Poll: Voters back wait for abortion

[bunkerbuster1]

Poll: Voters back wait for abortion

By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/03/05

Most Georgians support requiring a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion, according to a poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

About 60 percent of 501 likely voters questioned said they "strongly" or "somewhat" support a waiting period. Only 33 percent said they "strongly" or "somewhat" oppose a waiting period. The rest said they were not sure. The survey was conducted Dec. 21- 23 by the pollster Zogby International.

(...)

In the past, anti-abortion Republicans have been thwarted in their efforts to push a measure known as the "Woman's Right to Know Act." But sweeping victories in the November election have given the GOP control of both houses of the Legislature, assuring the bill's resurrection and enhancing its chances of passage.

Brenda Mott, 57, of Schley County in South Georgia, said she favors such a law in hopes it will deter women from getting abortions. "When you destroy a life, or the beginning of a life, then if you have any conscience at all, it's going to hit you," said Mott, one of those polled. "And I would hope that within that 24-hour period, that the person contemplating doing this act would do a lot of praying and think really hard about what they are doing."


more at http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/0105/03abortion.html

++++++++

A suggestion--if any RW Democrats in GA are going to play nice and try to peel off wingnut votes by voting for this atrocity, they should at LEAST try to change the Bill's name (from "Woman's Right to Know Act.") Any suggestions?

[Liberal Veteran]

1. How about "Let's Try to Terrorize Women with Propaganda Act"

As if women seeking an abortion just do so on a whim as if they were going to get a makeover or a new pair of shoes.

It patronizing in the extreme to suggest that women who are seeking an abortion haven't already thought about their decision.

[Bono71]

2. No kidding.

[Democrats_win]

7. Polls should require people to think 24 hours before answering.

[Bono71]

24. Lol..."We want you to really THINK about your answer"...

You should have to wait 24-hours before you buy a greetings-card, as well...

[peacebird]

6. how about "Let's Shame the Hussies"?

Why not have the clinics issue a large Scarlet "A" for them to wear publicly for that 24 hours too?
:eyes:
oooh - and let's have the women walk past the anti-abortion protesters to get into the clinic for the scarlet letter, and then leave past the waiting protesters who can follow her home to "counsel" her?

:grr:

[Just Me]

18. "Woman's Right to Know" my ass,...imposing righteous guilt is the creed.

EWWWWWW,...this just,...pisses me off!!!!

These people need to,....EWWWWWW!!!!

These people need to respect others' rights to their own minds and bodies!!!!! :grr:

These people should just F-off and concentrate on improving on their skills to contribute to the existent lives no one can argue is real and true rather than imposing their self-righteousness on other quite capable and caring and intelligent women!!!

In other words,...keep your so-called "moral" will off my body!!!,...hypocritical butt-wipes!!!

Damnit,...they refuse to fix what is broken (poverty and abuse and corporatism and violence) and focus on disempowering women. I just wish they would GET A LIFE,...one that is already here and suffering,...and take care of it!!!

:grr:

[Wilms]

20. Haven't already thought about their decision???

That doesn't explain how they managed to get pregnant (unless a toilet seat was involved).

I think we can, at the same time, support Roe v. Wade and distance ourselves from uncritical support of reckless activity.

[Liberal Veteran]

22. I don't think anyone supports "reckless activity"...

...so you can drop that little meme bomb right down the old poop chute where it belongs.

Let's start educating people about how to prevent unwanted pregnancy without turning it a blame game or trying to impose a religious message on them that abstinence is the only way.

I am sick to death of the same people who want to outlaw abortion being the same people who take a "just say no" approach to sex, which is ridiculous in the extreme and rail against programs designed to educate people about birth control methods without trying to shove a religious based message down their throats. Or people who are against insurance companies covering birth control or giving free condoms to those who want them.

And I think it's highly presumptuous of you to assume that you know that most women who do choose to abort are engaging in "reckless activity".

Perhaps you would care to define "reckless activity" for us? I REALLY want to hear your take on what that means to you.

[Wilms]

30. I agree with all your points, L V.

On education, religion, insurance, and even the circumstance of SOME women needing an abortion.

But again, how many wind up needing an abortion because they did something they wish they hadn't. And I don't mean having sex. I mean getting pregnant. Plenty of people have sex without getting pregnant. Drink without driving. Fire guns at shooting ranges. I'm not attaking them.

