Abortion Rights are Civil Rights

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/6428

Abortion Rights are Civil Rights
by Margaret Kimberley | Mar 29 2007

In 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled that abortion rights were constitutionally protected. The Roe v. Wade decision was one of the most significant in the court's history and one of the most important for black people. Roe v. Wade is a perfect solution to the abortion controversy. It allows every woman to follow her own conscience, a principle that most Americans claim to support whole heartedly.

After 30 years of legal abortion, that right is now under assault across the nation. Religious conservatives have long planned to over turn Roe. They have been at work in state legislatures throughout the country, establishing "trigger" mechanism legislation that would immediately outlaw abortion if Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court. Numerous states require waiting periods and specious warnings about mental and physical risks before abortions can be performed.

The South Carolina legislature is on the verge of passing a bill requiring women to see an ultrasound image of the fetus before undergoing an abortion. They would then be forced to sign an affidavit swearing that they had seen the ultrasound. An African American legislator, Gilda Cobb-Hunter, summed up just one problem created by this needlessly meddlesome legislation. "You love them in the womb but once they get here, it's a different story."

The political power of religious conservatives is the biggest reason for this assault on the rights of American women. As their power has grown, so has the corporate media's acquiescence to their agenda. In 2004, a crowd estimated at more than 1 million gathered in Washington to support abortion rights. You wouldn't know it from news reports from the corporate media, who either gave little attention to the march, dismissed its importance altogether or paid greater attention to the celebrities in attendance.

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[BOSSHOG]

1. I don' know what to call them but I know what they ain't

They ain't the business of religious lunatics who love you before you are born and when you are on life support.

Why do religious zealots have such a desire to get up close and personal on the crotches of men and women alike?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. Some wily Dem in that legislature

Should introduce a bill to require pregnant women to watch videos of painful childbirth and screaming toddlers, too. I mean, we want women to be armed with all the information before making their choices, right? :sarcasm:

[ShortnFiery]

3. Much better to phrase "Family Planning" or "Women's Choice" rights.

Just an suggestion. :shrug:

[babylonsister]

4. Not my article; I'm just the messenger, but I do agree. nt