Posted by
American Sweetheart on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:21:00 PM
Continuing with Operation W's Redemption, I am going to go on with the education segment.
Thus far, we have covered:
- Standing up and showing we are listening by emailing representatives asking for them to spread the wealth to us (and I hope those letters and emails keep pouring into Congress and the Senate)
- Education on the basics of the history of Conservatism
The next important thing to do, is go down the line of issues that are important to the conservative base and remember why we support the side of the issues that we do. Why are we for the protection of the 2nd Amendment? Why do we want to cut spending?
The first issue that I am going to cover is one that was swept under the rug during the general election for the most part, and that is abortion. I am going to cover a lot of ground in this particular essay regaring the history of abortion, statistics, education on the procedures, Roe Vs. Wade and the liberal standing (especially that of the record of President Elect Obama) on late term abortions. I will also provide information that can be passed on to women and young girls so that they can be properly educated on the facts about abortion and on prevention of unwanted pregnancies.
Conservatives are generally either strictly pro-life or pro-choice with the want of stronger sanctions on abortion going hand in hand with more comprehensive and effective education on safe sex and abstinance or the allowance of abortions in the cases of rape or incest ONLY.
This essay is organized into highlighted sections due to the length and will be split into two separate blogs. So feel free to jump to points of interest.
Welcome to Conservative 101 Chapter 1: When does life start?
I am going to start off with a personal story to set the tone.
The following picture is my first sonogram:
The little yellow line measuring across is measuring my baby. This is at 8 weeks, however the baby was measuring 4 weeks. The baby was the size of half a gummy bear according the the sonographer.
The baby you see above is not my son Jordan. This is my first baby, Alex. And later that day, March 3, 2007 just 16 days after I found out I was pregnant, Alex passed on due to miscarriage. The baby's father and I decided that it was a life lost and needed and deserved a name. This was the one and only time that I saw my baby alive. Its heart was beating and I saw it with my own two eyes. Even that small, I looked on the screen and was filled with love. I did see Alex again later that night on a second sonogram when the doctor told me I was miscarrying. The little heart was no longer beating.
That was the day I became pro-life after years of being pro-choice. There was no longer a question in my mind when life began, and it is certainly not above my pay grade to make that assessment.
History of Abortion:
Abortions have been in practice for centuries. There may be a preconceived notion that the practice of abortion arose with new medical technology.
The first evidence of abortion occured in Egypt in 1550 BC. Evidence also came from Chinese records between 500 and 515 BC. The first abortions were not surgical like today's preferred method. There is record of the use of various herbs, mercury, and exerting extreme physical stress on the body. As time progressed, methods deemed to be surgical to extract the baby from the womb were used, but were uncommon.
In the 2nd century, a Greek physician began the practice of inducing abortions for the same reasons that women seek them today (e.g. the pregnancy is detrimental to their health and safety or they are not mature enough emotionally to raise a child.)
Over centuries of progression in medical practice and in culture, abortions have been induced by herbal remedy, massage techniques, physical labor, extraction via various forms of hooks and sharp objects, tight binding of the abdomen, fasting, teas, and other botanical elixers.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, societal reasons for abortion began to manifest. The biggest reason was to spare the shame of raising a child out of wedlock, the next was the ineffectiveness of contraceptive methods at the time. Abortion, however, was always the "last resort."
Abortion was controversial and the procedure became difficult to obtain medically. Most women sought abortions "the back alley" way and risked their life to rid themselves of the unwanted child. Women began turning to various poisons and found physical methods to dialate the cervix and expel the fetus. Some objects of choice included candels, curling irons, spoons, knives, and dial rods.
As time went on, abortions were banned in various countries and towns, so abortions were advertised under false pretenses as pills to create regularity in menstration, to purify the body, or obstruction.
We now have methods based on old methods (such as dialation and curettage aka. dialating the cervix and surgically removing the contents therein) that are more safe for the woman. A local anesthetic is used on the patient after the cervix is dialated. From there, a suction curette is used to expel the contents of the uterus from the body. This most commonly is done in the first trimester. Another method is a pill to induce a miscarriage.
In the second trimester, saline or urea based solutions can be injected into the amniotic fluid (the fluid surrounding the baby in the placenta). After the 16th week, what we know as a "partial-birth abortion" is the method used to remove the baby from the body. The process is horrifying.
Here is a sonogram photo of my son, Jordan at between 16 and 18 weeks:
At 16 weeks, the sonographer was able to show me all of his organs and determine his sex. During the sonogram he kept putting his hands behind his head (he still does that today when he sleeps).
Here is a description of a 16 week fetus' development:
Fetal skin is almost transparent
Fine hair called lanugo develops on the head
Meconium is made in the intestinal tract
More muscle tissue and bones have developed, and the bones become harder
The baby begins to make active movements
The liver and pancreas produce fluid secretions
Sucking motions are made with the mouth
It was around this time that I was able to feel him moving.
And to note: The baby can feel this process occuring.
Roe vs. Wade:
Roe vs. Wade is most likely the most famous Supreme Court case in United States History (most likely tied with Brown vs. Board of Education). The case came about in 1973 when Norma L. McCorvey (Jane Roe) claimed that she became empregnated as a result of rape. The case was tried as a challenge to Texas State law banning abortion. Ultimately, the Supreme Court overturned the states' rights to choose if abortion was legal in their state or not.
The basis of the outcome lies in the 9th Amendment of the Constitution, which states as follows:
Years later, Norma/Roe, wrote in her book I Am Roe that she felt like her lawyers in the case (Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington) used her as a pawn. She also wrote that it was untrue that her terminated pregnancy had been the result of rape. Norma is now pro-life.
The Facts:
This is going to conclude part 1 of Abortion Education. Please check back within the next few days for Part 2.
Part 2 will cover:
Pro-life vs. Pro-choice and the arguments for each
President Elect Obama's stance on abortion
Education on prevention, alternatives to abortion, and the risks invloved