Women should be able to make their own decisions; it is there body and their baby. When you think about it what is better, raising a child that you can not afford or you are not ready to take care of, or having an abortion because you know that you are not ready to give the proper life to this new born. I think the second choice is the better one. Now in the 21 century you would think that women would be able to make their own choice about abortion; however, this is not a choice everywhere just yet.

See, I immediately would attack the anti-abortion (hate saying pro-life, its so clearly biased) lady with her restrictive and conservative view on women's bodies (and bad hair cut ...ouch), but I honestly think that her speaking her views through a fair ( as far as the report showed) campaign is respectable. I don't agree with her but that's part of what makes democracy work ( though it definitely has a bad track record). Though I hope the South Dakota Ban fails, I'm kind of happy that the race didn't turn ugly and be reduced to mug slinging.

I find it incredibly ironic that the two women interviewed who are behind the move to ban and criminalize abortions have, themselves, had abortions in the past. That they regret their choice is no reason to deny other women a choice altogether.

Unruh really needs to explain exactly how forcing Campbell to leave both fetuses to die equals "giving her baby life". Does she genuinely not understand that sometimes things go wrong in pregnancy, or does she just not care? Does she genuinely believe she is affirming life by forcing women to carry to term fetuses that will never survive outside the womb? Or does she just get off on inflicting emotional and psychological pain on other women?

Leslie Unruh is stuck in the talking points in her head, shown here by her "giving her baby life" quote that has no relation to the reality of the situation. She thinks she's going to be the squeeky wheel? She sounds like a spoiled brat--if I just whine long enough, I'll get my way. I hope South Dakota gives her a spanking.

P.S. "Unruh" means disquiet in German.

There is nothing I hate more than the term "pro-aborion". No one is pro-abortion. Pro-choice people want abortions legal and rare. "Pro-life" people make us sound like we love killing babies. It's really absurd.

Something I thought was very interesting was the nature and origins of the two featured women, Tiffany and Leslie, in their respective stances. Leslie is a woman who, after having made the CHOICE to have an abortion, later regretted it. This in and of itself is perfectly fine, and i do feel sorry for her; however, she takes a patronizing, myopic and, dare i say, patriarchal stand in claiming that other women shouldn't have abortions, simply because SHE regretted hers. And she isn't the only one in her organization, either--the other woman interviewed in her "prolife" org, Leah, said the exact same thing in response-- that she was "hurt by her [abortion]" and doesn't want other women to "make the same mistake". So in essence, these women actually feel like they're PROTECTING other women. Twisted. And as for Tiffany, while i don't deny the work she is doing is fantastic, i thought it was fascinating how her particular situation set her up to be a perfect candidate (in the media, anyway) to be advocating abortion. Although she did have one, she regretted it, as in, she wouldn't have if she hadn't felt forced to under the circumstances. Despite the fact that she did have the procedure, one of her babies is alive and well, and she is still in the caring, nurturing mother-role that society loves to paint for us ladies. Since her actions were based solely in the interest of her (at the time yet-unborn) children and not for herself (as a “loose and selfish woman!”), it makes her a more pliable and accepted candidate for advocacy, as society at large would see it. Again, i'm not saying that what she's doing isn't right (i think she's great), nor is this a judgment of her character, but i just thought it was very interesting.

Rachel: totally the point I was gunna make. :) And furthermore, they were only allowed to get a safe and healthy abortion because it is legal. Imagine the regret they would feel if they had been forced to cross state lines to get that abortion, or to get one "under the table"? You can't anticipate if you'll feel regret, but you can try to be as responsible as possible about your choices, as long as the laws allow you to.

kmdinardo, there is a third choice...it's called adoption. In my case, for instance, if I ever got pregnant I think I'd have a very hard if not impossible time having an abortion personally...I just don't know if I could bring myself to do it. But being in college and totally not ready or willing to raise a child, I would definitely consider adoption the ideal option.

Of course, unlike stupid conservative pro-lifers, I get that would only be the best choice for ME and don't want to create laws forcing everyone else to do things my way.

I think that by far the most annoying thing in this whole debate is the argument used by anti-choice people that says that "many women don't think this decision through, and many of them come to regret it."

It is frustrating to hear people tell me that they want to take away my decision-making prerogative because one day I may or may not regret the decisions that I make. I have news for these people: in one way or another, I end up regretting most of the decisions that I make. But guess what? I am an adult, and I realize that my regrets are the result of my own actions, and as a result of that I LEARN from my past experiences.

