancy to start at the unknown moment sperm and egg meet: fertilization. They’d also like you to believe, despite evidence to the contrary, that the birth control pill prevents that fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.
Mr. Romney’s code, deciphered, meant, “I, like you, hope to reclassify the most commonly used forms of contraceptives as abortions.” In fact, he told the crowd, he already had some practice redefining contraception: “I vetoed a so-called emergency contraception bill that gave young girls abortive drugs without prescription or parental consent.”
No matter that emergency contraception has the same mode of action as the birth control pill and every other hormonal method of birth control. To the anti-abortion movement, contraception is the ultimate corruptor. And so this year, the unspoken rule for candidates seeking the support of anti-abortion groups is that they must offer proof they’re anti-contraception too.
Unannounced candidate and former Sen. Fred Thompson at first denied he had been a lobbyist for the contraception advocacy group the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. Until billing records materialized proving he worked for the group, he somehow had “no recollection of it.”
Presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, beefed up his anti-contraception resume by co-sponsoring a bill to de-fund the nation’s largest contraception provider, Planned Parenthood, by excluding it from Title X family planning for the poor. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain’s campaign officials boast he has “consistently voted against taxpayer-funded contraception programs.” And Mr. McCain reports that his adviser on sexual-health matters is Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, who leads campaigns claiming condoms are unsafe and opposing emergency contraception.
Another presidential candidate, Rep. Tom Tancredo, like Mr. Romney, has ventured far into the “contraception-is-abortion” territory. According to Mr. Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, emergency contraception “cheapens human life and simply uses a woman’s body to dispose of the child instead of a doctor.” By the same logic, so do the birth control pill, the contraceptive patch, the IUD, the NuvaRing, and the Depo-Provera shot - which, it’s worth noting, together account for 40 percent of the birth control American women use.
The American public is unaware of the new wave of anti-contraception activism by opponents of abortion, which makes it much easier for politicians to appease the anti-contraception base. Take, for example, President Bush. While he has delivered some big anti-abortion victories for the religious right in the last seven years (Supreme Court Justices John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr., and the so-called partial-birth abortion ban), anti-contraception work has taken up more of his energy. He attempted to strip contraceptive coverage for federal employees; appointed anti-birth control leader David Hager to the FDA panel that approves and expands access to contraceptive methods; chose another contraception opponent to oversee the nation’s contraceptive program for the poor; defunded international family-planning programs, and invested unprecedented sums into sex-ed programs that prohibit mention of contraception.
For now, the candidates vying for the Right to Life endorsement are doing their best to avoid directly answering mainstream voters’ simple questions on the subject, such as, “Do you support couples having access to safe and effective birth control options, including emergency contraception?” Considering that even 80 percent of self-described “pro-life” voters and a majority of Republican voters strongly support contraception, it’s no wonder why.
Cristina Page, author of “How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics and the War on Sex,” is spokeswoman for birthcontrolwatch.org. Her e-mail is cristina@prochoicemovement.com.
© 2007 The Baltimore Sun
i sometimes have a hard time putting together all the pieces of the pro-life (ie, anti-choice), pro gun, anti life-saving gov’t regulation, anti life saving gov’t taxation of the rich, pro-war, pro-war,pro-war, anti-environment, crowd. is it simply the Tyranny of the Irrational? on the most complicated, intimate, personal, painful, and joyous decisions and experiences in a person’s life (ie, sexuality), let’s make sure ignorance & suffering prevail! and if you disagree w/our views & agenda, you are Sinful!
let’s not forget it wasn’t that long ago that contraceptives were made publicly available. and men, esp. right wingers, fought it all the way.
let’s also not forget that control of sexuality (which boils down to controlling women, basically) is essential for the corporate military state. true, but some of this is just plain old sadism.
The quiet partner behind many anti-abortion and anti-contraception movements is the pro-natalist movement: Those who want to encourage people to have as many babies as possible.
Why is this? I’ve been wondering for years, and I’ve only heard one reason that seems to stick: An old (as in ancient, pre-biblical) belief that one sure-fire way to overcome your enemies is to out-populate them. So, you encourage “your people” to make as many children as possible. It helps, of course, that a lot of excess children eventually means a lot of excess teenagers and young adults — something that the folks in power find very useful when they’re trying to build up their armies.
