Political Post -- Do Not Read If You Are Pro-Life (You Won't Like What I Have to Say)

Apparently I have been busy since our "Babymoon!" So, those of you who know me well will not be surprised that I am absolutely sick over the Supreme Court's decision to support the partial birth abortion ban passed by Georgie Porgie Puddlin Pie. And, my perspective has changed a lot since having a baby, but, I still think that banning partial birth abortion is ignorant and takes away a woman's options.

When I say my perspective has changed, I mean that when I was younger and focused on preventing pregnancy myself, I was a staunch supporter for abortion rights to protect the lives of young women everywhere and to let them decide when was best for them to have babies, and to know themselves well enough that it was not the time or place for a baby. And, I confess that when it turned out to be difficult to conceive our first child, I began to feel that children are such a blessing, period, that it is a shame to have an abortion unless there are extenuating circumstances about your health, the health of the baby, or the means by which you were impregnated (no women should be required to carry a child conceived out of rape). But, that did not change my fundamental belief that abortion should still be available, regardless -- it just meant that I became a >>little<< more judgmental about abortions purely for choice.

But, to go one step further, when I read through the coverage today on the Supreme Court's decision, it came screaming to me that this ban means something terrible for women whose unborn babies are found to have fatal or extremely debilitating genetic diseases. So, when you are pregnant, you do not have any testing done on the genetics of the baby until your second trimester -- even the "first trimester" screening falls so far towards the end of your first trimester, that you are already in your second trimester by the time you can act on the results. The second trimester is when parents find out about the genetics of their babies and they can make the decision whether to continue with the pregnancy or not.

I know I am treading on difficult moral grounds here, but, I just want to say this and have it out there. The decision about whether to continue a pregnancy or not is heart-wrenching and difficult no matter who you are or where you stand on the moral spectrum, generally. This is your child whom you will be responsible for and whom you will have to see suffer greviously if they have a physical ailment. I cannot stand it when my son coughs too much from a passing cold, much less see his whole body wracked with coughs all of the time because his lungs have no way of clearing out fluid.

And, the parents who are in these difficult positions and decide to spare their child from a lifetime of pain and suffering, are often most comforted by being able to hold their tiny baby after terminating the pregnancy. This was a REAL life for them and they honor it as such and they grieve for it as such. What this partial birth abortion ban means now is that if that child is taken from the mother in one piece and still alive so that mom and dad can feel the baby breathing and moving, even for just minutes, preserved as a whole human being, then the doctor will go to jail. I think that is wrong and ignorant and foolish and so focused on being judgmental and self-righteous that it makes me sick.

A lot has changed in terms of the types of genetic testing that can be done since the Act was initially passed in 2003, and I am surprised to see in the opinion from the Court that there is nothing talking about this aspect of live abortions.

And, of course, I am horrified that there is no health exception for the mother. To quote Justice Ginsburg, "None of the six physicians who testified before Congress had ever performed an intact D&E. Several did not provide abortion services at all; and one was not even an obgyn... . [T]he oral testimony before Congress was not only unbalanced, but intentionally polemic . . . According to the expert testimony plaintiffs introduced,the safety advantages of intact D&E are marked for women with certain medical conditions, for example, uterine scarring, bleeding disorders, heart disease, or compromised immune systems."

I realize that there are lots and lots of people out there who disagree vehemently with what I am saying. But, I am allowed to agree with the other four justices on the Court and reject the majority opinion.