Anti-choice representative Michele Bachmann: No government control over my body!
Bachmann on "big abortion"
This is too good. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), an anti-choicer who wants to give eggs rights, was on Sean Hannity's radio show this week talking about health care reform. Check it out:
"That's why people need to continue to go to the town halls, continue to melt the phone lines of their liberal members of Congress," said Bachmann, "and let them know, under no certain circumstances will I give the government control over my body and my health care decisions."
Ahem.
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She's the same nutcase who got the whole "death panel" myth going out of whole cloth. She's more Palinesque than Sarah Palin.
It's sad how easily irony gets lost on these people.
Sure, she won't give the government control over her body. But she has no problem with giving it control over other women's bodies.
Where on earth did the "big abortion" quote come from?
This is infuriating! I keep hearing this trope coming from the right and nobody calls them on it. (Except the *communist feminazi* blogs, of course.) Democrats, will you please get a freaking spine?
I can't believe she is still a representative, after all the national press she got for saying stupid things right before the elections. Donations came in from all corners for her opponent just in hopes of getting rid of Bachmann. She is an embarrassment to the generally liberal and sane state of MN.
The Sixth District, which she represents, is essentially a cold Wasilla.
Her son hates her and even joined Teach for America, just to piss her off (after she claimed that Teach for America was brainwashing American youths).
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I guess hypocrisy skips a generation in their family...
The abortion debate is always so complicated. As a young woman I have supported friends in their decisions to receive abortions (for age reasons, drug reasons, just not the right time reasons). As a survivor of rape I am glad I knew the option was available to terminate a pregnancy that would have terminated my sanity. HOWEVER, as an extreme feminist- I DON'T LIKE ABORTION. I bet its hard for anyone to say that they do LIKE it. But too often is the "liberal" stance in support of the right to choose - choose undergoing an extreme procedure that leaves emotional scars (in some cases). I see too many women who equate aborting a pregnancy to a liberated option. I value all life, including an unborn child, no matter what the term is. I also value women's right to make decisions about their bodies and futures. But there needs to be feminist emphasis on PRE-PREGNANCY PREVENTATIVE ACTION SO THAT ABORTION IS NOT NECESSARY. I don't think I am conservative at all. I also don't want to deny a woman an abortion when it becomes necessary. But what abortion is needs to be truly considered, and not celebrated. Support groups for women (and men) who have been through the procedure are necessary! Self-esteem workshops! Sex education! Alternate options such as adoption, and health care, counseling, for women who feel that they don't have many options. If we want women to be respected, humans and animals and the earth, we need to respect the value of all life.
Feminists do put a HUGE emphasis on "pre-pregnancy preventative action". Planned Parenthood provides birth control, sex education and healthcare for millions of women in this country who would not have access to these services otherwise. The idea that Planned Parenthood or any other feminist organization would promote abortion as a form of birth control is insane.
thank you thank you thank you!
I see absolutely no value in a zygote of any species.
So what I think we NEED to do is trust women. Trust that given the options, pregnant women who don't want to continue a pregnancy will have their abortions as soon as they possibly can.
http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2007/03/17/faq-what-do-feminists-mean-by-reproductive-freedom/
Feminists, as has been said, do put emphasis on pregnancy prevention. See: decrying abstinence only education, pushing comprehensive sex education, pushing access to contraception, pushing access to family planning resources. Not to mention additional things like day-care, women and mother friendly working environments, paternity leave, etc.
But what abortion is needs to be truly considered, and not celebrated.
Sorry. In what world do you live? I don't see abortion being celebrated.
Not demonizing abortion is not the same thing as celebrating abortion.
I see no need to decry abortion as something ugly or inherently awful on a moralistic level.
People are certainly welcome to whatever views they hold, but impressing them upon other women is rather revolting.
I see no reason to join in with larger society in placing a subtle shame on women trying to decide what is best for them in these situations. (Frankly, if the damned stigma were destroyed in society, I think there would be a general improvement in many women's moods post-abortion.)
Alternate options such as adoption
Fine and dandy if you don't mind being pregnant, giving birth, and then giving up the baby for adoption. (In other words: adoption isn't an alternative to abortion and rarely as clean and simple as many make it out to be.)
I wish I could "like" your comment 100 times-- that's how much I like it.
Excellent response. The anti-choicers love to scream "What's wrong with adoption???" like if you have a baby, it's immediately adopted out to a loving family the moment it comes out of your vagina, and you get to waltz out of the hospital feelin' all happy and shiny because it's not your problem anymore. And in those people's minds, there are more loving families waiting to adopt than there are unwanted babies (which is, OF COURSE, why there are no children in foster care or otherwise abandoned! Ha!). And of course none of these people are pedophiles or d-bags looking to collect a foster parent check. Yay.
"Fine and dandy if you don't mind being pregnant, giving birth, and then giving up the baby for adoption. (In other words: adoption isn't an alternative to abortion and rarely as clean and simple as many make it out to be."
It seems that most feminists do not support adoption, so they are not in fact "pro-choice" they are pro-abortion. Now there is nothing wrong with being pro-abortion- we need to keep abortion legal and lessen the restrictions on it. But I hate to hear feminists say they are pro-choice, when they in-fact think of adoption is as an invalid alternative. I do agree that adoption is not an alternative to abortion because we'd still be forcing the woman to continue with the pregnancy. But I can't tell you how many times I have heard feminists go on about how over populated the world is or how messed up the foster system is, anytime the adoption topic is brought up. As if adoption is an irresponsible choice.