[cally]

31. Explain in detail how you have sex without getting pregnant

Assuming you're heterosexual. Tell me what birth control you use and how you use it. They all have failure rates. All.

Oh, did you know that you can have unprotected sex and not get pregnant. If you are lucky. The rhythm method improves the chances of not getting pregnant. Even coitus interuptus works sometimes. So if you are implying that it's a woman's fault if she gets pregnant, then provide details on which birth control couples should use and the consequences if they get pregnant. Better yet, let's decide laws on abortion. :argh:

[Wilms]

34. Not implying it's "the women's fault".

Not at all.

Could be wrong, but my guess is that the majority of abortions have to do with no precautionary methods employed. If that is not the case, I'd need to re-think.

[cally]

37. Does it really matter if it's the majority?

All precautions have failure rates. ALL. Even vasectomies.

[Wilms]

39. I agree.

But if the failure rate points more to the couple's precautions, then, I've wondered, if we'd otherwise have a lower rate of couples seeking abortion. And then, I wonder if we'd be less of a Fundy target.

I'm pro-choice. But my guess is lots of folks don't exercise 'choice' (inaction as a choice, excepted).

Work with me. I'm trying to understand/bridge the divide between libs/cons. Worse, this is a debate of the old "divide and conquer" type. Another nasty Reagan legacy.

[cally]

40. I suspect too many don't use birth control effectively

Empowering women and education work to avoid that. I'm just astounded how anyone can promote abstinence only education and then wonder why folks have unwanted pregnancies. We're on the same side, and I'm sorry if I seemed out of line with my outrage. It wasn't specifically directed at you, but at this whole issue.

[Wilms]

41. No offense detected or taken.

And I also agree whole-heartedly with the additional points you made.

[NurseLefty]

45. At first when I read your posts and saw in your profile that you're male,

I thought, "Typical!" As long as we have a male majority governing us, this issue will continue to drag on. And on. And on.
Sorry, no offense, but I get irritated when men talk about this issue. Get a uterus, then come talk to me.
But as to how to bridge the gap w/ repukes it's on THEM. We are pro-choice. Don't like abortion? Don't have one. They on the other hand want it both ways (or more). They are against abortion AND against ways of preventing them AND against taking care of all the unwanted children after being born.
I will :nuke: if Dems ever abandon reproductive rights of women.

[Wilms]

46. I think men have to talk and listen about the issue.

They are as, or MORE, responsible. (How many guys force themselves and their "recklessness" onto women and then strongarm them over to a clinic?)

And while I'm unable to "get a uterus" I am just as open to using my ears as my mouth.

I apologies for not knowing in detail all of the various repro rights (promise to work on that) which are seriously threatened (I know, all of 'em, but...). And I hope you'll educate us here at DU.

[NurseLefty]

49. Just so you know where my defensiveness comes from -

When male politicians/talking heads set limits or make judgements about what women should or should not do when pregnant, I resent it B/C men don't have to carry a pregnancy for 9 months or deal w/ all the side effects and risks that come with it. While men have the responsibility of providing the sperm (via love, lust, violence, or sperm bank), women have the primary role of bearing and nurturing the child. No matter what the circumstances are, the decision a woman makes about abortion is her own. Of course, when the fetus becomes viable, its interests have to be considered and thus becomes more complex of an issue.
No one I have ever known who has had an abortion has done it on a whim. It's been the one of the most important decisions any of them have made.

[Wilms]

54. Yes, indeed. Can I add to that.

The male's responsibilities include helping to provide provide an appropriate environment before even conceiving. (An historic problem for them, er us.)

This IS the women's body, but I hope guys have consultation rights, if you will.

I never assumed a whimsical approach, not at least after walking in or OUT of the clinic!

And the "viable" stage. That is, too, where I gotta do homework, and suspect an area of debate between groups.

[NurseLefty]

56. I just don't see "consultation rights" for men as feasible.

It may be the considerate thing to do, but how could something like that be enforced?
I suppose if republicans and the Southern Baptist Convention get their way, such a law could be enforced.

[Wilms]

69. Yea. That was the "if you will" bit.

Not enforced, but guys need to "get...it".

I'm encouraging their participation. Again, I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me to find that a lot women getting an abortion already have a clod.

[bunkerbuster1]

52. Ahem. We're anti-CRIMINALIZATION, not pro-choice.

didn't you get the memo?

