View Story | 257 comments
Comments: Expand Shrink Hide (Always) | Indented Flat (Always)
as a woman who came of age in the 60's, i remember well the back alley abortions that killed or maimed so many women.
i remember well how abortion was NOT about "killing babies" - it was about choice - choices - to have safe access to medical procedures, to have privacy in difficult choices, to have a right to control one's own body/destiny.
your choice to be a true doctor - a medical professional who treats the physical needs and emotional needs of your patient - makes you the truly moral one.
young women today do not realize what they are losing, slowly but surely losing. from the pharmacies that refuse to fill their birth control pills to the doctors that turn their backs, women are once again being forced back into that economic box and contained. without choice, without the RIGHT to control one's physical self, a woman has no more freedom than those helpless souls imprisoned in guantanamo.
thank you for providing a key, a choice, dignity and physical safety. without you and the other doctors who see beyond the rhetoric, women would face obstacles that would once again lead to unimaginable and horrific consequences.
draftgore2008 and northington 08 DE-AL
by edrie on Thu May 31, 2007 at 02:15:47 PM PDT
We're fighting an uphill battle against those who want to perpetuate a system of subjugation that has existed since time eternal. What can I say... I love my job!
by docswede on Thu May 31, 2007 at 02:20:15 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
by edrie on Thu May 31, 2007 at 02:51:09 PM PDT
Wow, two great diaries on abortion in one night. Daddy now has more information to impart on his daughter and that is the greatest gift I can give her. Peace ;-)>
"We're right in the middle of a fucking reptile zoo! And somebody's giving booze to these goddamn things!"-Hunter S. Thompson ;-)>
by rogerdaddy on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 12:41:29 AM PDT
Dr. Maguire is a Catholic ethicist whose book, Sacred Choices - The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions, is also the author of a book called The Moral Choice.
Coincidence, or are you familiar with his work? I haven't read them, they are too dense and scholarly the last time I tried, but I know him and he is a brillian man.
Great diary, recommended.
Who Dat?!
by Nerdsie on Thu May 31, 2007 at 03:16:26 PM PDT
a couple of times. If you're ever within a 100 mile radius of where he's speaking, be sure to get yourself there to hear him. I've read most of his work, including Sacred Choices, and it's fantastic stuff. He's way smarter than I'll ever be... and funnier, too. I read his books while I was a resident in OB/GYN, and they solidified my resolve to pursue a career in family planning. He and the other theologians who work with him are an inspiring bunch- we could use more of them from every background in our struggle.
by docswede on Thu May 31, 2007 at 03:45:11 PM PDT
Marjorie Reiley Maguire, have helped untold numbers of women they'll never meet by writing, "Abortion: A Guide to Making Ethical Choices."
From the preface:
This guide steps the reader through questions one would expect in a philosophical discussion of the issue, e.g., "Is the fetus a person?" But it is intended more precisely to help Catholic women work through the moral choices involved in abortion. The Guide identifies five beliefs which underlie its presentation: In making moral judgements about abortion, it is important to avoid rigid and negative attitudes toward sexuality itself. The decision to abort can be a moral decision justified by many circumstances; the decision can also be unjustified. Abortion must be legal for women to even begin to make a moral choice with real freedom. The abortion decision involves intrinsic values. These values include, but are not limited to, the value of a woman's life and her life plan and the value of the fetus. We all have an obligation to work actively to create a society in which women will not need to choose between the value of their own well-being and that of the fetus.
This guide steps the reader through questions one would expect in a philosophical discussion of the issue, e.g., "Is the fetus a person?" But it is intended more precisely to help Catholic women work through the moral choices involved in abortion. The Guide identifies five beliefs which underlie its presentation:
This work has been a staple of our counseling program for many years -- an invaluable help for women in moral crisis.
by moiv on Thu May 31, 2007 at 05:03:35 PM PDT
In fact, it should be enough to keep folks opposed to abortion busy for the rest of their lives.
So long as men die, Liberty will never perish. -- Charlie Chaplin, "The Great Dictator"
by khereva on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 04:24:11 AM PDT
I am so grateful for what you do, and I know it's not easy. Please know how many people are behind you.
You can tell you have created God in your own image when it turns out that he or she hates all the same people you do. - Anne Lamott
by javelina on Thu May 31, 2007 at 07:28:46 PM PDT
Peace and safety.
Arlington Daily Photo
by celticshel on Thu May 31, 2007 at 08:17:44 PM PDT
Today I've seen two doctors post about abortion, and they have did so in a way that put a human face on a very controversial issue. I believe that diaries like this do far more to increase awareness of the humanity of such things than merely arguing a point.
I cannot speak for others, but often when a diary is recommended, it is the content of that diary that is recommended. In this case, as in the previous one, I am not recommending merely the content, but the person writing it as well.
Thank you.
by Kronos Blue on Thu May 31, 2007 at 10:32:37 PM PDT
Sometimes good vibes reverberate right out of the monitor. This is one of those times.
by rogerdaddy on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 12:44:45 AM PDT
we need people to stand up and speak out.
Briefly, my story: I started residency in OB/GYN, and I listed the program I attended at the top precisely because it offered (required, with some exceptions) training in abortion. Even 15 years ago, that was becoming extremely rare.