Not only is this logic rather silly in the context of the modern global nature of society, it also flies in the face of what we know now about the damaging effects of over-population — not just regionally, but globally.
here is some elementary math for the christaisn
2 teenagers + raging hormones + absinance education - contraception - abortion + 1 bible - good jobs = 1,000,000,000 poor welfare babies.
So I guess if a Married couple doesn’t want to have kids. They must practice abstinence.
This country is so full of crap; I hate it more and more every day.
So we are worried about the little sperms and eggs that are not getting the chance to become a full grown BABY!!!!!
What happens next Right-to-LIFE FOLKS? What about a good education, right to health care, right to not send that same child to die in a war for profit, what about helping the countries middle class maintain a job so the child can have what it needs, how about regulating insurance premiums? What about that?
Sure sure you want the baby to be born, but after that it’s someone else problem.
Sure you call yourself right-to-life, but you’re still pro-war too huh. Wow that has a bit of conflict don’t you think?
You want fewer abortions? How about you try and educate like Pro-Choice people are. How about you fight to give women access to health care! “WOMEN” not only 17 year girls get pregnant when they didn’t mean to. There are 40 year old career women who don’t want kids either.
What the hell is wrong with this country!!! GAYS AND ABORTION? These are the topics that we talk about when it comes to voting for the leader of our nation? This is what we thinks matters.
OK well there are 2 guys kissing right now, and how did it affect you. Go ahead take 5 secs and think about it…………………..Let me guess didn’t affect you at all huh. Go figure.
A child wasn’t just born, how did that affect you? Nothing again? Wow go figure.
Now what about the two people that love each other more than life it self, but can’t be married. Can’t get a house together with out jumping through hoops, can’t walk in public because they might get beaten. (Which isn’t a hate crime by the way).
What about them huh?
What about that child that is now 8 years old living in poverty because of condom failure. And her mom is now working 2 jobs and trying to take care of a child because you don’t want the Morning after pill to be available to women?
What about the 17 year old who has been beaten, and abused in 6 different foster care homes, and on his next birthday he will now be homeless because of our 18 and out system.
What about them? Your False Religious beliefs have caused great harm. I hope your Pagan God is happy. Cause this “Christian” Religion you claim makes no sense in any way shape or form. Cause I didn’t think God gave you permission to judge, to cast down, to persecute, to kill, to murder, to hate, to steal, to lie, to cheat, to deceive, to betray, to rape, to pillage, to destroy, to slaughter, to corrupt, to worship worldly things, to worship money, to go to church on Sunday ? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Ever heard of Constantine? Or the Pagan Sun God?
All this pain for a few votes? Yeah I’m sure your False Christian Views make you feel proud. That you make Decisions in the name of GOD.
I will be glad when you days come.
maybe they need more cannon fodder for the “White Christian Crucade Against Godless Muslims” AKA, War on Terror, Long War, War for Arab Oil”, etc…
and there is no better fodder/soldier than undeducated poor white trash…you can get those hicks to do just about anything.
Maybe they are just trying to encourage more Anal & Oral Sex to satisfy their own personal kinks?
I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry to all the Progressives for loosing my cool. I just can’t take it anymore. This ignorant fools think that only 14year girls can get pregnant. That Only teens are the ones that don’t want babies. Grown couples don’t always feel like it’s right for them. Or not the right time. Now you don’t want women using birth control ? How about Safer birth Control with out the damn Blood Clots and crap.
GAWD I hate this crap. This stupid nation with its stupid citizens that voted a president in because he was against GAYS?
If this were a christian nation this war would have never started and one would have been over a years ago. Real christians would love any one and everyone because thats what their God does. And Jesus did the same. They wouldn’t Judge and hate and Cast out the way they do. I came up with this along time ago:
Religion makes you judge
Spirituality make you accept
Religion makes you cast down
Spirituality makes you lift up
Religion makes you separate
Spirituality makes you bring together
Religion brings about guilt
Spirituality brings you to rejoice
A religious man will Scorn thy in time of need
But a Spiritual man will always lend a hand
~Future~
Future.me,
Great rant! Loved it. RIGHT on.
Canuckchuck’s three excellent posts above say about all there is to say on the subject. Most important is the maths post, to which I’ll add some trifles. While overpopulation was already a cliche topic in the ’90s, it seems the disruption of our life support system via man-made climate change may force a sort of population control (via starvation) in the not so distant future. You hear about the world’s major rivers drying up, precipitation patterns altering …that’s bad news for hungry mouths, my friends. But then, see it from religion’s perspective: horrors and death have always supercharged the faiths in the past. For the religio-totalitarians, the Four Horsemen can’t come soon enough (and the more crowded and miserable we are, the better). For the rest of us, Jesus, like Mohamed, is the terrorist king. He won’t bomb us, but he’ll stupify enough of us, and our herd will run off the cliff together.