Seriously, I'd much rather that we all use that term to describe our feelings about this, because it really does cut to the heart of the matter. The RW wants to criminalize the procedure, wants to make doctors and their patients out to be murderers.

Not only are most Americans pro-choice, I'll be anything that if asked straight up or down if they feel that women and their docs who perform an elective abortion should be sent to Death Row for their supposed "crime", you might get something like the high teens as a percentage. Might.

So why do we keep calling it "choice?" To hell with that. Call the other side "pro-Criminalization," not pro-life. Make those fuckers defend that position.

[NurseLefty]

55. Point well-taken. Repukes win battles w/ Orwellian speak & buzzwords,

thus we should start fighting this war with the same weaponry!

[bunkerbuster1]

57. Criminalization--It's accurate.

They really do want to throw doctors and patients in jail.

They really do want to make an elective abortion a crime, presumably a capital crime, given that their supporters call it murder.

Time to call out the "pro-lifers" and make them justify their fascism, instead of constantly playing defense. C'mon, Dems, take these ratfuckers out already! this could be a winning issue.

[okieinpain]

75. no it's the woman's fault for either voting for repugs, or not voting

at all. that's why we are getting our asses kicked, the folks that we are out here worrying about are not voting.

[Bridget Burke]

92. HE can have sex without getting pregnant!

Just lucky, I guess.

[Benhurst]

3. Yeah, we're not supposed to believe exit polls, but crap like this

is treated as gospel. :puke: Can't wait to see the MSM jump on board.

[SlackJawedYokel]

4. Polls only tell me

That a bunch of people believing a stupid thing still doesn't make it *not* stupid.

:D

Brenda Mott, "And I would hope that within that 24-hour period, that the person contemplating doing this act would do a lot of praying and think really hard about what they are doing."
Dear Brenda, your daughter says that she'd rather if you helped out by supporting her decision, thanks.

Brenda Mott, "When you destroy a life, or the beginning of a life, then if you have any conscience at all, it's going to hit you,"
Dear Brenda, your conscience isn't my conscience isn't anyone else's conscience.
Your private decisions are your business.
Not mine.
Not your neighbors.
How people deal with their private decisions is their business, not yours.
Not mine.
Thanks.
Now go home and make me a *pot pie* you nosy, morally constipated witch!

Cletus

[Liberal Veteran]

5. Oh, come on. You know how flightly and impulsive women are!

"Hmm....what should I do today? Get my hair coloured? Buy a new dress? No. That doesn't sound like much fun. I know! I'll go have an abortion!"

:eyes:

[Kber]

13. On the one hand, I agree w/ Miss Brenda

and I believe in my heart of hearts that women with real choices don't have abortions.

But what's supremely insulting is the idea that if I have to step into that clinic, that I haven't spent at least 24 hours thinking and praying about it already.

I am pregnant (on purpose btw) and I recently had a (thankfully false) test result for a fatal birth defect. Although further testing put our minds at ease, I had 2 weeks to consider my options, just in case. Since the test results were eventually OK, I can't say for sure what I would have done.

I can tell you that I did not need Miss Brenda's input though. I know how to pray without her helpful interventions.

[SlackJawedYokel]

23. Exactly.

Imagine that you *had no choice*.
Birth defect or not.
Your health and wellness considered or not.

The point of legislation like this isn't that it be *effective*(women simply do *not* make snap decisions to abort) but that it chip away at, and eventually undermine, Roe.
Period.

I fight for Choice because I believe in the rights of the individual.
If I were a *woman*, I'd be righteously outraged at the very *idea* of the government intruding into such a personally private decision.

and I believe in my heart of hearts that women with real choices don't have abortions.
I hear what you are saying... and yet I *still* want abortion safe and legal, regardless of whether or not it is rare.
For those who find abortion unethical/immoral/upsetting(though they wish it to remain legal) I fully expect complete and 100% support of efforts to effectively reduce the need for abortion... free OBGYN visits and birth control, mandatory, comprehensive sexuality education, single mother benefits and childcare options... the list isn't very long.

These sorts of things will reduce the numbers of abortions.

I am pregnant (on purpose btw) and I recently had a (thankfully false) test result for a fatal birth defect.
Congratulations. :D
And good luck with everything.

Cletus

[bunkerbuster1]

48. Congrats on your pending mammahood Kber.

Here's hoping it's smooth sailing the rest of the way.

[Just Me]

19. "Moral Constipation"!!!! What a wonderful characterization!!!

