WITH the success of Republicans in the midterm elections and the passage of Tennessee’s anti-abortion amendment, we can expect ongoing efforts to ban abortion and advance the “personhood” rights of fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses.
But it is not just those who support abortion rights who have reason to worry. Anti-abortion measures pose a risk to all pregnant women, including those who want to be pregnant.
Such laws are increasingly being used as the basis for arresting women who have no intention of ending a pregnancy and for preventing women from making their own decisions about how they will give birth.
How does this play out? Based on the belief that he had an obligation to give a fetus a chance for life, a judge in Washington, D.C., ordered a critically ill 27-year-old woman who was 26 weeks pregnant to undergo a cesarean section, which he understood might kill her. Neither the woman nor her baby survived.
In Iowa, a pregnant woman who fell down a flight of stairs was reported to the police after seeking help at a hospital. She was arrested for “attempted fetal homicide.”
In Utah, a woman gave birth to twins; one was stillborn. Health care providers believed that the stillbirth was the result of the woman’s decision to delay having a cesarean. She was arrested on charges of fetal homicide.
In Louisiana, a woman who went to the hospital for unexplained vaginal bleeding was locked up for over a year on charges of second-degree murder before medical records revealed she had suffered a miscarriage at 11 to 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Florida has had a number of such cases. In one, a woman was held prisoner at a hospital to prevent her from going home while she appeared to be experiencing a miscarriage. She was forced to undergo a cesarean. Neither the detention nor the surgery prevented the pregnancy loss, but they did keep this mother from caring for her two small children at home. While a state court later found the detention unlawful, the opinion suggested that if the hospital had taken her prisoner later in her pregnancy, its actions might have been permissible.
In another case, a woman who had been in labor at home was picked up by a sheriff, strapped down in the back of an ambulance, taken to a hospital, and forced to have a cesarean she did not want. When this mother later protested what had happened, a court concluded that the woman’s personal constitutional rights “clearly did not outweigh the interests of the State of Florida in preserving the life of the unborn child.”
Anti-abortion reasoning has also provided the justification for arresting pregnant women who experience depression and have attempted suicide. A 22-year-old in South Carolina who was eight months pregnant attempted suicide by jumping out a window. She survived despite suffering severe injuries. Because she lost the pregnancy, she was arrested and jailed for the crime of homicide by child abuse.
Since 2005, we have identified an additional 380 cases, with more arrests occurring every week. This significant increase coincides with what the Guttmacher Institute describes as a “seismic shift” in the number of states with laws hostile to abortion rights.
The principle at the heart of contemporary efforts to end legal abortion is that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses are persons or at least have separate rights that must be protected by the state. In each of the cases we identified, this same rationale provided the justification for the deprivation of pregnant women’s physical liberty, as well as of the right to medical decision making, medical privacy, bodily integrity and, in one case, the woman’s right to life.
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Many of the pregnant women subjected to this mistreatment are themselves profoundly opposed to abortion. Yet it was precisely the legal arguments for recriminalizing abortion that were used to strip them of their rights to dignity and liberty in the context of labor and delivery. These cases, individually and collectively, highlight what is so often missed when the focus is on attacking or defending abortion, namely that all pregnant women are at risk of losing a wide range of fundamental rights that are at the core of constitutional personhood in the United States.
If we want to end these unjust and inhumane arrests and forced interventions on pregnant women, we need to stop focusing only on the abortion issue and start working to protect the personhood of pregnant women.
We should be able to work across the spectrum of opinion about abortion to unite in the defense of one basic principle: that at no point in her pregnancy should a woman lose her civil and human rights.
This whole article sounds like a leftist scare tactic, much like the "war on women" scheme. I'm not buying any of it or if any of it did occur, there's more to the stories than what they are reporting.
This whole article sounds like a leftist scare tactic, much like the "war on women" scheme. I'm not buying any of it or if any of it did occur, there's more to the stories than what they are reporting.
How can we find out?