I wonder why if they are so “right to life”, they love the death penalty?
Canuckchuck, that was a great math lesson!
Future.me,
I loved your rant and rave! I’ve had very similar rants in my mind - on a near-daily basis, in fact. I wonder what would happen if you posted your passionate and articulate rants at a right-wing web site? I always wonder what their response would be to the points you and other bloggers here made (like the 100,000,000 welfare babies math!)
Barry Goldwater was pro choice. He wasn’t afraid to break ranks with the republicans on this and on gays in the military. Bush is no Goldwater. For that matter, he isn’t even a Nixon.
Canuckchuck, that was wonderful, I’m still laughing. Great Math. And Thanks. CompashCat, if I knew of any Right-Wing sites I would. Let me know if you have any listed.
I am sick and tired of the fanaticism of both sides in this debate.
On the right : Wanting to come into my bedroom and see what my wife and I do about contraception. Trying to outlaw abortion for any reason. A few nut jobs even attacking doctors or taunting young pregnant women trying to get to the clinic. Trying to drive abortions underground where women are at the mercy of any ad hoc abortionist with a knife. (my aunt died this way)
On the Left : fighting to have abortions legal for any reason up until birth. Acting like fathers are disinterested “sperm donors” with no rights except to financially support a child should the mother decide to have it. Acting like the decision to abort a sixth month fetus is morally comparable to having a tooth pulled. (the fetus is just a piece of tissue, unless I were to push the mother down a flight of stairs and she was to spontaneously abort - then its a person and I could be charged with murder.)
Both sides need to grow up. Extremists on either side are full of crap.
I wish the Rapture would hurry up and happen so that all these self-righteous fanatics would go away. Think of all the great stuff they’ll leave behind. It’s going to be awesome.
Okay, Ladies! Abstinence it is then. And marching until we get a guarantee of full reproductive/contraceptive rights. They should be really careful what they wish for!
Yeah, Even though it would suck Debbie, all women across the globe should go on a 30day Strike, NO LOVIN for anyone, the world would blow up for sure
I guess we need someone to fight our wars for us - this must be it, all these poor welfare babies can grow up to be soldiers.
If you’re wondering how to parse the anti-contraception stance of the so-called “pro-life” crowd, try Googling some fundamentalist Christian websites sometime, especially those that have overt political agendas. Jedediah nailed it: it’s all about controlling women, best achieved by keeping ‘em barefoot, pregnant & in the kitchen. When they’re just talking among themselves, these yahoos want to roll back not only the sexual revolution but boot women out of the workforce, as well, claiming that the woman’s place is in the home (seriously!) and that co-ed workplaces cause adultery. I could go on, but I just had a nice lunch and I’d like to keep it down.
I’ve always wondered if misogynist men secretly fear that they couldn’t possibly ever win if they had to compete with women on anything like a level playing field.
I want to take this occasion to recommend a book that gets no notice: A BRIEF LIBERAL CATHOLIC DEFENSE OF ABORTION, by Daniel A. Dombrowski & Robert Deltete. This difficult reading but well worth it.
So the Shrub doesn’t want us to have any kind of birth control but abstinence. Riiiggghhhttt. {rolls eyes} But, by God, the kids don’t need SCHIP once they are here. Who cares if they get sick? They’re only good for a political issue BEFORE they’re born. {REALLY rolls eyes}
THE RICH WILL ALWAYS GET THEIR CONTRASEPTION AND/OR ABORTION. IT IS THE POOR WHO WILL BEAR MORE POOR. I GUESS THE WEALTHY JUST WANT TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE TO OPPRESS.
Oh, wait a minute, Bligh. Roe v Wade says nothing about the right to have an abortion up until birth. In fact, I think few people know what Roe v Wade actually said.
To paraphrase it, Roe v Wade addressed the states under three conditions:
The states cannot prohibit abortions during the first trimester.
The states can decide what they want to do about the second trimester.
The states cannot permit an abortion during the third trimester except if it endangers the woman’s life or health or if the fetus is not viable.
If anyone has a better understanding of the actual language in Roe v Wade, please let us know.