They are so "morally constipated" that there is no room for understanding or forgiveness or compassion or support,...all those fabulous notions that Jesus introduced *smile*. After all, Jesus did point out the "morally constipated" prepared to stone a co-sinner *LOL*!!!!

I'll keep that "Morally Constipated" label in my pocket!!! :bounce:

[SlackJawedYokel]

25. Heh... you're welcome.

Use it wisely, young Jedi.

:D

Cletus

[moobu2]

8. The....

"Women are not capable of making their own medial decisions act"

[Qutzupalotl]

12. I like it.

You've encapsulated their condescending attitude perfectly.

[bunkerbuster1]

53. "wimmins is too stoopid not to need skoolin from menfolk" act.

[sandnsea]

9. "likely voters" is not "all Americans"

That's why we keep getting different poll results. If we'd had "all Americans" polls before the elections, we would have had the same anti-Bush results we got after the elections. Instead, they do this "likely voter" shit which is a much more conservative group.

[Larkspur]

10. OK, how about supporting a 24-hour waiting period before being

artificially inseminated or taking Viagra?

I think there should be a 1 year waiting period before having kids. During that time wannabe-parents should be required to work with kids, especially mentally and physically handicap kids, so that they would get real "hands on" experience dealing with the worse case scenario, should their potential kid ends up handicapped.

[alexisfree]

11. a horny ass men don’t wait fucking 24 to put up a condom!!

24 hours of thinking it must be a retard can not make a decision, ether you do it or you don't!!!

[Just Me]

21. I advocate a law requiring men to sign a "contract of agreement".

A criminal law should be enacted requiring men to sign a "contract of agreement" everytime they want sex. Failure to sign the contract is an automatic six-months in jail. Any evidence of threat/fraud/etc is an automatic 5 years in jail.

Betcha' abortion rates would decline, dramatically!!! :bounce:

[SlackJawedYokel]

27. Sweet.

That would solve the "why don't men have rights"(as if *stupidity* is an excuse) abortion issue, wouldn't it?

Cletus

[Just Me]

35. Yup. Places the responsibility upon all those "Viagra"-addicts. n/t

[Cheswick2.0]

14. yeah, cause women always have abortions with in an hour of the pee test

What makes people think woman haven't thought about it before they go to the clinic?
This is just another way of making it difficult or impossible to get an abortion. For women who have to travel, this means spending a night at a motel and the added expense of that.

[AllyCat]

85. I've known several women who have had abortions

Not one of them could just walk into the clinic and get one "on-demand" as they like to say. They had to wait for up to 3 weeks already!!

[ktowntennesseedem]

15. First, its a 24-hour wait. Soon they'll push for a 9-month wait

[cornermouse]

16. The Scarlet Letter Act.

(That's what they should change its name to.)

[Ezlivin]

17. 9 month wait - problem solved!

It's just like letting the camel into the tent.

First it's 24 hours, then 48, then, next thing you know, it's a whole 9 months and why bother with an abortion?

[bunkerbuster1]

50. or, better yet, they'll "only" ban the procedure in Red states

so hey, just get yourself a very expensive rount trip ticket to a blue state! problem solved... except for those who are going to have to further impoverish themselves to do it.

I really fucking hate this. Can you tell?

[two gun sid]

26. Here's the deal

I don't care what likely voters want. No one and I mean no one has the right to tell women what they can do with their own damn body.

[renaissanceguy]

43. Exactly.

The problem with people (especially RW-ers) is that they get their nose too much into other people's business.

-------------------------------------------------
http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues.14745887

[mtnester]

28. I want to know how many of those polled

were men.

Believe me, no woman steps one foot into the abortion clinic unless they are sure, and none of them go there with anything less than a suitcase of agony that nearly kills them while they carry it in.

Polls like this scare the heck out of me...again, my mantra to all women is...read or reread The Handmaids Tale. You think it could not happen here? You betcha it could, or a form of it...In a week.

[Piperay]

29. 24 hrs. ???

:wtf: the woman has already been thinking about it for weeks, why should ANOTHER 24 hrs. make any difference. :mad:

[eleonora]

32. because repugs are stupid zealots

always were, always will be. May God help us all from them...