"Support groups for women (and men)"
Gimme a break! Men arent suffering from anything, its just an anti-chocie tactic.
But what abortion is needs to be truly considered, and not celebrated.
Sorry, I disagree.
I celebrate the fact that we have a medical technology that allows women control over their body wrt reproduction aka abortion.
I celebrate the fact that we (women) have access (in some places more than others) to this medical procedure.
So, I do celebrate abortion on a macro level. And I suppose you were probably suggesting that on a micro level that each woman who has an abortion feel somber and serious about it? I can't speak for others, but should I need an abortion, I think I would be celebrating that I had the resources and opportunity to obtain that needed medical procedure.
The abortion debate is always so complicated. As a young woman I have supported friends in their decisions to receive abortions (for age reasons, drug reasons, just not the right time reasons). As a survivor of rape I am glad I knew the option was available to terminate a pregnancy that would have terminated my sanity. HOWEVER, as an extreme feminist- I DON'T LIKE ABORTION. I bet its hard for anyone to say that they do LIKE it. But too often is the "liberal" stance in support of the right to choose - choose undergoing an extreme procedure that leaves emotional scars (in some cases). I see too many women who equate aborting a pregnancy to a liberated option. I value all life, including an unborn child, no matter what the term is. I also value women's right to make decisions about their bodies and futures. But there needs to be feminist emphasis on PRE-PREGNANCY PREVENTATIVE ACTION SO THAT ABORTION IS NOT NECESSARY. I don't think I am conservative at all. I also don't want to deny a woman an abortion when it becomes necessary. But what abortion is needs to be truly considered, and not celebrated. Support groups for women (and men) who have been through the procedure are necessary! Self-esteem workshops! Sex education! Alternate options such as adoption, and health care, counseling, for women who feel that they don't have many options. If we want women to be respected, humans and animals and the earth, we need to respect the value of all life.
I think it's worth noting that feminists - especially those who focus on reproductive rights - already DO put a huge emphasis on pre-pregnancy prevention. NARAL Pro-Choice America has been working on a Prevention First campaign since 2005 - emphasizing increasing access to contraception and real sex-ed classes, not useless abstinence ed. And 90% of Planned Parenthood's work is in preventive health care - birth control, STD testing, breast cancer screenings. And representatives from both sides of the aisle have sponsored the Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act. Basically, pregnancy prevention is good policy - it's a commonsense solution, though frustratingly, anti-choice politicians often don't support it.
I do think that we as feminists need to keep working hard to get the message out - so a wider audience can become aware that reproductive health is NOT just about abortion, and that we do need to work together for prevention.
Pre-pregnant?
Dude, nobody likes abortion, and nobody is excited about the thought of getting one. Are you kidding? The issue is not whether abortion is palatable but that for many women there is no viable alternative, given our screwed up health care system and our ridiculous squeamishness as a culture regarding sexuality.
But still. Don't "like" abortion? Then don't get one. No one's making you. You have a...gasp...choice.
Ahh, so the government SHOULDN'T have control over women's bodies? I really hope someone high level calls her on that language so that a discussion can be had on what happens when the government tells people what they can and can't do with their bodies. Though for people like that, that freedom clearly only cuts one way.
She. Makes. Me. SOOOOO effing mad!
I work for PP and ahem, where is all this money she's talking about??! Going to patients who can't pay! Not my paycheck, that's for sure. Ooh, I hope someone calls her on this, she's got some nerve.
I hate that she co-opted pro-choice language to push her anti-choice views.
I know! It's as ironic as it is infuriating. I thought this blog post hit the nail on the head pretty well.
http://ganjaninja420.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/an-open-letter-to-michele-bachmann/
She. Makes. Me. SOOOOO effing mad!
I work for PP and ahem, where is all this money she's talking about??! Not going to my paycheck, but going back into the clinics to help pay for our staff, our buildings, saving women's lives and helping those who CANNNOT PAY. We are no millionares, not even minutely close. We are helping other women, she pisses me off....
If she wasn't in the position to make policy, I'd just have to laugh at her silliness.
Good news: she'll be challenge by pro-choice Dem Tarryl Clark in the next election:
http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/3712/tarryl-clark-up-to-the-challenge-of-beating-michele-bachmann
Tarryl used to by my state senator, and she's pretty much the coolest.
I'm SO proud to be a Minnesotan...
So, I can't afford health insurance, there's no public option, and now she wants to unfund PP... thanks MB, where exactly am I going to get my yearly exam?
Oh, that's right, you don't care about the health of my uterus, you just want to tell me what I can't do with it. Thanks.
ahh, more pearls of wisdom from the intellect who coined my new favorite term: "hoot-smalley". ;)
GETITOFFME GETITOFFME!!! THE STUPID!!! IT BURNS!!!
This reminds me of something. It's like the argument that Defcon (a hacking convention - unrelated, but bear with me, the coffee isn't working yet.) is actually making a huge profit by charging 100 dollars per ticket. I remember the Dark Tangent (creator of the convention) saying that "these people forgot to subtract".
I think this anti-choicer forgot to subtract that 300 million. I'm sure it's not being wasted... How many abortion clinics are there? What about the electricity bills? Bills for the actual surgery? People also mentioned that the money goes towards people who can't afford abortions. Didn't a state law pass recently stating that all abortion clinics should have ultrasound machines? I guess that anti-choice law backfired. First, the clinics aren't giving the women enough time to "decide", then they say that the clinics are getting too much money. What's next?