For a look at Christians who are liberal, progressive and welcoming to all, may I suggest the United Church of Christ For an organizaion of forward-looking Christians from all denominations, check out For a periodical which consistently has a thoughtful, even liberal Christian viewpoint, try The Christian Century
Not everyone who is a friend of Jesus wants to subjugate women, eliminate homosexuals, mindlessly support government, enrich CEOs, deny children healthcare, glorify war, exploit fear, get rid of family planning or use patriotism and religion to shut off critical thought.
Many other denominations and Christian organizations are progressive, but these are excellent samples.
Sorry–the progressive Christian organization I mentioned in my last comment but whose name I didn’t include is Progressive Christians Uniting.
I thank Heaven for the UCC and the liberal, inclusive, spiritual foundation I received there growing up. I learned that social justice is a spiritual value and “the way to be religious is to be Ohomophobia, or racism, or exploitaiton of any people or the environment).
Those neocons- if they can’t knock you up they’ll knock you down and blow you up.
I truly do not understand why any thinking woman (and unfortunately I have to classify both my sisters and my mother in the unthinking category) would vote Republican.
We’ve all seen the saying about if men had babies, abortion would be a Constitutional right. I wish some of these fundy types would take the beams out of their eyes before they obsess about everyone else’s splinters. As far as I’m concerned, until the government can guarantee that every child born in this country will have access to decent food and shelter and good health care and education, it’s got no right telling a woman she can’t abort.
…And that doesn’t mean dragging the kids off to creches or state-run orphanages to rear them into loyal little soldiers either.
canuckchuc writes:
“here is some elementary math for the christaisn
2 teenagers + raging hormones + absinance education - contraception - abortion + 1 bible - good jobs = 1,000,000,000 poor welfare babies.”
Yes, newborn white babies for the ‘Infant-Adoption’ marketplace… Infertility is NOT an acceptable excuse for not looking just like a real woman!
Roe v Wade states: (from Wikipedia)
The central holding of Roe v. Wade was that abortions are permissible for any reason a woman chooses, up until the “point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable,’ that is, potentially able to live outside the mother’s womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.”[1] The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman’s health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton.
“I want to take this occasion to recommend a book that gets no notice: A BRIEF LIBERAL CATHOLIC DEFENSE OF ABORTION, by Daniel A. Dombrowski & Robert Deltete. This difficult reading but well worth it.”
The Catholic Church hierarchy, in America with the massive help from Tom Monaghan, is behind the life-begins-with-conception-contraception-is-murder position.
This despite the overwhelming rejection of Paul VI’s condemnation of contraception, and the constant disinformation campaign by conservative Catholics ever since, that affirming the morality of artificial contraception was some sort of anti-Catholic plot. It was the Church’s own official theologians that dissented, and Paul VI, John Paul & Benedict have all continued to try to impose a long-since-exploded version of natural law to enforce it.
Next time a Catholic tells you that life begins at conception, ask him or her why the rite of baptism can only be administered to a child AFTER BIRTH (or to stillborns); there isn’t, and never has been, a baptism ritual for the unborn. So the Church’s own sacramental theology puts the lie to the papal teaching.
Their big anti-reproductive rights slogan is “THE CULTURE OF DEATH”, and whenever you hear a candidate repeating that phrase, you know who’s running his campaign.
Of course the “Culture of Death” that includes weapons’ spending, toxifying the enironment, etc., are never assailed.
Future me — nice post — !!!
Re . . . bligh quote below . . . .
Your complaints with the left/pro-choice side suggest an unfamiliarity with what actually happens. Late term abortions need to be approved and are usually done for HEALTH reasons; usually they are wanted babies, but something goes wrong.
I’m quite sure that if your own wife suffered one of these pregnancies and you wanted to preserve her health and life and try to make it possible for her to have children in the future, that you would appreciate these late term options.
There is nothing “extremist” about wanting to preserve the life, health and future fertility of females when a wanted pregnancy goes wrong.
Further, as I recall the numbers, there are about one of these late term abortions for health in every county, every year.
Describing this as the left fighting for abortions until birth is as disingenuous as describing them as “partial birth abortions” — more aptly partial truth abortions.
bligh quote: On the Left : fighting to have abortions legal for any reason up until birth. Acting like fathers are disinterested “sperm donors” with no rights except to financially support a child should the mother decide to have it. Acting like the decision to abort a sixth month fetus is morally comparable to having a tooth pulled. (the fetus is just a piece of tissue, unless I were to push the mother down a flight of stairs and she was to spontaneously abort - then its a person and I could be charged with murder.)