[girl gone mad]

33. What I'm wondering is..

Does this quote apply to Bush and his warmongering buddies, or just to women seeking to make family planning decisions:

"When you destroy a life, or the beginning of a life, then if you have any conscience at all, it's going to hit you," said Mott, one of those polled. "And I would hope that within that 24-hour period, that the person contemplating doing this act would do a lot of praying and think really hard about what they are doing."

Those young women are capable of bringing new life into this world, even if they choose to delay doing so until they are financially and emotionally prepared and are in a stable relationship.

Bush can only destroy life.

[Just Me]

38. The way to cope with how POORLY we are caring for the lives that exist,...

is by advocating for lives we have NO control over,...that way we avoid facing our failures.

Get it?

And, the status of bullshit,...can continue,...as we still cling to concepts that have proven false but are being mind-fed to us every single day of our pitiful lives.

Meanwhile, the rich get richer,...and the poor are hanging onto "dreams" force-fed to them by the rich who depend upon the base of compliance.

[Gloria]

36. I favor men waiting until they get Viagra...so there!

And, I favor women getting health insurance coverage for birth control, so they don't need abortions.....if men can get Viagra paid for the women should get coverage for protecting themselves against Viagra.

I'm fed up with this crap. "Women can't think straight enough to make a decision--so we should pressure them to make a decision we want them to make!" That's the message of crap laws like this.

[rodeodance]

42. what a bunch of crapo!! Repug men pushing this??

[bunkerbuster1]

47. Now, now. We Dems are supposed to reach out to our ReThu-- er, repub

lickin' brothers, set diffs aside and do as they tell us.

To be otherwise is to be shrill dontchakonw.

Seriously, here in Georgia, I've heard more unsolicited advice from dumbass ReThugs about how we're supposed to work to re-emerge as the dominant party Georgia than I thought possible. At the core of the noise from the right is something that seems painfully obvious, but it also is so painful that most in Georgia won't face the simple fact:

RW goons have *always* run Georgia. Many of them used to be called "Democrats." Now they are mostly called "Republicans."

One day demographics will tip this and progressives will run this state, but when they do, it will be for the first time ever. It's always been a RW police state, and this "waiting period" crap bill is all part of that there heritage they're always prattling on about.

[NurseLefty]

51. This crap is making me think that I need to go into reproductive health

when I become a nurse. Anything I can do to help women keep contol of their own bodies!
Ladies - we are entering a dark era - no time to be complacent - a fight is upon us!

[Solly Mack]

44. I support a 80 year waiting period on idiots to speak.

I support confining idiots to their own homes.

I support that 2 or more idiots together,in the same room, constitutes a crime against nature.

This effectively disbands the Republican party.

[chomskysright]

58. WHO CAN FIND THIS OUT?...how many abortions has...

Cathy Diebold Cox, the Secretary of State and now to run for governor had?

How about her cousin who runs the urinal and Constipation...Ann Cox Chamber?

[chomskysright]

59. Cathy Diebold Cox's abortions.....

[chomskysright]

60. kick!

sorry to be so self agrandizing here but if you had lived in GA you would be repulsed by Cathy Diebold Cox too.

[Merlin]

61. More defiant DU fingers-in-the-ears types whistling past the graveyard

Would it really KILL you to accomodate the requests of reasonable adults, parents, men, women, Democrats and Republicans to ask a young lady to wait ONE WHOLE DAY before making final a decision that will stay with her all of her life?

Makes a person wonder if any of the knee-jerk, radical, non-thinking, left wing blowhards even give a rat's ass about the actual plight of a young lady facing this kind of a decision. Reading some of these threads, I doubt it. I doubt they've ever thought about it longer than the time it takes to write a flame post.

Do you have any idea what totally ignoring the sentiments of the broad swath of the American electorate is doing to our party? Did you happen to notice the results Nov. 3d?

Do any of you actually KNOW any women who have gone through this. How about 10 years later? How about 20 years later? How about 30 years later?

Those of us who do will tell you it haunts our sisters and daughters long, long afterwards. It's not too much to ask that they can take a day to be sure. That's all these folks are saying.

By screaming and hollering about this, you are preventing our spineless party "leaders" from being pro-active, getting out in front of issues like this, and stealing them from the right wing.

Just because the right favors a thing doesn't make it wrong.

On Edit: Let me make clear that I do NOT support the specific legislation. But I do support a 1 day informed waiting period. There is no reason that can't be accommodated via the process of setting an appointment. I do believe a woman should be required to be informed of the plusses and minuses of having an abortion. And they are not all plusses.