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
I have read some of the personhood laws, which have been supported on both sides. The idea being to make it an additional crime with the death of a fetus. Some cases were case as a double murder or there was a DWI that resulted in the death of a fetus. Some states have a period of time some life is at conception.
The number of cases I doubt, the only one I looked up was WASH DC. Looks like it was Angela Carter 1989, before most personhood laws. Dying of cancer and 25 weeks pregnant she was going to go under treatment so she could last until 28 weeks. They found treatments would not work, so she opted for pain meds until she would die. She was then ordered to have the cersarean where the baby died and 48 hours she died.
This was published in the NY Times. I realize the media is liberal, but I certainly hope the Times would be a little better than such blatent yellow journalism.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I have read some of the personhood laws, which have been supported on both sides. The idea being to make it an additional crime with the death of a fetus. Some cases were case as a double murder or there was a DWI that resulted in the death of a fetus. Some states have a period of time some life is at conception.
The number of cases I doubt, the only one I looked up was WASH DC. Looks like it was Angela Carter 1989, before most personhood laws. Dying of cancer and 25 weeks pregnant she was going to go under treatment so she could last until 28 weeks. They found treatments would not work, so she opted for pain meds until she would die. She was then ordered to have the cersarean where the baby died and 48 hours she died.
There are all sorts of problems with this. I understand why the judge ordered it, but the judge was playing God. They could likely have kept her alive on machines longer. While the pain meds MAY have hurt the baby - forcing delivery at 25 weeks seems much riskier.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
This was published in the NY Times. I realize the media is liberal, but I certainly hope the Times would be a little better than such blatent yellow journalism.
I don't hold my breath when it comes to anything the liberal media spews, and only some of what the conservative media reports, for that matter. Why? Because I've been on the "giving" end of news and have seen how it is skewed.
I think Ann Coulter is gorgeous. She reminds me of a blond version of Vette. I have her book but haven't read it. DH hates her. I haven't listened to her in a long time so I am not even sure what she stands for anymore.
I try to stay away from abortion threads so that's really all I have to add.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
I have read some of the personhood laws, which have been supported on both sides. The idea being to make it an additional crime with the death of a fetus. Some cases were case as a double murder or there was a DWI that resulted in the death of a fetus. Some states have a period of time some life is at conception.
The number of cases I doubt, the only one I looked up was WASH DC. Looks like it was Angela Carter 1989, before most personhood laws. Dying of cancer and 25 weeks pregnant she was going to go under treatment so she could last until 28 weeks. They found treatments would not work, so she opted for pain meds until she would die. She was then ordered to have the cersarean where the baby died and 48 hours she died.
There are all sorts of problems with this. I understand why the judge ordered it, but the judge was playing God. They could likely have kept her alive on machines longer. While the pain meds MAY have hurt the baby - forcing delivery at 25 weeks seems much riskier.
I have a problem of any forced care. This one seemed worse an example in the study.
Laura Pemberston, Florida, was in active labor. Since she had a cesarean before her doctors wanted her to have another. The sherif took her into custody and brought her to the hospital. A quick hearing was held in order to protect the fetus, where she did not have consoul but could express her views. Then was forced with a cesarean.
Didn't we have a discussion on that lady here? And she had had several c-sections already?
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
I'm waiting for the ban on male masturbation. Death of potential life thru wastefulness of useful sperm..
Well in the TX sodomy case Scalia dissent questioned if we cannot have laws based on morals we would not be able to have laws against prostitution, adult incest, masturbation and fornication.
I'm waiting for the ban on male masturbation. Death of potential life thru wastefulness of useful sperm..
Well in the TX sodomy case Scalia dissent questioned if we cannot have laws based on morals we would not be able to have laws against prostitution, adult incest, masturbation and fornication.
We shouldn't have laws prohibiting any of those, when only involving consenting adults.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
I'm waiting for the ban on male masturbation. Death of potential life thru wastefulness of useful sperm..
Well in the TX sodomy case Scalia dissent questioned if we cannot have laws based on morals we would not be able to have laws against prostitution, adult incest, masturbation and fornication.