Since some here have mentioned liberal Christian groups, I thought I’d mention the Air America program State of Belief for those who don’t know about it already. The host, Rev. Welton Gaddy, is a Baptist minister who also heads a group called The Interfaith Alliance.
The whole issue is a smokescreen to rile impotent, angry morons who can’t control their own miserable, ignorant lives but feel self-righteous enough to control others’ lives.
As Gore Vidal famously said: Don’t just keep government off our backs but keep it off our fronts!
I was not actually referring to Roe vs Wade in my comments about wanting to have the right to abort up until birth. I was referring to a pro-choice rally in my town several years ago to expand Roe vs Wade. One of the organizers was shouting that it should be the right to abort up until birth, if that was what the mother wanted. I don’t say that this is the typical pro-choice position, it was for this group.
I also left out the part of my niece being accosted by protesters outside of a pro-life (or whatever you call it) pregnancy/adoption center and being called a “brood sow” by some woman who got in her 18 year old face. My brother had to tell her what it meant. Strangely, my wife had to run a gauntlet of “pro-life” protesters to have an abortion many years before I met her. She was called names too. Like I said, I can’t stand extremists at either end of the spectrum. They are all the same to me, ugly,uncaring, busybodies.
In my state, abortions can be had up until the third trimester for ANY reason, all the way from protecting the mothers life to getting back at a philandering husband. This bothers me also. Thankfully, most abortions are done in the first trimester.
And yes, I would support my wife to have a second trimester abortion to save her health.
Those who deal with over population in undeveloped countries agree that the first step toward population control is education of their women.
Bush’s first action as president was to impede such women’s education by killing our cost effective and successful aid programs for international family planning, in order to appease his radical right wing supporters. He justified this act on the false premisses that these programs focused on abortion. His alleged compassion for the unborn is rendered invalid by his destructive sellouts acts against environmental reforms, which will continue to cause countless deaths and sicknesses in the world–while fueling more poverty.
It is inconceivable that our legislators haves allowed such horrendous crimes from this illegal president—and that the populace has allowed this.
A victory for The Right to Life Movement, in its current mode of operation, would be a defeat for efforts against worldwide hunger, starvation, poverty, etc.
Of course the right is against birth control. They want to perpetuate poverty, not only by outlawing contraception and abortion, but by keeping kids in the dark about sex via abstinence-only programs.
It’s not about “morality”. They just act like it is to get the holy rollers behind them. The elites laugh at those people behind their backs as they pander to them. What it is about, is widening that gap between rich and poor and eliminating the working and middle classes.
Okay, having worked in a Title X program, this one can really get me on my soapbox. A lot has already been said so no need to repeat.
SOmeone wrote about the inconsistency of the strongest anti-choicers. I think the idea of “Pro-life until the baby gets here”, pretty much covers it. Or as one articulate writer Rosemary Radford Reuther adds, “…after birth you’re fair game.” The you can be warred on, bombed, executed by the state, starved, deprived of health care etc etc.
While I think that abortion has a difficult to face central truth, contraception contains much less ethical dilemma. But between false facts like all contraceptives are abortifacient and an inherent will to deny a culture that implicitly markets sexuality 24/7 to all of us but especially teens, [after all capitalism is sacred] a lot of excess emotion gets pumped in to an issue that will never be straightforward or simple.
We are very fortunate to have people like Cristina Page who are willing to devote their careers to speaking out for contraception. You can bet she gets a lot of hate mail sent her way.
I read an interesting article (or post?) - and, gosh, I wish I could remember where.
The main thesis was that these people are so enamored of the ‘unborn’ because those are the only individuals who are in a pure state of grace. ‘Original sin’ is a taint that touches one only at birth. Even those who have been forgiven this ‘original sin’ are still not considered to be in the pure state of the unborn.
Anybody out there who is better versed in this than I am care to comment? Can this possibly be an accurate statement? (What lunacy!)
“The main thesis was that these people are so enamored of the ‘unborn’ because those are the only individuals who are in a pure state of grace. ‘Original sin’ is a taint that touches one only at birth. Even those who have been forgiven this ‘original sin’ are still not considered to be in the pure state of the unborn.”
That’s an interesting theory. It may hold true for the religious fanatics, but I doubt that most of the Republicans are true believers. They are anti-choice and against reproductive freedom because it gets them votes and again, those ideologies help keep people poor.
