REASON BEHIND ATTACKS ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS A VIEW THAT WOMEN WHO SEEK AUTONOMY SHOULD DIE

9/29/2015

I believe a big reason behind the attacks on Planned Parenthood is a view that women who seek autonomy should die.

The same impulses that lead to honor killings and kicking women out of the house because they are raped in other countries are present in the evangelical American right wing.

We can't afford to pretend any longer that the American right is anything other than what it is clearly showing itself to be.

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4 Comments

siredge

9/30/2015 10:46:11 am

Then I guess I missed the boat. I'm sickened by the stories of what goes on in the various clinics operated by that organization.

I didn't like it when I first found out about abortion, but I figured that a woman's choice on the other side does balance things at some level.

Then I found out about some of the techniques used, and I concluded that partial birth abortion is a barbaric practice, and I was very sad for our society not recognizing it for the unnecessary evil it is to dismember a baby just to ease the delivery.

After the revelations of what happens in terms of tissue sample gathering which include taking samples from babies that have beating hearts outside their mother's womb, I see no option short of defunding the organization from a public perspective and criminal charges for the individual responsible and those that were aware of what was going on.

If the concerns about women's health are legit and not just a defense for Planned Parenthood specifically, then let's find another avenue to address them (I'm not a fan of government funding personal health choices, but if we assume that is necessary, let's do it through some other route).

The title of your blog is that all people have value and a major message is that there are amazing things to be found in surprising places. Will you believe your party's line as to the reasoning behind our feelings and policy recommendations (taking the easy road and the convenient explanation) or listen to some of the people that actually feel those feelings and push for those policies and perhaps allow yourself to be surprised?

siredge

9/30/2015 11:34:59 am

I did think it was ironic that the yougov link talks about the military violating the Constitution but remained silent on the violations by Congress and the last few Presidents (from both parties).

Neil Aquino

9/30/2015 07:03:55 pm

The videos are heavily edited. The great majority of services provided at Planned Parenthood have nothing do to with abortion. Much of it is just basic health.

I know I had friends in my college years in Cincinnati who used the Planned Parenthood clinic there and that is now under threat of closing for what were basic health examinations.

I find abortion deeply troubling. We live in a society with disregard for life from womb to tomb. I oppose the death penalty in all cases.

The reason I am pro-choice is that in the end it comes down to a bottom line one way or the other decision of will it be allowed or will it not. And I believe the woman has the right to decide what to do with her body.

This is a personal view I sometimes revisit.

But I feel that if the right had real care about abortion and--in some cases---about life itself, then there would not be such opposition to the expansion of health care in our nation. And they would not so often demonize the poor and fight against improved wages for hard work.

Without forgetting that Democrats are also ruled by the rich, the perspective from my view is that the American right seems in many cases to want to make life unlivable for some in America.

I'm not going to support laws forcing people to bring children into such a society.

siredge

9/30/2015 10:14:15 pm

Why think in terms of left and right? I used to be a Republican, but I dumped them when I realized Republicans and Democrats are both out for bigger government. If you don't agree with the Democratic establishment, then don't support the party, but vote with them when you agree with them.

My in-laws told me about how they got their first ultrasound of my wife at a Planned Parenthood. But I doubt the folks some years ago were engaged in what has been demonstrated.

And I don't buy the claim that the videos have been meaningfully doctored. There haven't been any claims that the people in the videos did not say what the videos show, just that the videos have been edited.* Usually that is what happens when the presentation is damaging yet not materially false.

As I said, if people are concerned about the basic healthcare, why not give the funding to another organization? Why is it necessary to fund an organization that is engaged in criminal enterprises?

I revisit my policy on what government should do regarding abortion because I'm a small government guy and I am trying to strike the balance between what government should do and what it shouldn't do. I'm absolutely clear on what is right and what is not. And Planned Parenthood is way past the line.

I think you should talk to more conservatives. We want smaller government, not people up a creek. So we give more to private charities and are more likely to give of our own time as well.

Both parties are pretty limited in their principles- one more reason to avoid their rigid structure.

Sorry to hear you've left Houston- I figured sooner or later I'd see if I could join you for lunch, but I guess that isn't likely to happen anymore.

* At least one firm (admittedly, paid for by a group that has an axe to grind with Planned Parenthood) has put their reputation on the line that they were not able to identify any edits other than when people were simply eating or taking bathroom breaks. Now I'm a consultant, so I understand that findings need to please the client or that client fires you, but I also know that if you have a reputation for just telling people what they want even if it is wrong, and you don't get any new business. So I recognize there is an incentive for bias there,

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My name is Neil Aquino and I live in Houston, Texas.

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REASON BEHIND ATTACKS ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS A VIEW THAT WOMEN WHO SEEK AUTONOMY SHOULD DIE

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