I think that for every woman who regrets having an abortion there are at least two that think that it was the best decision that they could have made for themselves at the time, and that they don't regret it for a second. This idea that anti-choice people are somehow protecting women is absurd, and I am frankly sick of it.

Isn't Unruh the same crazy-ass that was debating the pill on Fox News? She kept saying "big pharma" and saying "more babies!!!". I'm almost positive it's her. SHE DOESN'T EVEN AGREE WITH CONTRACEPTION so she should shut the fuck up about abortions.

I regret my choice so I do not want to allow other people to have the same choice? Wow, what a luxury!

also (sorry) you have to give it up for those phone call volunteers who are protecting women's rights.

I volunteer with the Obama campaign in my area, and it's hard enough calling people who AGREE with you, you get the one odd person on the registry for whatever reason that is not with your registered party. I can't imagine the verbal abuse and lectures those people hear.

I'm quite aware of the fact that my post may not make it to the comments but I felt the need to express my feelings on the subject anyway. I continue to hear about the rights of women and their right to choose. Women have the right to choose many things: where they will live, in what career or job they will work, who they marry, whether or not to have sex and if they do choose to have sex they can choose to whether or not use contraceptives. The problem we face today is that too many women are using abortion as a form of contraceptive. It has to stop!
As far as a woman having the right to choose what to do with her own body, why are they not choosing to abstain to prevent pregnancy? Why are they not choosing to use contraceptives to prevent the pregnancy? Answer, because abortion has been made too readily available for women to eliminate a pregnancy for no other reason than convenience.
The science available to us in 1973 has advanced tremendously these past 35 years. The belief that a child is not viable outside of the mother's womb after a certain number of weeks has been disproven. A child is viable much earlier than we believed in 1973. That is only one example as to why Roe v Wade needs to be re-visited! Not to mention the fact that the 'fetus' was believed to be only a glob of cells. With the advancement of the ultra sound, that too has been disproven. It is for this reason that the pro-abortion crowd refuses to debate the real issue.
What reason do you think that pro-life advocates want abortion overturned? Do you think it is to irritate women? Of course not. It's about the unborn child. What about the unborn child, you may ask? Well, is he/she a human being or not? That is the issue!
To say it's a woman's right to choose whether or not to end a life is as ridiculous as saying a man has a right to choose whether or not he rapes someone. If we were to take that 'right to choose' belief seriously, we could say that men are adults with the intelligence to choose for themselves if they want to force sex on someone who doesn't want it. I personally don't agree with it, but who am I to tell a man what to do with his own body. Now we all know that that would be a ridiculous argument. The reason the argument is ridiculous is because everyone in society agrees that rape is immoral and therefore illegal.
So let's face the real issue here. Are unborn children human beings? Sometimes the authorities say yes and sometimes no. If a person can be charged and sentenced for fetal homicide, than society understands that an unborn child is a human being; but only when it suits them. Why should someone be charged with fetal homicide for ending the life of an unborn child, but the mother is immune to that same prosecution when that same life is extinguished in a doctors office?
Do you realize that there are only 4 differences between the mother or any person on earth and the unborn child. Those differences are his/her size, level of development, environment, and level of dependency. If anyone thinks that's a good enough reason to end a life than we are all in trouble. Oh, wait a second, we are already having to fight for the lives of the elderly and disabled. Maybe it's a direct result of the fact that we value life less than we did before 1973.

KrlyQ, don't be scared to post an opposing viewpoint, as long as you are polite and respectful about it. :)

I'm lazy, so I'm going to respond to a few of your points in point form.

Most women who choose abortion DO use other forms of birth control - but no method is 100% effective.

If abortion was made illegal, women would not be "irritated" - many would be in danger. In danger of death or lifelong illness/disability, in danger of being unable to support themselves and their child, in danger of being forced to stay with an abusive partner, etc, etc.

And absolutely men have a right to choose whether or not to rape people - choosing to be a rapist is a personal choice. Of course, I have no respect for rapists (or anyone who chooses to harm another human being) and it has negative consequences for many people (the people he rapes obviously, and himself if he is caught and arrested) but it's still his choice.