‘Right to life’ policies carried to their logical conclusion means overpopulation with consequent wars for control of territory and their natural resources (think Iraq and Iran), declining food sources causing starvation in the developed world as well in third world countries.
Perhaps Malthus was will proved right after all when he predicted that overpopulation would lead to the eventual destruction of the human race.
Have these right wing buffoons read anything except the Bible, notice I said read, not understood? A considered study of the whole Bible, not just the texts they quote shows just how far removed these religious illiterates are from everything that Jesus taught.
Nope these loonies have got it all wrong, more like ‘right to death’
Can’t these backward, narrow minded neanderthals ever get over the fact that women now have a choice. These men, like Romney, are little men who brag about how many children they have fathered, but who declare their sons exempt from the military because it’s a volunteer service. Their children don’t have to join the military because BiG Mouth Daddy can send them to any college of their choice. When these politicians want to avoid real issues like the illegal war, Bush’s illegal activities, health care, job losses, foreclosures, outsourcing, etc., they jump on the sex wagon. Anything to do with sex, or not sex, gets the dander up and the right wing wackos start banging their idiotic drums for change, change back to the dark ages. Change back to the day when women were and still are oppressed. Save us somebody please from these psychopaths who aren’t man or women enough to accept women as being equal and able to make their own choices.
I don’t think there is a single commenter here that doesn’t agree that fanatical “abstinence-only” sex education is lunacy. But!!! I plead with you, doesn’t anyone have any ideas on how we can fight this. I mean seriously, 40 comments thus far and not one suggestion?
afterword: Bush has now desolved most of our basic rights while ignoring his Constitutional role to uphold our Bill of Rights. But that’s not enough, no not for this psychopath. Now he wants to tell us when and if we can have sex. REally, has he no limits and he keeps getting away with all of his illegal tactics. The only people who have benefited from his Presidency are the rich. How can our Congress allow such criminal behavior to continue. And if Romney gets into the White House, we will just have more of the same oppression.
Damon: The only way I can think of to fight this ignorance is for voting for people who back our rights. So far I believe we need to get rid of most of the Congress and to find someone who can uncover a legal loophole to fire the entire Supreme Court. It will be a uphill battle all the way and there is only one suggestion I have for dissolving the right wing wackos. Education. Fat chance of that with Bush in the White House but education of the ignorant will always be an obligation of those who have had more learning, not more money.
judi August 21st, 2007 11:19 pm
afterword: Bush has now desolved most of our basic rights while ignoring his Constitutional role to uphold our Bill of Rights. But that’s not enough, no not for this psychopath. Now he wants to tell us when and if we can have sex.
No no no no no. He just wants you to pull out.
sexual pleasure (not for pro creation) competes against religion.
sexual pleasure is FREEDOM.
They don’t want you free and happy.
Screw them.
Next they will want to save excess Sperm…..and Eggs.
Judi thank you, a straight-forward suggestion. Soo, I put this question out into the cyber-space. Are there constraints that we can impose on the supreme court? If not, how can we elect a totally new, progressive senate who doesn’t also bow down to the money and fanatism.
damon13-The majority of the people are pro-choice and pro-birth control. As long as the people vote, I think we can keep this sort of thing at bay. But like the author of the piece said, most of them don’t know about the attacks on contraception, something that many, many people take for granted. I think it’s a merely a matter of informing the public and getting them to vote.
If they start banning condoms and diaphragms, the people will raise hell. Maybe I just have too much faith in the people, but I doubt that the Right will get that far. In fact, they may have won some battles, but I don’t think they’ll succeed in outlawing abortion. That’s not to say I’m complacent, or that I don’t think people shouldn’t be worried. I just don’t think the Right will win this battle.
I think one reason why there isn’t a whole lot of furor from the public about keeping abortion legal is that quite frankly, a lot of people don’t think the issue will ever effect them. I could be wrong, but I doubt most women wonder whether or not they’ll ever want or need to have an abortion. It’s like divorce. Many people get married without ever thinking that they will ever need to get divorced. And like I said with birth control, they think it will always be there if they need it.
Personally and morally, I think we should ban together to stop all this banal arguing over how screwed up this and any government is; and post are comments collective. And tell the editors and writers what we want to be informed about the truth and more IMPORTANTLY what we can do about it. All those who say “yes” let me know.
yep iwarrior i totally agree, family oriented voters are going to vote for family oreinted legislation. Sadly people don’t vote for over-all good ideas but instead always comes down to if affects me. The craziness is that YES it will effect me, plain and simple, and what’s worse, after an unwanted pregnancy, which they would hope for an abortion, they still continue to vote for anti-abortion laws. There is a psychological dilemma. This needs to be addressed.