[Solly Mack]

62. My mother did. Said it was needed and she didn't regret it once

My sister did. Said it was needed and she didn't regret it once.

No late night tears over it. No lamenting the decision. No second-guessing. No nothing. They did what they had to do and they accepted it.

Please don't declare as fact that every woman is haunted by an abortion. That's just not true.

[Merlin]

63. I didn't say "every"

But many.

My daughter did. 10 years ago. She was a devout Catholic. She feels a deep sense of shame, despite the fact that everybody in the family supports her decision and absolutely nobody recommended against it.

Same exact thing is true of one of my sisters. She had an abortion (in Mexico) 31 years ago. She still has pangs of guilt about it, though she feels it was necessary.

These are two bright, conscientious people who had the support of their families. I can just imagine the plight of young women with little decent parental or familial guidance making a snap decision and regretting it later. Better to think it through now and make an enlightened decision so that later you can say to yourself "I thought about it at the time and I made the decision I made knowing I would live with it."

Is it just too much to ask to wait one whole day so a woman can go through this process?

[Solly Mack]

64. 24 hours can mean the difference in getting a 1st or 2nd trimester

abortion.

Life isn't simple. Never has been and never will be.

Some girls/women wait until the last minute. Some don't "know" until the last minute. Some have no choice due to travel arrangements and availability. Providers are scarce to non-existent in some areas.

If she waits 24 hours, in some cases, it jumps from 1st trimester to 2nd trimester. Meaning waiting even 24 hours can limit her choices.

[Sleepless In NY]

65. Isn't this poll reflective only of Georgia?

I can't seem to get the link to work. If it's a poll taken only in Georgia, who cares?

[Solly Mack]

66. I care about the women of Georgia. I care about women everywhere

This will used as "evidence" to further erode a woman's right in ALL 50 states.

[Merlin]

79. That "problem" is very simple to solve.

First of all, the precise point of conception is always a guess, so 1 day can't possibly make a difference.

Second, if some worry it would, simply make the day of determination be the day she begins the 1 day waiting period.

I don't understand why some liberals will fight to the death for the right of two grown adults to have a 3-day recission period for a home loan, but you don't think it's necessary for some 16 year old frightened teenager who may be being pressured by a boyfriend or even a parent, to spend 24 hours considering the reasonable pros and cons of her decision.

[Solly Mack]

80. Not "some" liberals. All liberals would.

A 24 hour waiting period is NOT "reasonable" in ALL cases...and until it is...and it will NEVER be as long as we have to even fight for the right of abortion... then Yes, LIBERALS will fight to the death and then if forced to..become law breakers. We've done it before when this country's ass-backwards thinking was murdering women and WE WILL DO IT AGAIN. Make no mistake, a country that does not take my rights into consideration when they make a law is a country whose laws I DO NOT HAVE TO OBEY. Nor will I.

1 day makes a big difference in some communities. Some clinics refuse to do more than 1st trimester abortions. That adds even more time. since they now have to find a clinic that will...

I grow tired of people who think women are so stupid that they can't decide for themselves. That they would constantly spread the lie that women don't "think about it" first....

[PassingFair]

71. Maybe...

the catholisism is the problem, not the abortions. You want to wait to have an abortion, you wait. Oh that's right YOUNG LADY, it's NOT your problem.
Hands off our wombs.
Sovereignty over our own bodies is NOT negotiable.

[Merlin]

78. "Sovereignty over our own bodies" is a bogus argument.

It's very simple. By nature, women's bodies conceive, gestate and give birth to another human being.

At some point during that process, then, the contents of the woman's womb becomes another human being.

At that point, the woman no longer has "sovereignty over her own body."

Why? Because the government in all civilized societies on earth has a legal duty to protect the life of every human being.

So the question becomes: how do we determine the point at which the womb's guest becomes, officially, another human being.

Currently that point is 3 months--very arbitrarily determined, I might add.

Of course, when the life of the mother is endangered by the pregnancy, the rights of the mother are supreme. That is a principle the vast majority agrees with.

[PassingFair]

84. Wrong

"we" don't decide, I decide.
Go play gawd with someone else.
I WILL have reproductive control of my own body.

[Crowdance]

90. Appalling. The woman's body is NEVER owned by the state

it is NEVER owned by the fetus, or any other human being. Just as men's bodies are never owned by another. THAT is the principle the vast majority agrees with.