I stayed in the program for 2 years, before deciding for a number of reasons that OB/GYN was not for me. But not before I performed a number of termination procedures, first and second trimester.
This is far, far from a monolithic issue, and there is absolutely no way to categorize people who seek abortion services. I've posted many times on abortion issues on this site. Meeting the women who were facing unwanted/unintended/medically risky pregnancies was a profound experience for me; not all chose abortion, but in all cases I felt, perhaps more profoundly than in almost any other medical encounter I have had that I actually helped people.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart and I'm sure of your patients' as well, for all you do.
Civil marriage is a civil right.
by stitchmd on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 05:41:09 AM PDT
you're doing important work with care and compassion. thank you for it.
sometimes when you look in his eyes you get the feeling that someone else is driving. - letterman (-8.00, -7.18)
by liberalsouth on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 06:20:17 AM PDT
As a now retired nurse, I too saw the desperation in the faces of women who were in abusive relationships and had no where to turn, or of women with too many children who no longer had the strentgh to give their children the nurturing they deserved, etc. What I did see that you might be interested in was on a recent trip to China. I saw the one-two child families and how proud and careful they were of their children. Serendipitous!!
Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities-Voltaire
by hairspray on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 11:02:43 AM PDT
you've nicely summed up most of what I was going to say, especially this:
Thank you, docswede. We need so many more doctors like you.
Courage has nothing whatever to do with testicles.
by VetGrl on Thu May 31, 2007 at 02:24:03 PM PDT
"without choice, without the RIGHT to control one's physical self, a woman has no more freedom than those helpless souls imprisoned in guantanamo."
this is ridiculous. as a privileged educated female, i have plenty of freedom. including freedom to go on the Pill and use contraception, freedom to not have unprotected sex, freedoms that i am very grateful the feminists fought for. should i have the freedom to thus end the life of an innocent being? i'm not so sure...the white-Western-individual rights argument is anathema to many Americans, and as a Christian feminist, one i reject. i'm for access to abortion because of the women who DON'T have freedom--i.e. are in abusive relationships, in poverty, lack education, etc etc. the pro-choicer's individual rights argument obsession has probably what contributed to setting their movt back so much in recent years, adn we are now only starting to regain some of it back.
by ihlin on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 11:09:58 AM PDT
Is the "innocent" life any less innocent in the cases you'd consider abortion appropriate for?
Before you win, you have to fight. Come fight along with us at TexasKaos.
by boadicea on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 11:13:19 AM PDT
by ihlin on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 11:14:27 AM PDT
It seems impossible to me.
by boadicea on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 11:17:37 AM PDT
as a Christian, you understand sin, so i don't think abortion is a worse sin than say poverty or domestic abuse, which all can lead to abortions. and practically speaking, can you ban abortions? no, because we all know they will still be done. but yes it is unfortunate that 1 million innocent lives are snuffed out every year here in the US. and unlike some feminists, i don't "celebrate" that as "freedom."
by ihlin on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 11:45:34 AM PDT
But who exactly in this thread do you see celebrating abortion?
You've created a straw man here. Honoring those who have helped women in the most difficult decision most of them will make in their lives is not "celebrate snuffed out lives".
by boadicea on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 12:06:57 PM PDT
those words and that frame portray the right to an abortion as something celebratory and triumphant--a sign of "progress" and liberation. i don't come at it from that angle. in certain feminist circles, even calling into question that abortion may not be a morally neutral act gets your head blown off. appreciate your response.
by ihlin on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 01:15:32 PM PDT
that medical science has given us a few more tools against Nature's sexism ... which most laws don't have a problem with enforcing. Nature does have a thing for sex roles. Unfortunately, (from Nature's PoV) I'm self aware and wanted a choice. So did my husband. I'm glad I could get a legal abortion (without protestors) -- but that was 30 years ago.
I suppose if one is of an opinion that "things always happen for a reason" it doesn't seem unfair if women & families with less resources take the brunt: if someone is born female or poor there's a reason. Me, I'd rather have equal rights. I didn't consider my pregnancy an unborn child I had a responsibility towards because I never accepted the pregnancy, it was just random chance my IUD malfunctioned. And, with abortion as an option, it didn't have to be like a broken leg or my house burning down, that would have to make do and couldn't negotiate.
Thirty years ago Earth was already populated. I got a reversible Tubal, but never changed my mind ... and now menopause is starting (another reason to be unthrilled with human female biology), so that was my one chance. We don't regret it.
If your local service workers don't get a living wage (including healthcare) then your local social contract is broken
by julifolo on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 03:59:38 PM PDT
but I will never rightly be under your rule, or those of any intolerant American citizens (though for this subject my age may render the point moot - nevertheless I'll continue as though it would not). Wrongly, maybe, but not rightly.
Why don't you respect me?
Any income level produces abusive relationships. This country also has many in poverty (including some posters). There are many in this country who lack education, for which we have many factors to blame including lack of comprehensive sex education. There are mistakes that happen at horrible times.
I do not see your argument. I read it over and over and could not understand what you were saying. I'm late in the thread, but if you see this in your replies and have a clarification, I wouldn't mind one.
Everyone is talking about crime... Tell me who are the criminals. - "Equal Rights," Peter Tosh
by Nastja Polisci on Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 05:53:37 PM PDT
wide narrow
View Story | 257 comments