I blame the Republican sex skills. To suggest that abstinence is the only form of birth control that you can use indicates that they have no idea how to do it.
Maybe that is why they keep getting caught with hookers and boys. They can only get laid if they pay for it or force it.
iwarrior
Indeed, it was of the religious fanatics I was writing.
The neocons: their only beliefs are world domination and increased profits (for the chosen few, of course), and they’ll lie to and manipulate anyone they can to attain their goals. Did you catch Bill Moyers asking how the religious right feel noe that they’ve learned Rove is, in fact an agnostic?
I have a friend who insists that religious loons and neocons *are* arguments for birth control and abortion.
Probably the reason that Bush feels so strongly about using abstinence instead of contraception is that he no doubt held that opinion since he was a cheerleader in college.
Future me– very good discussion of the subject, you seem to have a good grasp on reality. Run for office.
Seems to me that being against both abortion and also contraception is insane if the right-wingers are serious about their beliefs. Some must not bother to think, and as someone said, maybe others want to go back 100 years to keep women barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. Great idea!!
Why was Repub Bob Dole pushing Viagra pills for men? Would not that have led to the need for contraception and possibly even abortion? Would God approve of such perversion coming from a Repug? They have me totally confused.
judi
“How can Congress allow such criminal behavior to continue?”
You answered your own question in the previous sentence: the rich have benefitted. To which class do the members of Congress belong? And the members of which class support them, from lobbying and campaigns to giving them lucrative jobs when they decide to go through that revolving door?
If the Dimocrats think they have to support Bush`s so called war on terror to get votes, then why don`t they also throw in with the Repugs on abortion, gays, birth control, stem cells, and get lots more votes? Besides, think how that would befuddle the Repugs if the Dims got moral also.
If you women are getting tired of all the old men figuring out your private lives for you, why not propose the men help out and get castrated? That would take care of all the sinning at one crack and we could stop all this useless chatter. I don`t know what the Repubs would use to get votes then but they would no doubt come up with something the Dims are wrong on.
shakker: “They can only get laid if they pay for it …”
And given their enthusiasm for paying workers as little as possible, it must gall them to no end to have to pay someone a nice chunk of change for 2 minutes work.
Thr Right to Life ends at Birth
This is nothing new. Remember a few years ago the big hooplah about Pharmacists not filling prescriptions for birth control on religious grounds? Yes, they want us breeding more little corporate slaves and cannon fodder to feed the machine…
I wonder if these people have ever once stopped and thought about what kind of a world they are going to be creating with their policies? I don’t really think they have or they wouldn’t be doing it. There belief’s are guided by a unrealistic religious belief that is going to destroy the earth! I simply do not believe this is what God wants! I don’t believe he gave us this earth to destroy in such a cruel fashion. We are populating ourselves into oblivion now! In another 150 years population is render this planet inhabitable. What is it going to be like when they have finally succeeded in their policies????? Abandoned children on every street corner, people starving, people living on the streets and every form of human misery known to man???? Not enough fresh water for everyone to drink and the list goes on. These people claim to be ‘right to life’ but I do not see them as even remotely cherishing life. About all they are going to do is destroy the Christian religion! A lot of us have developed a terrible attitude toward so called ‘Christian’s’! We are sick to death of having their religious belief’s rammed down our throats in the form of religious laws. I know this I have stopped going to church due to these people. I find myself detesting everything religion stands for anymore.
“Religion” simply makes people feel better about not accomplishing anything worthwhile while on earth AND of course, that dying thing. Not so comforting to think when you die, you…well, just die.
Republicans are quite the breeders, aren’t they. Ever notice how generously the fascists/right-wingers duplicate themselves, e.g., Mitt Romney has quite a few children as does Rick Santorum, to name a couple.
Now some pharmacists refuse to fill birth control prescriptions! What business is it of these people to try to impose their choices regarding the number of children a person chooses to have on others? It’s okay with them to kill living, breathing Iraqi and Afghani babies and soon Iranian babies, however. Such hypocrisy!
With the U.S. population over 300 million and the world’s population over 6 billion, why do they obsess about reproducing?