I differ from you on just one thing - I don't believe that an embryo/fetus can be a full fledged human (with all of the rights that all other humans are entitled to). I don't see how it is logistically possible for a fetus and a woman to both be human beings with equal rights AND inhabit the same body. One of them has to be more important than the other. If a woman has a difficult pregnancy and she chooses to abort for that reason (or because she is unable to support a child or because she just doesn't want to be pregnant for whatever reason), that is because her health is more important than her unborn child's. If a woman must continue a pregnancy no matter what (because killing her unborn child is immoral) then the fetus is more important.

Bottom line, I value the lives of born people more than the lives of the unborn.

Okay, actually maybe I differ from you on another thing too.

I don't know if you've ever been pregnant before (if you have, you probably know what I'm talking about here), but I have been, twice. Both times it ended in a miscarriage (unfortunately), but I have experienced pregnancy and let me tell you, it is no picnic. It changed my life DRAMATICALLY. I actually had to quit my (very physical) job the first time because it was too painful for me. My boyfriend broke up with me, because my personality changed so dramatically during my pregnancy (as a result of all the crazy-inducing hormones). After the second, my bladder control will never be the same again.

A pregnancy, even a relatively normal/easy one, is not just a minor inconvenience. It changes you, not just temporarily. I want to get pregnant again and have children eventually, but I sure as heck wouldn't wish that on anyone who wasn't 100% into it.

(Note: I am an average, healthy young woman. I haven't got any special health issues that would potentially cause issues for me during pregnancy, other than a streak of bad luck. And if I had such bad luck, how about the women who are less fortunate than me? (Older, unhealthy, etc women.)

Mayfly, thank you for your considerate response. I agree that when 2 or more people disagree on an issue as important as abortion and they choose to discuss/debate on these types of forums, politeness and respect are essential.

As far as your comment about women being in danger if abortion was illegal; I'm sorry to say but that is an untrue statement. This is one of many statements that have been repeated so often and for so many years that the general public believes it to be true, but it is not. I've read confessions from Dr. Bernard Nathanson over the years and he explains how he knew that in order to gain more favorable support for abortion they would have to lead people to believe that women were dying from unsafe abortions. He admits that the information given at that time were flat out lies. I will be adding a web address on my blog where you can read some of what he had to say on this subject.

Your reference to the man's choice to rape is 100% true, but please keep in mind that EVERYONE has a choice whether or not he/she will commit a crime against another human being. The point is that we as a society agree that it is wrong and expect our government officials (police officers) to make the arrest and for additional government officials (court) to prosecute and sentence that man for that crime. We would never allow a rapist to go free and allow him to continue to rape under the banner of 'pro-choice'.

You mention the life of the mother being more important than the life of the unborn baby. The ban, from what I've read would cover the circumstance of the mother's life, if her life was in jeopardy. That is one of the reasons that the act of abortion was perfected. The way it is being used now is an abuse of that practice.

Thank you for addressing the real issue. The fact that the child inhabits the same body is the environment to which I referred in my previous post. If you have a few moments, I would be happy to explain what I meant more thoroughly:

The only differences between you (or me) and an unborn child is size, level of dependency, environment and development. We have never met face to face, but I'm sure it's safe to say that you are much smaller in size than Shaquille O'Neal. Are you of lesser value as a human being than he because you are smaller in size? Of course not. The level of dependency of an unborn child is great, but it will remain so for a very long time even after the child is born. My son is 20 years old. He is in the Army now, but he still lived with me at the ripe old age of 19 and his level of dependency was still fairly significant. My mother is wheelchair bound, diabetic with neuropathy and on dialysis 3 times a week. Her level of dependency is great because she needs and depends on her insulin and dialysis in order to live. Was my son less of a human being because his level of dependency on me was so vast? Is my mother worth less too because of her level of dependency? Is my son's life worth more than my mother's because her level of dependency is greater than my son's? I'm sure we will agree that the answer is no.

We have freedoms in this country about which people in other countries can only dream. One reason is because the founders of this country recognized that our rights come from our Creator. Most other countries do not recognize that truth, but the fact is that it is a truth whether they recognize it or not. You are of great value and of great worth because you were made in the image of God. If you move to a country that does not acknowledge that fact, do you become worth less as a human being? Your environment changed, but your worth did not. Why do we think that 6 inches, the average length of the birth canal, makes the difference in the child's worth as a human being? Then there is development. An infant is much less developed than a 3 year old; a 3 year old is much less developed than a 15 year old; a 15 year old is less developed than a 50 year old. If we continue to base our decisions of human worth on these factors, we will continue to have to argue whether or not we should have the 'choice' of euthanizing our elderly and disabled. Which is one of the arguments given during the debating of Roe v Wade. Scoffers, or supporters of abortion rights said that would never happen; and yet here we are...