Once again, you are talking out of your hat, trying to dress up this pig of an idea you hold.

[stickdog]

81. Well, it "sounds" good. But come on.

"Thank God they made me wait a day. That's the last time I decide to have an abortion on a drunken whim!"

[jbm]

72. there is no reason for your daughter to be feeling bad..

The repub argument is based on a ton of pure propaganda liberally doused with hyper emotionalism. I can understand how constant exposure to their nonsense could lead a woman to doubt her decision,or worse yet, experience guilt. The thing is, she didn't do anything wrong. Tell her to sit down with a biology book for a few hours, remind her to be careful to avoid the 'feeling good about feeling bad' pitfalls, and if she's still feeling angst she should go slap around some repugs just as a stress reliever!

I've got all kinds of abortion experience. I've been on the receiving end, the 'take your friend to the clinic' end, and when I was a teen-ager I was friends with a woman who performed them illegally. I have another friend who was never able to have children because of a botched abortion, and I even have an 'assist' story that would take to long to tell. What I don't have is guilt, cause that would be pointless and self-serving.

[Merlin]

76. But that formula doesn't work for everyone.

I appreciate your thoughts.

My daughter was not "deluged by right wing propaganda." She just knows that the facts of the matter are that she was pregnant and she had the baby aborted -- killed.

You can dress that up any way you want. You can put lipstick on it. You can rationalize it. You can tamp it down into the nether regions of your mind. But people know. They know the facts. And it's not something to be proud of.

It is not natural for a mother to kill her child. Whatever the circumstances, it is an agonizing decision, an ugly procedure, and a painful memory for nealy everybody who goes through it.

Waiting a day won't do anything but help the less fortunate to make an informed choice.

[bunkerbuster1]

87. " Help the less fortunate? oh, right...

it's so much better that a woman who's already on the hook to travel a fair distance to find an abortion provider in a pisspoor state like Georgia, now will have to arrange to make that same trip TWICE, or pony up for a hotel room for an overnight stay.

Yeah, I'm sure po' folks gonna 'preciate that somethin' fierce.

[TroglodyteScholar]

89. Actually, Georgia's not "pisspoor" thx (eom)

[bunkerbuster1]

91. Ok, a clarification from a fellow GA voter.

Outside the Perimeter and its northern 'burbs, it's frequently pisspoor. (Pisspoor being in the eye of the beholder, of course--pardon my mild hyperbole, and obviously there are many pockets of poverty INSIDE 285 as well.)

Down the road, if this waiting period is legislated, it WILL be compound what is already a severe hardship for women from rural, southern parts of the state to travel to other regions to have the procedure performed. They'll now have to make either a return trek, or secure local accommodations.

This proposed legislation is disgraceful, and I will to let my local elected officials know about it face-to-face, shortly. I believe I've seen you in the GA state forums, and I'll post what I learn from them over the weekend, in that DU forum, if you're interested.

[two gun sid]

73. That is not all these folks are saying.

It is a game the fundies play. They first float a nice middle of the road position, something a majority of fair minded people could support. They take some poll that they later use to say, "See? A majority of the public supports our position. This is a christian country".
You have obviously had to deal with abortion so let me ask you. Would waiting 24hrs. made any difference to the women you knew?
I just don't like the idea that I or the government that I support with tax dollars should tell a women what she can do with her body.

[Merlin]

77. "Would waiting 24hrs. made any difference?"

Not to the women I know. Why? Because they were able to talk it over with understanding family members who loved them and reach a decision on their own after all the considerations were discussed.

Still, though, they are troubled by it long afterward.

Both of these examples I'm using come from supportive middle-class backgrounds. Years later, when they do have doubts, they can say to themselves "I made my choice then after thinking of all the factors. I can live with it."

But many, many young girls seek an abortion in panic or under pressure from a boyfriend or even a parent. There is no careful consideration. Nobody discusses the pros and cons with them. There are no "disclosure statements." She's just suppose to go in to the clinic, and wham-bam, thank you mam, your baby's dead, get over it and get on with your life.

Later when there are the inevitable bad memories and doubts, a girl in a crisis like that may find her entire self image tarnished; may bear the baggage of unfinished emotional business for many decades.

You say it's "a game funies play." But that attitude is a game WE play. Even a broke clock is right twice a day. Now and then the fundies are right. You are presenting the "slippery slope" argument, and I think we're smart enough to recognize when there proposals make sense and when they go beyond the bounds of reason.