We shouldn't have laws prohibiting any of those, when only involving consenting adults.
Adult incest? Are you crazy?
You do know why incest is bad, right?
-- Edited by Lawyerlady on Wednesday 12th of November 2014 05:10:17 PM
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
This was published in the NY Times. I realize the media is liberal, but I certainly hope the Times would be a little better than such blatent yellow journalism.
the times????? OMG their agenda is so left it's scary. This is just more BS to scare people and as a punishment for the success of the mid term elections.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
-- Edited by Lawyerlady on Wednesday 12th of November 2014 05:10:17 PM
Spouse was eight years old, thus not an adult.
There is a possibility that incestuous sex could produce children who have defective genes, if both parents have the same defect.
However, this is rare, even in communities (or in tribes in other parts of the world) where most relationships are with cousins, because there's no one else around.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
It used to be that blood tests were required to get married. At least they were in California. To rule out blood relationship and also to check for the measles.
It used to be that blood tests were required to get married. At least they were in California. To rule out blood relationship and also to check for the measles.
Blood tests do not rule out relationship, you need DNA tests for that. The blood test was originally for diseases like syphillis and for the RH negative factor because it used to be that having a baby with the wrong RH factor could kill you. That is not the case anymore for the RH factor, but they still use it to check for disease, including HIV.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I had to have a blood test. But my ex didn't. Totally unfair!
Oh, and my ex's cousin had to do genetic testing because she married a man from the same town with the same last name.
I simply can't get behind incest even if they are both adults. That's just repugnant to me.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
Incest is bad because it is morally wrong Not just because of some potential fetal defects
It's bad because of both. Siblings having babies can create children with birth defects that society then has to care for.
In reality, it is birth defects are rare, even under those circumstances. That is why my point is that you need to make the MORAL argument, not the Statistics one because it won't hold up. What if they say, oh we aren't having kids or whatever? See my point?
Incest is bad because it is morally wrong Not just because of some potential fetal defects
Morals? Different people have different morals. Religions may proscribe it, but many people care more about hormones.
and access.
No, not really. Morals are pretty standard across humanity. Things like murder, torture, harming children, etc. Yeah, there are deviants and deviant societies but for the most part, the morals of mankind are pretty much in agreement even though portions of mankind act contrary.
Incest is bad because it is morally wrong Not just because of some potential fetal defects
It's bad because of both. Siblings having babies can create children with birth defects that society then has to care for.
In reality, it is birth defects are rare, even under those circumstances. That is why my point is that you need to make the MORAL argument, not the Statistics one because it won't hold up. What if they say, oh we aren't having kids or whatever? See my point?
I do see your point. But birth defects are rare because the case of siblings having children are also low. The more interbred you become - the worse it would become. The domino effect. Siblings that were born of siblings then having a child is extremely rare - but if it was not taboo, it could happen more. And then the birth defects would increase.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Incest is bad because it is morally wrong Not just because of some potential fetal defects
It's bad because of both. Siblings having babies can create children with birth defects that society then has to care for.
In reality, it is birth defects are rare, even under those circumstances. That is why my point is that you need to make the MORAL argument, not the Statistics one because it won't hold up. What if they say, oh we aren't having kids or whatever? See my point?
I do see your point. But birth defects are rare because the case of siblings having children are also low. The more interbred you become - the worse it would become. The domino effect. Siblings that were born of siblings then having a child is extremely rare - but if it was not taboo, it could happen more. And then the birth defects would increase.
I know. I am just saying that you aren't really going to win the debate solely on that.
I can't believe that an unborn baby could ever be viewed as more important than the person carrying it.
Horrific. And people wonder why I am pro choice. . .
"Incest is bad because it is morally wrong Not just because of some potential fetal defects" - Lady Gaga Snerd
While I agree with you in the belief that it's immoral. It being immoral is not the belief of everyone. That's why I would never argue immorality as a reason to disallow it. I would stick with the science.