We are facing the social battles in this country because we are devaluing life and have been doing so for 35 years. It has affected the way children value life, which explains that vast number of school shootings in this country and it has affected our treatment of the elderly and disabled as well. Making abortion illegal for convenience will force people to make better choices BEFORE the pregnancy which will hopefully make people realize once again how ALL life if precious and of great value.

KrleQ: How would you define 'abortion for convenience'? If I suppose that you agree 100% with the abovementioned bill, then one close friend of mine would be dead because the odds that she'd survive her very unwanted pregnancy (yes, BC sometimes does fail) were around one to million as well as the chances that the child will live. But it wasn't sure that she would suffer permanent and irreversible damage so she wouldn't be able to get the abortion, which, by the way, meant that she spent two weeks at ICU.

As for illegal abortions not being dangerous... Well, if you define illegal as going to a normal country and getting it done in a hospital there, then it's not dangerous. The homemade illegal sort is. There's a good chance of not being totally fit after you stick a sharp object to any orifice of your choice... nor is too healthy when you get drunk and jump off the table, as my grandma says the girls did when she was young. If you browse this site, you'll find some link to a detailed description of infections induced by a homemade abortion.

Luckily enough, I live in a country with possibly less enviable freedoms but a normal one.

KrleQ: How would you define 'abortion for convenience'? If I suppose that you agree 100% with the abovementioned bill, then one close friend of mine would be dead because the odds that she'd survive her very unwanted pregnancy (yes, BC sometimes does fail) were around one to million as well as the chances that the child will live. But it wasn't sure that she would suffer permanent and irreversible damage so she wouldn't be able to get the abortion, which, by the way, meant that she spent two weeks at ICU.

As for illegal abortions not being dangerous... Well, if you define illegal as going to a normal country and getting it done in a hospital there, then it's not dangerous. The homemade illegal sort is. There's a good chance of not being totally fit after you stick a sharp object to any orifice of your choice... nor is too healthy when you get drunk and jump off the table, as my grandma says the girls did when she was young. If you browse this site, you'll find some link to a detailed description of infections induced by a homemade abortion.

Luckily enough, I live in a country with possibly less enviable freedoms but a normal one.

first of all, i really don't think the government should even be involved with what we decide to do with our bodies. so i really don't think why people are even debating on this issue. it's our body so we should decide what to do with it.

kultakutri: You are correct that birth control is not 100% effective. However it is our collective thought process that is skewed. Are we saying that because the precaution taken does not effectively prevent what we are trying to avoid we believe it gives us the right to end a life? As far as 'illegal abortions' go, my point was that when pro-abortionists were trying to plead their case to force legalization on all 50 states, the lie being told was that thousands of women per year were dying from what at the time in most states was illegal abortion. The numbers were grossly inflated to envoke sympathy from a public who believed abortion was wrong. The lie has been told for so long that most people believe it and its just not true.

I am very sorry about your friend's situation, but unless someone can prove to me that this ban does not take situations like her's into account than the argument is still the same. Why do people collectively believe that allowing, promoting and sanctioning ways for the field of medicine to perfect ways to end life is okay? Could it be that we here in America are always looking for an easy way out? Abortion is an easy way out for too many women. Less than 2% of abortions performed since 1973 are due to rape, incest or to preserve the life of the mother; LESS THAN 2%! So 98% of abortions that take place are for convenience.

Thank you all who have responded for being so upfront, honest yet very cordial in your responses to me. I probably won't post here again, but if you get the chance, please re-read some of what I wrote in my previous posts in order to occassionally remind yourselves of WHY the debate is happening. As thoughtful as you all have been, some of my points were not addressed. What is the unborn? A glob of cells, or a human being like you and me that needs protection?

Hi Jessica,
I just came across your blog post about South Dakota Proposition 11 and wanted to let you know about a new "Vote No on 11" video just released by the Feminist Majority Foundation, the publisher of Ms. magazine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRYqZnU0Zc
http://www.feministcampus.org/vote/StateInitiativeSD.asp

Please consider posting this video and the related link onto your website so it is made available to your visitors. We must do all that we can to preserve women's reproductive rights and let women know what's at risk this election.

Thanks so much!

Paula Silinger
Ms. magazine
psilinger@msmagazine.com