Tag Archives: abortion

Brett Kavanaugh?

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The thoughts expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

 

Sometime this month the Senate is going to vote on whether or not to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The Republican Party, in general, thinks he’ll be the fifth vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and abortion will no longer be legal in the United States. The Democratic Party is fighting this. But what about the people, the citizens of the United States? How do most of them feel?

 

This issue is complex. For one thing, abortion only affects women. I can’t imagine a man having one. I think of Kamala Harris’ question last week asking Judge Kavanaugh if he knew of any laws that let the government regulate the male body? He had to stop and think. And, after a very long pause, he said he didn’t.

 

I remember a time when abortion was illegal in the United States. What did girls, and yes, they were girls—16, 17, 18 or older, do when they found out they were pregnant, unmarried and couldn’t or wouldn’t marry the father? They had what was called a “back alley” abortion or went down to Mexico or used a coat hanger.

 

Most of these abortions didn’t go well. Usually the person performing the abortion was not a doctor, or if they were, they were not performing the abortion with the latest equipment in a sterile environment. Frequently, later that night or the next day, the girls had to be rushed to the hospital because they were infected or hemorrhaging. Many died, and of those who didn’t, many could no longer have children because of the damage the procedure had done to their internal organs.

 

Then along came Roe v. Wade. Women and girls could now have safe, legal abortions. Almost everyone lived. There were few infections, few hemorrhages and almost no one died.

 

So then, did all women, or most women, go out and have abortions? No. Most women don’t want abortions. They want to have children. But they want the option of abortion available for those who do.

 

Do most women believe abortion should be a nine month choice? Of course not. They want a time limited option available in which a woman can have a safe and legal abortion. After that time is up, unless there are extraordinary circumstances, like the life of the mother is at stake, abortion would no longer be a possibility.

 

I’ve participated in many conversations between women who are very liberal, very conservative and in between. After a while, we were always able to come up with reasonable limits, while at the same time keeping the option of abortion available for those who need it.

 

In recent surveys, 35% of Republicans, 60% of Independents and 75% of Democrats* want limited, legal abortions available to everyone. Almost no one wants to go back to the old days of “back alley” abortions and all the dangers they entailed.

 

Where do you stand on this issue? What do you think? How does your position on this issue affect how you feel about Brett Kavanaugh being nominated to the Supreme Court? Are you in favor or against his nomination and why?

 

Breakfast in Americastan

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burned eggs and toastServing up Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for President this November is like your waiter asking if you’d prefer cold, runny eggs for breakfast, or yesterday’s burnt toast. The only other thing on the menu is not voting for a president, and that is even less appetizing.

But Mr. Trump’s interruptive, bombastic, New York, New York-style might be just what The People need in Washington, DC right now. The number one job of our next POTUS must be to end the gridlock in Washington, and to finally hold all elected officials to a higher standard. Like their sworn duty to work for the people who elected them instead of the lobbyists who made them millionaires. Maybe that’s not “old-money” billionaire Trump, who put his own money where his big mouth is to win his party’s nomination. But it is certainly not “new-money” millionaire Clinton who speaks privately out of one side of her mouth and publicly out of the other side. So, if it’s between cold, runny eggs and yesterday’s burnt toast anyway, here are two ducks Donald could get in a row to earn my vote.

First, my main concern is stopping the Republican party from further weakening women’s rights. Mr. Trump has waxed and waned on this issue, so he could decide to put a stop to it. His wife and daughter might help. They are both powerful women in their own right, and they have his ear.

Some Republican legislators are trying to enact demeaning, overbearing and purposefully humiliating laws on young women. Laws that are based on pseudo-science and someone else’s religious convictions. It is hard for me to distinguish the difference between a Turban and a Yamaka, a Habit and a Hijab, when I see baseless laws trampling the First Amendment. The Supreme Court – if not Mr. Trump – must stop the Republican Party’s religious right from trying to run the country from the pulpit. Otherwise, I fear it will soon be breakfast in Americastan.

Abortion is a hard decision for any would-be parent, a decision they will live with for the rest of their lives. I doubt if it is ever made lightly. But it is a decision that should be debated by family, not legislators, behind closed doors, not in open court. And the medical community must be free to dismiss all legislative-induced, pseudo-science.

If Trump says he’ll leave all personal decisions to the person, I’m voting for him. If not, Hillary has already said she is pro-life. I’d rather four more years of gridlock than see women lose their right to self-determination.

Second, as long as Trump is cutting his own Republican cloth, this summer would also be a good time to announce he will repeal the federal criminal laws on marijuana.

It is way past time to remove marijuana from its Schedule 1 status, let the medical field conduct proper research on it, and let adults smoke it recreationally. The marijuana laws have done more harm to people than the product ever could. A lot of countries are finally realizing this, but there are over 100,000 Americans, most of them young, who are serving pot-only related sentences, and thousands of more lives have been diminished because of pot-related felonies. President Obama is trying to rectify as much as he can. He commuted another 58 such sentences earlier this month including 18 who were serving life. He’s now commuted 306 sentences while in office, more than the previous six presidents combined.

On April 20th, the Prime Minister of Canada introduced a law to decriminalize pot by next year. Two days later, the President of Mexico proposed new laws to decriminalize possession of under an ounce. It’s high time America did, too.

All comments welcomed.