[stickdog]

82. Sorry, but nobody gets an abortion the day they find out they are pregnant

And the minute you find out you're pregnant, is the minute you start thinking about how you're going to handle the situation.

So that's your day right there. It's simply insulting to adult women to imply otherwise.

This law is just another flag burning amendment. It's a minor enough encroachment on a basic and fundamental (albeit controversial) right that it gives the self-rightists yet another potent political bludgeon against any politician with the brains and integrity to stand up for the fundamental right and against the calculated sham encroachment.

[Bridget Burke]

94. You need to deal with your own issues.

Your daughter may have made a decision that was wrong for her.

Where was her family support system? Was she assured that any baby of hers would be welcomed?

[bunkerbuster1]

83. Yes I know women who've terminated a pregnancy.

I've never once heard one of them express any regret for terminating a pregnancy.

And your support of this reThug measure sickens me.

[Bridget Burke]

93. We already have the waiting period in Texas

And it causes hardships to some women. Texas is a large state & many areas have NO abortion providers. Therefore, they have long drives (or bus rides) to the clinic. Then, they have 24 hours to wait--pay for a motel or take two more long drives?

And many of these women are NOT "young ladies"--silly chicks who are penciling the abortion in between trips to the beauty shop. They are women who may have jobs, existing children & other family responsibilities.

[leesa]

67. Man, these people are ignorant. As though a woman wouldn't have

thought about this step carefully. Plays into the BS of RWingers everywhere. Sort of like the guy who wasn't opposed to abortion but didn't like women using it for birth control??!!??

[jbm]

68. how about calling it the 24 hour bill...

and lump it together with gun purchases and any other major decision. All major decisions require a 24 hour waiting period from now on...let's see the repubs pass that one!

[Behind the Aegis]

70. How's about 'non-penised second-class citizen subjection' law

This is ridiculous! Another 24 hours? The women I know who have had this MEDICAL PROCEDURE spent more than 24 hours thinking about it! So, why in the Hell does the state, in its infinite wisdom, think they need ANOTHER 24 hours!?! Personally, I think it is a clever way to "expose" who is thinking about this MEDICAL PROCEDURE as an option and apply pressure to those people.

Picture it...Planned Parenthood clinic...the fundies and other assorted nuts standing outside watch women enter, perhaps follow them, inform others about what this woman is planning....

Most women that struggle with issues following this MEDICAL PROCEDURE, do so because of unsympathetic "pro-lifers!" They make the women feel guilty for the decision she made. They "what if" her to the point that she becomes depressed. It is not to say, some don't think back and wonder what may have been...Hell, we all do that...we all live with regrets!

ALL abortions should be legal! Women are citizens with the explicit right to control THEIR bodies!!! If men could get pregnant, abortions would be sacrament! When they make men wait 24 hours before purchasing condoms, then we can talk! There should be NO COMPROMISE with the right-wing/rethugs on this issue!!! Give them an inch, and they will take her uterus!!!! KEEP ABORTIONS SAFE AND LEGAL!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

74. Too bad they never learned the Eleventh Commandment...

"Thou shalt mind thine own fucking business."

[onager]

86. Another unwanted male opinion...

I had a female relative I loved very much. (She passed away fairly recently.) In the Buckle Of The Bible Belt, long ago when it was virtually unheard of, she divorced her husband (for very good reasons) and raised her kids all by herself. She was one of the most feisty and independent women I knew growing up.

But before that, when she was a 17-yr-old working her first job, she got pregnant. She got the only kind of abortion possible at the time, a back-alley butcher job.

According to the relative who told me this story, she came home unconscious and near death in a taxicab full of blood.

Doctors wouldn't treat her, because at the time they could be jailed and lose their license for "assisting" an abortion--the then-legal definition of saving a woman's life if she had a botched abortion.

The family finally got her to a doctor who was willing to treat her. He saved her life. (The relative who told me this story charmingly referred to him as "that n****r doctor." Oh well--as the old saying goes, you can choose your friends but not your kin.)

If you think the anti-abortion crowd wouldn't love to have those Good Old Days back again, you are fooling yourself. They're not looking for "compromise" or "reasonable restraint." They want to END abortion, period.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

88. Abortion is only the beginning...

That's their backdoor into putting women back in "their place" and out of the workforce as much as possible. It's about controlling women, not about "right to life".