I don't hide the fact that I am a liberal democrat. At least, I don't think I do. Actually, I try to not comment about political matters much on my blog, do I? But in the side bar, it does say that I am a little to the left.
So with this health care reform effort, now that it is almost law, I feel I must say a few words, well-chosen or not.
I am ambivalent about abortion. I have never needed one, but my body performed one on me in 1986, much to my dismay. In that case, it is euphemistically called a miscarriage. This happens to about 15% of all pregnancies. I know several women who have, in fact, had abortions, because of wildly varying reasons. I am glad that abortion is still legal, (albeit fraught with difficulties,) in the United States.
The anti-abortionist democrats, aka pro-lifers, have held the health care reform vote in their hands and many nods have been made in their direction to secure their vote. Sigh. They say they represent their constituents that don't believe in using Federal dollars for abortion.
I remember back in the early 70s, when the anti-war movement was at its height. There were people then that did not want their taks dollars used for bombing innocent villagers in North and South Viet Nam, much less used for bombing countries that we were not at war with, i.e., Cambodia and Laos.
Those people's representatives did not seem to hear their pleas. In spite of the huge support that the anti-war movement had, conservatives were quite willing to support killing non-combatants with taks-payer money.
That is what I don't get. These same pro-lifers seem to support bombs that kill indiscriminately, (now in Iran and Afghanistan) yet they don't want to support seks education, free condoms, or any sort of birth control for unmarried women. Let's not even mention how pricey it is to adopt.
My belief about abortion is that is should be legal, which it is, and safe, and rare. I don't want to return to the time of back alley abortionists and those incredible maternal death rates. In all cases, wealthy women could always have a D and C done, it there was enough money paid to the right doctor.
I always want to ask them that if their daughter, niece, granddaughter, sister, aunt or wife were raped and conceived, would they accept that baby into their life? Only if the rapist were the same race? Had no diseases? Held the same political views?
The hypocrisy of these democratic naysayers makes me sick. If they would all adopt about four unwanted babies each, I might reconsider.
Then there are the Republicans.