Ascott:
About your earlier comment about original sin: While the bible does talk about original sin, it never, ever says that humanity is forever cursed because of it. It does not say we are born sinners. This was created by one of the very early church fathers, Saint Augustine. He is also the one who created the “justified war” nonsense. The world would have been a better place without him. But still, it is now 1600+ years later, why do we still believe that crap.
To Debbie and Future,
Have you ever heard of Lysistrata? It is a play about the women of Greece attempting to end a war by withholding sex.
According to Mr. Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, emergency contraception “cheapens human life and simply uses a woman’s body to dispose of the child instead of a doctor.”
Say one of these assclowns does, indeed, win the presidency and overturns Roe and criminalizes abortion.
Do we then get women who’ve had miscarriages (as happens in 30% of all pregnancies) being arrested and being accused of committing abortion?
The Nation had an interesting article in one of its November 2006 issues on the movement to repopulate the country with as many “white Christians” as possible. It was called “Arrows for the War.”
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061127/joyce
It’s about the Quiverfull movement and seems largely about expressing a return to domineering, patriarchal families with men having the last word and women reconciling with the “fact” that their bodies are not their own, but that of the property of their husbands and God–with which to implant as many “seeds” as possible…
The title seems to have a double meaning: Arrows for the War–those who partake in the movement believe they’re doing their part to repopulate the Earth with right-thinking Christians to make way for the “end times”…or perhaps more fodder for ongoing wars against “nonbelievers.”
What I see is the wealthy, political elite seizing on the anti-contraceptive movement as another means to further their one-world global vision that is really a return to the feudalism of old: of submissive slave workers/warriors. Keep people poor and in debt; but give them their breads and circuses in the form of mass-produced food, drugs and entertainment.
Oh yes! I just can’t add up all the fathers who are fighting to support, care for, and love the babies they have made, but are kept from this noble mission by vindictive women and their handmaiden state. Why, there must be at least three!
Not to mention all the women I have known who wait until the seventh or eighth month to abort, just for the fun of a late-term abortion. I can’t count that low.
I’ll just add those to all the teenagers who become pregnant just to get the liberal welfare benefits.
What a gender-neutral ideology the right-wing has! Speaks very well of them. They give equal opportunity to straw-men and straw-women.
I’m for killing them now better than latter in some other war with some country that can’t defend itself.
No man may say anything pertinent about abortion. It is an issue to be decided by women only. Period.
Recommended reading: A Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Domination of women for reproductive purposes. Well worth reading. I would say more, but it would ruin the story. It is one incredible book. Once you start reading, you won’t put it down.
Future.me: This abstinence strike would have to be an open-ended thing. You can’t let the enemy know when you’re planning to withdraw, after all. Just ask Mr. Bush about that one.
newordan: Yeah! The play also addresses the contributions women could make to society and to policy making, but cannot because their views are ignored as all such considerations are the prerogative of men only. A modern version was performed in 2005 substituting the Iraq occupation for the Peloponesian Wars.
frankchat & pdj: I came back to the United Methodist Church as an adult and was charmed by the notion that the UMC stood for social justice. Then I was horrified to learn that Bush & Cheney say they are Methodists (also Ken Lay) and that Garrison Keillor was told to watch what he said when speaking at “Bush’s church’ down in Texas. Haven’t been back to church since. Used to think Bush was stupid, but have since changed my mind. The man is pure evil. I’m saddened that “my church” won’t throw those two bums out.
skystone: Thanks for the reminder on A Handmaid’s Tale. It’s a great cautionary book.
Men can say things that are pertinant to the topic of abortion and birth control. I’m a man and will do so. Abortions happen for many reasons, one of the reasons for a late term abortion that hasn’t been mentioned above is that the fetus would not survive the birth. It’s not just about the health of the mother. Banning abortion won’t work, never did; never will.
I can also see another reason for the fundies to want to ban contraception, think how many gay men will die from AIDS if there’s no condoms available for us to use. I’m over 40, gay and thanks to the proper use of condoms (and a good bit of luck I suppose) have never had an STD.
What about ejaculation that does not result in pregnancy? Will they ban masturbation also?
By their reasoning, a man commits ‘abortion’ every time he ejaculates without impregnating a woman. This is nonsense. Why do Repubs care so much about a sperm and egg that might possibly potentially one day become a person but as soon as that person is born.. to hell with them? More than that, they have no problem with the death penalty or killing millions of already born people in unprovoked wars of aggression. I do not get their logic.